TEA PARTY PATRIOTS:
Scott Walker: I Will Run as a Conservative
“…Later in his town hall remarks, Walker criticized the Obama administration’s handling of foreign policy challenges posed by the Islamic State and expressed concern about the administration’s handling of the Iranian nuclear threat. Walker also responded to a question from Tea Party Patriots President Jenny Beth Martin over his position on ethanol. Her question noted that while Walker had opposed a Wisconsin effort to mandate its use in midgrade gasoline, he recently said in Iowa that he would “go forward on continuing the [federal] Renewable Fuel Standard.” Walker responded that his position has been “consistent,” adding that “we’ve talked about not wanting a mandate.” Walker said that while he wants the federal standard phased out, he would not push to immediately abolish it…”
http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/Scott-Walker-conservative-tea-party/2015/03/17/id/630642/
Walker: I didn’t flip flop on ethanol
“Scott Walker freely admits that he has shifted to the right on immigration over the past two years, aligning himself with the GOP base, but the Wisconsin governor was adamant Monday night that he has not also flip-flopped on ethanol. On a telephone town hall meeting sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots, the all-but-declared Republican presidential candidate insisted that, when he spoke out against ethanol mandates during his 2006 run for governor, he was specifically referring to state-level standards, not federal ones… “From our standpoint, our position is consistent,” Walker replied. “I talked about not wanting a mandate in Wisconsin as governor. We do not have one. I do not support one. I have not enacted it. I’ve kept it out of the state of Wisconsin. What I said in Iowa was … I think we need to phase it out, but I don’t approve of putting in new mandates.”
http://hotair.com/archives/2015/03/17/walker-i-didn’t-flip-flop-on-ethanol/
Scott Walker tells Tea Party activists he hasn’t flipped on ethanol
“Scott Walker continued to defend himself against suggestions that he’s flip-flopped on a key issue for Iowa, the state that will host the first presidential nomination voting in early 2016, as he spoke last night with Tea Party activists nationwide. On a conference call organized by the Tea Party Patriots, the Wisconsin governor and likely Republican presidential candidate said he’s been unwavering in his view that corn-based ethanol should eventually lose government protections and incentives. Walker’s potential rivals for the Republican presidential nomination have sought to highlight the times he has changed his views, including on ethanol and immigration. Such so-called flip-flops proved to be a significant vulnerability for the last Republican nominee, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, in 2012…”
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20150317/NEWS02/150319804/scott-walker-tells-tea-party-activists-he-hasnt-flipped-on-ethanol
WALKER LOOKS TO QUELL CONCERNS ABOUT ETHANOL FLIP
“…Bloomberg: “Scott Walker continued to defend himself against suggestions that he’s flip-flopped on a key issue for Iowa, the state that will host the first presidential nomination voting in early 2016, as he spoke Monday evening with Tea Party activists nationwide. On a conference call organized by the Tea Party Patriots, the Wisconsin governor and likely Republican presidential candidate said he’s been unwavering in his view that corn-based ethanol should eventually lose government protections and incentives…‘From our standpoint, our position is consistent,’ said Walker, who was first elected governor amid the 2010 Tea Party wave. ‘I talked about not wanting a mandate in Wisconsin as governor. We don’t have one. I do not support one.’…At a March 7 agricultural summit in Iowa, however, Walker said he supports the Renewable Fuel Standard, which sets the amount of renewable fuel that must be blended into gas sold in the U.S. At the time, he also called for the eventual elimination of government support for ethanol and other biofuels, as well as wind energy.”…”
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/03/17/state-department-stonewall-still-standing-on-hillary-doc/
Did Walker flip-flop on ethanol?
“…On a telephone town hall meeting sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots, the all-but-declared Republican presidential candidate insisted that, when he spoke out against ethanol mandates during his 2006 run for governor, he was specifically referring to state-level standards, not federal ones. The weekend before last, at an industry-sponsored agriculture summit in Iowa, Walker said he opposes the Renewable Fuel Standard philosophically and would like to phase it out “long-term” but that he would keep it in place indefinitely to help out farmers. Tea Party Patriots President Jenny Beth Martin’s first question to Walker during the hour-long Monday call, which drew thousands of conservative activists, was, “What made you switch your position?” “From our standpoint, our position is consistent,” Walker replied. “I talked about not wanting a mandate in Wisconsin as governor. We do not have one. I do not support one. I have not enacted it. I’ve kept it out of the state of Wisconsin. What I said in Iowa was … I think we need to phase it out, but I don’t approve of putting in new mandates.” In fact, among other things, Walker ran radio ads back in 2006 that decried “mandates from the state or federal government…”
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/03/did_walker_flipflop_on_ethanol.html
HEALTHCARE:
GOP reins in president’s spending, repeals Obamacare in budget
“House Republicans unveiled a budget Tuesday that balances in less than 10 years by cutting $5.5 trillion, repealing Obamacare and relying on Americans to rev the economic engine in place of taxes. The blueprint from House Budget Chairman Tom Price, Georgia Republican, cues up a tense fight over the parties’ priorities for the middle class and yet another battle over President Obama’s health law, his signature achievement, by restoring $700 billion in cuts to Medicare and turning Medicaid into a block-grant program to empower the states. It also changes Medicare into a voucher-type system of “premium support” for seniors entering the rolls in 2024 or later, and beefs up defense spending above and beyond the White House’s proposal, which Mr. Price decried as “more taxes, more spending, more borrowing, more debt, more stagnant growth.” “Unless we have economic security we cannot have national security,” he said, surrounded by fellow Republicans and holding up a copy of his “Balanced Budget for a Stronger America.” The plan also would simplify the tax code and prevent Americans from “double dipping” into both the disability insurance and employment insurance funds, he said. Party leaders said it’s a responsible plan that scales down Washington’s role while securing key programs for future generations…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/17/gop-budget-proposal-repeals-obamacare-cuts-55t/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
House GOP budget again repeals ObamaCare
“The House budget unveiled Tuesday again includes a full repeal of ObamaCare. The 43-page proposal offered by House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) would eliminate all mandates, taxes, regulations and subsidies under the healthcare law, which the committee says would save $2 trillion. “It is imperative that the president’s health care law be repealed so that we can start over and make targeted, common sense reforms,” the committee wrote in the budget proposal. The GOP’s latest effort to repeal ObamaCare comes just after the fifth anniversary of the law’s passage. It is also a mostly symbolic move, as the proposals will not become law. The blueprint is similiar to the previous House budget by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Price’s predecessor. Like Ryan’s budget, this year’s proposal does not lay out specific ways to replace ObamaCare, though the committee writes that its budget “calls for starting over with a patient-centered approach to health care reform.” Details of those reforms are minimal in the document, though it does promise to increase competition and transparency while “allowing individuals to join together voluntarily to pool risk.” The budget writers leave open the option of reconciliation, a tool that can be used to prevent Senate Democrats from filibustering legislation. Republican committees would have until July 15 to submit reconciliation bills, about two weeks after the Supreme Court is expected to rule on the ObamaCare subsidies case, King v. Burwell. Republicans have eyed reconciliation as a way to avert the massive insurance meltdown that could occur if $28 billion in subsidies are struck down by the court. While Committee chairmen will have broad leeway when crafting their bills, Price told reporters Tuesday that ObamaCare remains a priority. The GOP budget would repeal the long-disputed formula for paying Medicare doctors, known as the sustainable growth rate — a proposal that is also included in President Obama’s budget. Still, Price’s committee argues that the two proposals are not equal because they do not include the same cost estimates. “Unlike the President’s budget, our budget reflects the cost of enacting a permanent reform to Medicare’s reimbursement formula,” the committee wrote. “It is time to restore certainty to the reimbursement system for patients and physicians.”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/235921-house-gop-budget-again-repeals-obamacare
House Republicans seek ObamaCare repeal, more defense $$ in new budget plan
“House Republicans, unveiling their first budget blueprint since the party took control of Congress, issued a sweeping spending plan Tuesday that calls for complete repeal of ObamaCare, major changes to Medicare and controversial moves to boost defense spending despite tight budget limits. GOP leaders say their budget would balance in less than 10 years, and in that time cut spending by $5.5 trillion compared with current projections. The spending plan stands little chance of ever being signed by President Obama, but makes clear that the party is not dialing back its ambitions despite a rocky start to the latest congressional session. After some internal debate over the Republican strategy for taking on the Affordable Care Act, the budget plan renews GOP calls to repeal and replace the law. The document would repeal ObamaCare “in its entirety,” and calls for “starting over with a patient-centered approach to health care reform.” The document does not get into deep specifics on what this might entail – one factor is a pending Supreme Court case over the law’s subsidies that could force Congress and the Obama administration to reconsider the policy, if the administration loses. House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price’s $3.8 trillion plan borrows heavily from prior GOP budgets, including a plan that would transform Medicare into a voucher-like “premium support” program for seniors joining Medicare in 2024 or later. They would receive a subsidy to purchase health insurance on the private market. Meanwhile, Republicans are proposing using tens of billions of dollars in additional war funding to get around tight budget limits on the Pentagon. The use of overseas military funds to skirt spending caps is a new feature. War spending is exempt from budget limits and the move would allow Republicans to effectively match Obama’s proposal to boost defense spending by $38 billion above current limits. That was a key demand of the party’s defense hawks. But Senate Republicans, GOP aides say, are likely to reject the move to radically reshape Medicare and are more reluctant to use war funds to help out the Pentagon…”
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/03/17/house-gop-budget-plan-would-boost-to-defense-spending-but-makes-some-nervious/
GOP budget includes way to repeal Obamacare
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/gop-budget-includes-way-to-repeal-obamacare/article/2561621?custom_click=rss
House GOP unveils balanced-budget plan axing Obamacare, overhauling Medicare
“House Republicans on Tuesday introduced a $3.8 trillion dollar budget that would dramatically shrink the size of the federal government to balance in nine years. The plan, authored by House Budget Committee chairman Tom Price, R-Ga., is billed as “a blueprint that demonstrates how to solve our nation’s fiscal and economic challenges.” The plan is the first drawn up under Price’s leadership of the committee, but it largely follows the template set by former chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. The budget claims $5.5 trillion in decreased spending over the next 10 years, bringing federal spending down from over 20 percent of U.S. economic output in 2014 to 18.3 percent in 2025 with deep cuts to federal programs and a shift in responsibility from Washington to state and local governments. Overall, Price aims to lower the federal debt from 74 percent of U.S. gross domestic product today to 55 percent and falling in 2025. Under President Obama’s budget, the debt would only be slightly below today’s levels. The plan is likely to please conservatives who have run on balancing the budget and lowering the debt and draw condemnation from Democrats and liberals who oppose cutting domestic programs and anti-poverty funding. Price aims to navigate the differences between penny-pinching conservatives and defense hawks who favor raising the spending caps that are set to keep defense spending at $523 billion for 2016. The budget would respect that cap, but raise defense spending to $613 billion in total in 2016 by allocating funds to the Department of Defense’s Overseas Contingency Operations, or war funds….”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/house-gop-unveils-balanced-budget-plan-axing-obamacare-overhauling-medicare/article/2561606?custom_click=rss
GOP looks to Medicare Advantage cuts for political edge
“A new round of cuts to a popular program that provides health care to seniors will touch off a spate of partisan finger-pointing in the coming weeks, handing Republicans a new opportunity to blast the Affordable Care Act. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is expected to announce in April how much it will cut from payments in 2016 to health insurers for Medicare Advantage, the popular program that covers seniors through private HMO and PPO plans.The Department of Health and Human Services in February recommended a 0.9 percent cut, though CMS may cut up to 0.95 percent, which would result in seniors paying higher premiums. The reductions are a result of the Affordable Care Act, which requires cuts to the Medicare Advantage program to bring it into alignment with traditional Medicare programs. President Obama’s signature health care law has already slashed about 10 percent off the Advantage program. The program insures more than 15 million seniors nationwide, through either HMOs or PPOs. Projected costs reached $156 billion in 2014. And Republicans are already preparing to take advantage when CMS’s final decision is announced on April 6 — when lawmakers are home for the Easter recess. “Your work to protect Medicare Advantage is a topic your boss cannot talk about enough,” a top official at the National Republican Congressional Committee told GOP staffers in an email on Friday. “This would be a great opportunity for your boss to speak directly to seniors in the district about this important issue.” Both parties have used the other side’s proposals as wedges to appeal to seniors, a vote-rich bloc that is sensitive to benefit cuts. Democrats have routinely attacked Republicans over Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) budget proposals, which would have cut Medicare spending by $129 billion over a decade, according to the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Republicans have fired back, accusing Democrats of cutting $716 billion to Medicare — and $156 billion to Medicare Advantage — under the Affordable Care Act…”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/03/17/gop-looks-to-medicare-advantage-cuts-for-political-edge/?wprss=rss_politics
Real Entitlement Reform With The Doc Fix Repeal
“It is long past the time for Congress to recognize and rectify a failed policy. An earlier Congress, led by former speaker Newt Gingrich, decided to cut payments to physicians in Medicare to help balance the federal budget. That was in 1997, but even that Congress postponed the cuts until a future date. And because access to physicians would be jeopardized for millions of seniors if the cuts took effect, every Congress since then has postponed the Medicare cuts – a total of 17 times. The policy didn’t work, and Congress now is ready to consider permanently repealing it while bringing much-needed structural reforms to Medicare. That is the right course. Republicans and Democrats from both houses of Congress have been working on the deal for months, with cooperation from the administration. For those who want to move beyond what they consider a “broken” Congress, this is the place to start. The current doc-fix extension expires on March 31 when physician reimbursement will be cut by 20% if Congress doesn’t enact yet another patch. It’s clear that #18 is not going to be a magic number. Virtually no one believes that Congress ever will allow the cuts to take effect, especially because they get bigger and bigger over time. Even Medicare’s Board of Trustees builds the expected fix into its baseline projections, assuming Congress will continue to override the annual “Sustainable Growth Rate” (SGR) cuts to the Medicare physician fee schedule. Conservatives are criticizing the deal because it is not fully paid for in the 10-year budget window, but the structural Medicare reforms built in to the deal would yield much larger savings over time. This is an investment today to begin to gain control over a program that by the year 2020 will constitute more than one-third of the nation’s total debt accumulation. Continuing to play the Medicare doc fix shell game only makes it harder to get control of federal spending, and it keeps Congress from focusing on real and desperately-needed entitlement reform. Congress sometimes delays the cuts for a year, sometimes for only a few months. Physicians say they will be forced to further limit the number of new seniors they allow into their practices, and some say they may be forced to stop seeing Medicare patients altogether. Campaign coffers are filled, lobbyists are paid handsomely, and the game of crony collusion continues – all at the expense of taxpayers and future Medicare recipients…”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gracemarieturner/2015/03/17/real-entitlement-reform-with-the-doc-fix-repeal/?mc_cid=2714f6120f&mc_eid=25ea5b0625
BREAKING: Cyberattack exposes 11 million Premera Blue Cross members
“Premera Blue Cross, a health plan in the Pacific Northwest, was hit with the second-biggest cyberattack in healthcare industry history, exposing the personal, financial and medical information of more than 11 million customers. The Mountlake Terrace, Wash.-based company discovered the attack on Jan. 29, 2015. An investigation revealed that the initial attack occurred on May 5, 2014. The breach affected Premera Blue Cross, Premera Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alaska, and Premera affiliate brands Vivacity and Connexion Insurance Solutions. The revelation comes just six weeks after Anthem, the nation’s largest investor-owned Blues licensee, disclosed that hackers had stolen the records of nearly 80 million from its IT system. Information exposed in the hack could include members’ name, date…”
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20150317/NEWS/150319904
Second health insurer reports data breach
http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/235979-second-major-health-insurer-breached
Government’s Obamacare estimates are ‘bogus,’ Alabama congressman says
“Despite a government report indicating that more than 16 million more people have health insurance than before Obamacare, the author of the latest effort by Congress to repeal the law remains steadfast in his opposition. Officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services hailed Monday’s report as a sign that the Affordable Care Act is working as intended. The increase of 16.4 million American adults with insurance represents a 7.1 percent decrease in the uninsured rate. But U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope, said Tuesday that the report does not change his view that the law is bad for the country. In fact, he added that he doubts the veracity of an estimate derived from Gallup polling data. “I think it’s bogus,” said Byrne, whose bill to repeal Obamacare sailed through the House of Representatives last month. “It’s totally unbelievable.” Byrne questioned why the Department of Health and Human Services could not produce hard figures for the number of people with insurance or provide a state-by-state breakdown for its estimates. He said Congress has sought such information for months. “It’s data they should have,” he said. The government has published the number of people who have enrolled in health plans offered on the government’s online exchange and the number of people added to Medicaid rolls. For Alabama, that is 171,641 enrolled on the exchange. Medicaid statistics are largely unchanged because Alabama refused an offer for federal funds to expand the program. Health and Human Services officials say they created the statistical model to provide a more comprehensive picture – the percentage of adults with insurance from all sources, including employers, compared with the proportion insured before the law took effect. Byrne said the 16.4 million Americans, assuming the government estimate is correct, represents a small portion of the U.S. population. According to the Census Bureau, it’s about 5 percent…”
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/03/governments_obamacare_estimate.html
Premiums rose 2.9 percent for cheapest ObamaCare plans
“The price of the cheapest ObamaCare plan increased an average of 2.9 percent nationally, according to a new report by the Urban Institute. The new data, which were collected frome every state over the last year, ease widespread concerns that ObamaCare was fueling massive premimum hikes. Still, the researchers warn the future of premimum increases is uncertain in the long-term. For plan’s prices to remain low, insurance companies must continue to feel pressure from customers to be competitive. “Without plan switching, competitive pressures on insurers will weaken,” the report states. Researchers found that insurers kept rates low by “developing more limited provider networks” – which means some providers accepted lower reimbursement rates. “Whether these arrangements are sustainable and remain attractive to consumers over time is unknown,” the report states. Premium increases varied greatly by region. Customers in the Northeast saw an increase of 1.8 percent compared to a high of 5.4 percent in the South. Still, premiums remain the highest in the Northeast, where customers face an average of $284 per month. Customers in the South and Midwest pay about $50 less per month….”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/236016-premiums-rose-29-percent-for-cheapest-obamacare-plans
Minnesota Man Tells State Obamacare Exchange Its Glitches Killed His Wife
“An erstwhile Minnesota Obamacare customer told a state panel Tuesday that a flub with the state’s exchange over his late wife’s health insurance ultimately killed her. “Absolutely,” Charlie Dunker told a state House committee, the Associated Press reports. “She’d be here today if it wasn’t for MNsure.” Dunker’s wife, Gail Dunker, died of cancer earlier this year. The Dunkers canceled their private insurance plan after signing up at MNsure, the state-run Obamacare exchange, where they were told that they’d pay nothing in monthly premiums after subsidies. After learning that Gail was ill, however, the Dunkers were told that they didn’t have coverage after all. “Because Gail didn’t fill out the form they wanted, they let her die,” Dunker told the panel. “Plain and simple.” “The cancer she had was treatable. They told us that at the Mayo [Clinic],” Dunker said. “They said, ‘If she had been here when this first came up…this cancer is very treatable.’” “She was in Mayo from November to Jan. 9, when she died,” Dunker said. “When MNsure was jerking our chain, that’s what happened. That’s why I’m here.” Dunker said the couple was uninsured for months after his wife’s diagnosis, making it difficult to get appointments to treat her cancer, while they attempted to fix the problem with MNsure and regain coverage. However, judges ruled against Dunker in a hearing on the issue, deciding that the couple hadn’t been able to prove their lack of insurance was MNsure’s fault, according to the AP. Dunker was one of several Minnesota residents that spoke at the hearing, but others had more positive experiences. Mary Einspahr, another MNsure customer, told the panel that the exchange “saved my life” after signing up for Medical Assistance through the website. The Republican-controlled House Health and Human Services Finance Committee panel voted to abandon MNsure, the state-run exchange in favor of HealthCare.gov, only if the Supreme Court rules in June that the Obamacare subsidies — and therefore the employer mandate — applies only to state-run exchanges. “As we see today, it is harming people in Minnesota, said Republican state Rep. Matt Dean. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton has requested $500,000 from the state legislature for a task force on whether the state should attempt to keep fixing the exchange or instead join HealthCare.gov, as other states with technology problems — Oregon and Nevada — have done.”
http://dailycaller.com/2015/03/17/minnesota-man-tells-state-obamacare-exchange-its-glitches-killed-his-wife/
Louisiana AG supports House’s ObamaCare lawsuit
“Louisiana has joined five other states in supporting a lawsuit against President Obama over the Affordable Care Act, state Attorney General Buddy Caldwell said on Wednesday. Caldwell said that he filed an amicus brief supporting the U.S. House of Representatives’ lawsuit, House of Representatives v. Burwell, which alleges Obama illegally implemented ObamaCare. The other states that filed briefs in the lawsuit are West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona, South Carolina and Texas. In the brief, Caldwell said the State of Louisiana supports the House’s claims that the Obama administration violated laws by granting exemptions, work permits and payments, and by suspending or delaying other requirements as instructed under ObamaCare…”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/louisiana-ag-supports-houses-obamacare-lawsuit/article/feed/2175807
Arizona Senate Committee Passes Bill to Ban Crucial Obamacare Enforcement Mechanism
“Today, an Arizona Senate Committee passed a bill to create significant roadblocks for implementation of the Affordable Care Act, leaving the federal program without an enforcement mechanism in the state should it become law. The bill previously passed the House by a vote of 36-21. Introduced State Reps. Justin Olson and Rep. Vince Leach, House Bill 2643 (HB2643) would prohibit the state in various ways from “from using any personnel or financial resources to enforce, administer or cooperate with the Affordable Care Act.” Today, the Senate Federalism, Mandates and Fiscal Responsibility Committee passed it with four yes votes, zero no votes, and three members not voting. The bill now moves to the Senate Rules Committee for further consideration. Most prominent in this list of prohibitions is a ban on “funding or aiding in the prosecution of any entity for a violation of the act.” This would prevent the Arizona Department of Insurance (DOI) from investigating or enforcing any violations of federally mandated health insurance requirements, something that will prove particularly problematic for the feds. State insurance commissioners and departments serve as the enforcement arm for insurance regulation in the states. So, when people have issues with their mandated coverage, they will have to call the feds. “Disputes over these mandates arise under federal, not state law,” said Mike Maharrey of the Tenth Amendment Center. “The federal Department of Health and Human Services cannot commandeer the Arizona Department of Insurance to force them or to investigate alleged violations if this bill passes. And because at present there is no federal health insurance agency and Congress is not likely to create one given the substantial opposition to Obamacare, they’ll just have to figure it out on their own.” Should the IRS ever gain approval to start using liens to collect failure to pay penalties from people who refuse to sign up, they won’t be able to record them with any level any county clerks or the Secretary of State in Arizona. Without liens, the IRS is already going to have a difficult time collecting, and if they’re permanently blocked from using them in Arizona, that would represent a significant layer of protection for the people there. HB2643 is a practical implementation of Proposition 122, a voter-approved amendment to the state constitution in 2014 that provides a mechanism for refusing state resources to federal programs. Beyond the prohibition on the DOI, the bill also expressly prohibits the creation or operation of a health insurance exchange for the ACA. While former Governor Jan Brewer decided that the state wouldn’t create one, Maharrey said leaving such a big decision to the fate of a future Governor is precarious, at best. “I don’t expect the new Governor to suddenly change course on an exchange, but you never know,” said Maharrey. “Republican Governors around the country have flip-flopped on Medicaid expansion and Common Core, so we can’t really trust them to do the right thing on this either. That’s why an express prohibition on creating an Obamacare exchange in Arizona is an additional protection for the people.” Shifting the burden for health insurance exchanges to the feds helps overwhelm the implementation of Obamacare. Some analysts suggest that the feds only have the capacity to do so in 30-40 states over the long term, and any more than that will help collapse the system…”
http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2015/03/arizona-senate-committee-passes-bill-to-ban-crucial-obamacare-enforcement-mechanism/
Could Obama Bypass the Supreme Court?
“IT is time to talk about President Obama’s contingency plan for health care. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments earlier this month in King v. Burwell, a case challenging the provision of tax credits on federal insurance exchanges. While the legal issues are dry lawyers’ fare — how to interpret several interconnected phrases of the Affordable Care Act — the practical stakes are high. The government estimates that millions of Americans will be left without affordable health insurance if it loses. While the administration may well prevail, it has expressed remarkable pessimism about its options if it does lose. The secretary of health and human services, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, wrote to Congress last month about the administration’s lack of a contingency plan: “We know of no administrative actions that could, and therefore we have no plans that would, undo the massive damage to our health care system that would be caused by an adverse decision.” But luckily the Constitution supplies a contingency plan, even if the administration doesn’t know it yet: If the administration loses in King, it can announce that it is complying with the Supreme Court’s judgment — but only with respect to the four plaintiffs who brought the suit. This announcement would not defy a Supreme Court order, since the court has the formal power to order a remedy only for the four people actually before it. The administration would simply be refusing to extend the Supreme Court’s reasoning to the millions of people who, like the plaintiffs, may be eligible for tax credits but, unlike the plaintiffs, did not sue. To be sure, the government almost always agrees to extend Supreme Court decisions to all similarly situated people. In most cases, it would be pointless to try to limit a decision to the parties to the lawsuit. Each new person who was denied the benefit of the ruling could bring his own lawsuit, and the courts would simply rule the same way. Trying to limit the decision to the parties to the suit would just delay the inevitable. But the King litigation is different, because almost everybody who is eligible for the tax credits is more than happy to get them. Most people who receive tax credits will never sue to challenge them. Lawsuits can be brought only by those with a personal stake, so in most cases the tax credits will never come before a court. The administration is therefore free to follow its own honest judgment about what the law requires…”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/17/opinion/could-obama-bypass-the-supreme-court.html?_r=0
What would happen to children if the Supreme Court dismembers Obamacare
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/03/17/what-would-happen-to-children-if-the-supreme-court-dismembers-obamacare/
Obama talks about trust at VA scandal site
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/03/17/obama-talks-about-trust-at-va-scandal-site/
IMMIGRATION:
Border Agent Accuses DHS of Manipulating Border Security Stats: ‘The Border is Not Secure’
“A federal border agent said Tuesday that the Department of Homeland Security is manipulating border statistics to make it appear as if the border is secure, but said in reality that the border is not secure, and that border agents fail to capture as many as two-thirds of all illegal aliens who try to cross into the United States. “I want to be crystal clear – the border is not secure,” said border agent Chris Cabrera in prepared testimony before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday. Cabrera was also speaking on behalf of the National Border Patrol Council. “That is not just my opinion or the position of the NBPC,” he said. “Ask any line agent in the field and he or she will tell you that at best we apprehend 35 to 40 percent of the illegal immigrants attempting to cross. This number is even lower for drug smugglers who are much more adept at eluding capture.” Cabrera said he understands that DHS tells Congress all the time that the border is secure, and that DHS stats show that the department is successful in apprehending illegal border crossers 75 percent of the time. But he said those numbers relect an ongoing effort to “manipulate the statistics,” and he gave a few examples. First, he noted that years ago, if 20 sets of footprints were found, border agents would start looking for 20 illegal immigrants. But he said today, those numbers are being fudged. “Today if I see 20 or more footprints in the sand a supervisor must come to my location and ‘verify’ the number of footprints,” he said. “I guess that after 13 years in the field I must have lost the ability to count.” Cabrera also said there are incentives for border agents not to report seeing groups of illegal immigrants consisting of more than 20 people. “Agents who repeatedly report groups larger than 20 face retribution,” he said. “Management will either take them out of the field and assign them to processing detainees at the station or assign them to a fixed position in low volume areas as punishment.” “Needless to say agents got the message and now stay below this 20 person threshold no matter the actual size of the group,” he added. He also noted that he was in a firefight with members of a drug cartel in 2011, which shows that there is little respect for the border agents who are there. He also said it’s gotten worse since 2011. “When cartel members are brazenly firing automatic weapons at federal law enforcement agents, the border is not secure ladies and gentlemen,” Cabrera said. “This was in 2011 and since that time things in the Rio Grande Sector have only deteriorated.” Cabrera said to fix the problem, about 5,000 new border agents need to be added to the roughly 21,000 currently employed. He said 3,500 of those should be used on the southern border, and the rest should be used on the northern border…”
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/03/17/border-agent-accuses-dhs-of-manipulating-border-security-stats-the-border-is-not-secure/
IT Worker Replaced by Foreign National Regrets Voting for Obama
“Several information-technology workers provided anonymous testimony for today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the immigration reforms needed to protect skilled workers. One former IT worker at multi-billion dollar utilities provider Southern California Edison, who chose to remain anonymous because of a non-disparagement agreement he signed with his former employer, wrote that he was recently replaced by a foreign worker with an H-1B visa. He is one of more than 400 people at Southern California Edison (SCE) who have reportedly lost their jobs to foreign workers in India. “I’ve paid my taxes, obeyed the laws and have been a good citizen supporting the community with donations,” the former SCE worker wrote. “I voted for President Obama and was appalled that he implemented a rule change, which allows work permits to H-1B spouses. My future votes will only go to candidates that support reforms to the H-1B visa program that preserve the American worker.” Hal Salzman, a professor at Rutgers University’s center for workforce development, testified that such guest workers are not needed to fill STEM jobs (careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). “The U.S. supply of top performing graduates is large and far exceeds the hiring needs of the STEM industries, with only half of new STEM graduates finding jobs in a STEM occupation,” Salzman testified. “Guest-worker supply is large and highly concentrated in the IT industry. It is likely a factor in the flat wage levels in the IT industry and, perhaps, for a [sic] substitution of young, entry-level guest workers for experienced, incumbent, U.S. workers.” And while SCE has gained attention for replacing American workers with foreign nationals, other tech companies are doing the same thing. In advance of today’s hearing, the national coordinator for IBM’s employees’ union, Lee Conrad, issued a statement about the company’s decision to replace American workers with guest workers from other countries…”
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/415535/it-worker-replaced-foreign-national-regrets-voting-obama-ryan-lovelace
Whistleblower: I’ve Seen American Workers Forced to Train Their Own Foreign Replacements
“Jack “Jay” Palmer was reportedly awarded millions of dollars by the federal government for his help in exposing the massive visa fraud perpetraded by his employer, the Indian outsourcing giant Infosys. Today, he told the Senate Judiciary committee that Infosys was not alone in abusing the American immigration system, and choked up when describing the effects of such practices on American workers. “We brought in H-1B workers; didn’t matter if you had skills or not,” Palmer said of Infosys. “We brought them in, I sat them in cubicles and watched the Americans train them only in the name of the dollar.” In 2013, Infosys agreed to a $34 million settlement with federal prosecutors, the largest such penalty on record. But the problem still continues at other workplaces around the country. Ron Hira, professor of public policy at Howard University, testified that companies that have recently replaced American workers with foreign nationals include Disney in Florida, Harley Davidson in Wisconsin, and Pfizer in Connecticut. “These companies bombard our system with H1-B applications, and whoever gets them, they’re sent over, no matter their skill level,” said Palmer. “I know. I watched it.”
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/415536/whistleblower-ive-seen-american-workers-forced-train-their-own-foreign-replacements
VIDEO: Laid-off American worker makes impassioned case against low-cost foreign workers
“An emotional Jay Palmer, a laid off technology worker, explained to the Senate Judiciary Committee the hardships of being replaced in the workforce by lower-cost foreign employees. “I am the displaced American worker that cant speak out,” said Mr. Palmer. “The employee that my company chose not to invest in – but in order to replace me with cheaper labor. Cheaper labor that I had to train – train to do my job I learned how to do over the past 15 or 20 years.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/17/laid-american-worker-makes-impassioned-case-agains/
Senate panel focuses on use of high-tech visas
“The new Senate Republican majority kicked off its work on immigration Tuesday by opposing efforts to increase the number of visas for high-skilled foreign workers. Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who oversee Senate immigration legislation in the 114th Congress, said during a committee hearing that the H-1B visa program depresses wages for U.S. workers and moves them out of good jobs. Grassley chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sessions heads its immigration subcommittee. They teamed up Tuesday to challenge bipartisan legislation, championed by the technology industry, that would raise the cap on H-1B visas from 65,000 to 115,000. “Yes, bringing in talent to America is a good thing, but we have no obligation to yield to the lust of big businesses,” said Sessions. “And these big businesses — the new ones in the high-tech world — are the same moguls that used to run the oil and steel industry. They all want more profits and lower pay for workers. That’s just what they do.” H-1B visas are temporary work permits for foreigners — known collectively as STEM graduates — with college degrees in science, technology, engineering or math. High-tech companies say the visas are critical to attracting the world’s best talent. Many STEM graduates become job-creating entrepreneurs themselves.”
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/17/senate-panel-focuses-on-use-of-high-tech-visas/24893589/
EXPERT TELLS SENATORS MASSIVELY INCREASING H-1B GUEST-WORKER VISAS WOULD SEND MESSAGE TO AMERICANS: ‘YOUR JOB IS UP FOR GRABS’ BY FOREIGNERS
“At Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on H-1B guest-worker visas, one of the country’s leading experts on the high-tech guest-worker program said that with proposed legislation like the Senate’s “I-Squared” bill that would triple the number of guest-worker visas, Congress’s message to any American worker making more than $60,000 year is: “your job is up for grabs.” Howard University Public Policy Professor Ron Hira made those remarks after referencing the $60,000 wage floor for H-1B workers and saying that it was a myth that companies pay guest-workers prevailing wages and actively look first for Americans to fill jobs that are eventually given to H-1B guest-workers who are no better qualified or specialized than the American workers they are replacing. Rutgers University Public Policy Professor Hal Salzman mentioned that the Senate’s “I-Squared” bill would allow 180,000 H-1b visas a year even though industry lobbyists said the tech industry needed 120,000. What that means, according to Salzman, is that it would proved the industry “enough guest-workers with 50% left in reserve,” which would allow the tech industry to essentially fill all new job openings with guest-workers with enough visas leftover to replace more American workers. “In sum, current policies and the proposed changes in high skill guest-worker visas and immigration policies that increase the supply of guest-workers are likely to accelerate the already deteriorating labor force conditions and career prospects for STEM graduates and workers,” he testified. Hira said that Southern California Edison’s abuse of the H-1B program “is flagrant but isn’t an isolated case.” He mentioned documented cases of Disney in Florida, Cargill in Minnesota, Harley Davidson in Wisconsin, Pfizer in Connecticut, and Xerox in Rochester all having gamed the H-1B program to displace American workers. Jay Palmer, the Infosys whistleblower who eventually lost his job for exposing the company’s H-1B abuses, told lawmakers that he wanted to be the face of the displaced American worker and explained to Senators that Infosys brought in guest-workers who were not better qualified than the Americans who trained them before being replaced. “I’m here today to talk a little bit about who can’t be here today and talk,” Palmer movingly said. “I am the displaced American worker who can’t speak out due to being harassed, blackballed or possibly sued… the one who was forced to sign a non-disparaging remarks agreement in order get a severance package.”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/03/17/expert-tells-senators-massively-increasing-h-1b-guest-worker-visas-would-send-message-to-americans-your-job-is-up-for-grabs-by-foreigners/
The Big, Fat “American Worker Recruitment First” Lie of H-1B
“You’ve heard it from Big Government lobbyists. You’ve heard it from Big Business lackeys in both political parties. And you’ve heard it from journalists, pundits and think-tankers ad nauseam: The H-1B foreign guest worker program, they claim, requires American employers to first show that they searched for and tried to recruit American workers before tapping an ever-growing government-rigged pipeline of cheap foreign workers. The foot soldiers of the open-borders brigade are lying, deluded, ignorant or bought-off. On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee brought top independent academics and informed whistleblowers to Washington to expose the truth. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, hosted Howard University associate professor of public policy Ron Hira, Rutgers University professor Hal Salzman, Infosys whistleblower Jay Palmer and former computer programmer-turned-lawyer John Miano, who brought much-needed reality checks on the systemic betrayal of American workers to the Beltway table. Miano’s testimony was particularly important because he explained how the little known “OPT” (Optical Training Program) for foreign students is being used to circumvent H-1B and supply large corporations with cheap foreign labor. President Obama has expanded this regulatory program by unfettered administrative fiat. As Miano noted: “OPT has no labor protections of any kind. Aliens on OPT do not even have to be paid at all. While DHS requires aliens to work in an area related to their major area of study, DHS has no ability to ensure that this happens. Under OPT, over 125,000 foreign workers a year are simply turned loose in America with no supervision or restrictions.” Also on hand at the hearing: a few Big Tech shills toeing the Zuckerberg/Gates/Chamber of Commerce line that there’s a catastrophic American tech worker shortage, even as thousands upon thousands of American workers are being laid off in favor of underpaid, easily exploited H-1Bs. (Just use H-1B-promoter Google’s search engine and type in “Southern California Edison” and “layoffs.”) Grassley put it plainly: “Most people believe that employers are supposed to recruit Americans before they petition for an H-1B worker. Yet, under the law, most employers are not required to prove to the Department of Labor that they tried to find an American to fill the job first.” He added, “And, if there is an equally or even better qualified U.S. worker available, the company does not have to offer him or her the job. Over the years, the program has become a government-assisted way for employers to bring in cheaper foreign labor, and now it appears these foreign workers take over — rather than complement — the U.S. workforce.” Hira affirmed: “It’s absolutely not true” that employers seeking H-1Bs must put American workers first, either by “law or regulations.” How did this myth gain such traction? Many commentators and journalists confuse the labor certification process required for companies applying to obtain green cards (lawful permanent residency status) for H-1B workers with the Labor Condition Application (LCA) process for H-1Bs. Labor certification in the green card process “exists to protect U.S. workers and the U.S. labor market by ensuring that foreign workers seeking immigrant visa classifications are not displacing equally qualified U.S. workers.” Only in extremely narrow and exceptional circumstances do these nominal protections exist in the H-1B LCA process. (Companies must be classified as “H-1B dependent” for the requirements to apply. Big Tech giants like Facebook have been lobbying mightily to avoid the classification.) And even those narrow exceptions are easily and often circumvented by H-1B foreign worker traffickers….”
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/03/18/the_big_fat_american_worker_recruitment_first_lie_of_h-1b_125965.html
SESSIONS: ‘PEOPLE AREN’T COMMODITIES’
“In a statement given before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) lamented that businesses are seeking to advance the immigration debate by making arguments in favor of increased foreign labor. According to Sessions, proponents of certain immigration measures are treating people as commodities, which he argues isn’t in the interest of American workers. “People aren’t commodities. We compare labor to commodities, but they’re not commodities. They’re human beings. They have families. They have hopes and dreams. They want stability in their life. They would like to have a good job at a company like the biggest utility in California—California Edison [where hundreds of Americans were laid off and replaced with guest workers]… We have no obligation to yield to the lust of big businesses… Mr. Zuckerberg is worth $27 billion, I guess he is 27 years old, I’m not sure. So he wants more foreign workers. I would like to think he might want to pay his employees more and maybe not have quite so many billions, if he’d like to be helpful, and maybe he could get more local workers.”
http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/03/17/sessions-people-arent-commodities/
ROBERT RECTOR ESTIMATES LIFETIME RETIREMENT COSTS OF ILLEGALS GRANTED EXECUTIVE AMNESTY AT $1.3 TRILLION
“The lifetime costs of Social Security and Medicare benefits of illegal immigrant beneficiaries of President Obama’s executive amnesty would be well over a trillion dollars, according to Heritage Foundation expert Robert Rector’s prepared testimony for a House panel obtained in advance by Breitbart News. Rector, a senior research fellow at Heritage, is slated to speak on the costs of Obama’s executive amnesty Tuesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He will testify to the high entitlement costs of granting legal status to millions of illegal immigrants. Based on Rector’s calculations, which assume that at least 3.97 illegal immigrants would apply for and receive legal status under Deferred Action for Parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents (DAPA), and that the average DAPA beneficiary would have a 10th grade education, the costs would be immense. Specifically, in 2010 dollars, the lifetime costs of Social Security benefits to DAPA beneficiaries would be about $1.3 trillion. He further estimates that DAPA recipients would $7.8 billion each year once they have access to the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). Further, the retroactive costs of the EITC and ACTC— current IRS policy will allow amnesty recipients to claim up to three years of tax benefits for illegal work — Rector expects to be as high as $23.5 billion. The Heritage expert notes that DAPA eligible families are already able to claim certain welfare benefits — such as food stamps, Medicaid, and Women, Infants and Children program (WIC) — on behalf of their U.S.-born children…”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/03/17/robert-rector-estimates-lifetime-retirement-costs-of-illegals-granted-executive-amnesty-at-1-3-trillion/
BORDER PATROL AGENT: WE ARE PUNISHED FOR REPORTING ILLEGAL ALIEN GROUPS OF MORE THAN 20
“A U.S. Border Patrol agent from the Rio Grande Valley Sector in Texas told lawmakers today that his fellow agents are punished for reporting illegal alien groups of more than 20. “Agents who repeatedly report groups larger than 20 face retribution. Management will either take them out of the field and assign them to processing detainees at the station or assign them to a fixed position in low volume areas as punishment,” Border Patrol agent Chris Cabrera told a Senate panel. “Needless to say Agents got the message and now stay below this 20 person threshold no matter the actual size of the group.” Cabrera is the vice president of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) Local 3307, a union for border agents. He testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on behalf of NBPC. The border agent told lawmakers that the Obama administration is misleading the American people by manipulating border security data. Cabrera also told lawmakers that the 6 out of every 10 illegal aliens who attempt to cross the southwest border into the United States are not apprehended. “Ask any line Agent in the field and he or she will tell you that at best we apprehend 35-40% of the illegal immigrants attempting to cross. This number is even lower for drug smugglers who are much more adept at eluding capture,” he said. U.S. Border Patrol is a component of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency. CBP operates under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). “If you ask this question of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or senior management at Customs and Border Protection (CBP), they will tell you the border is secure,” testified Cabrera. “They may even point to statistics and metrics showing that the Border Patrol is 75% effective in apprehending illegal immigrants and drug smugglers.” “I want to be crystal clear – the border is not secure,” he continued….”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/03/17/border-patrol-agent-we-are-punished-for-reporting-illegal-alien-groups-of-more-than-20/
Chuck Schumer: It’s “St. Patrick’s Month,” Celebrate With “McCain-Schumer” Immigration Bill
“Sen. Chuck Schumer celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with a few rounds of beers and a promise to get immigration reform passed by 2017.
CHUCK SCHUMER (D-New York): And that is true of immigrants in general — I think immigrants are great for this country. The Irish were among the first large groups.
QUESTION: So talk to me about this immigration reform battle that is happening right now. What do you say to John Boehner?
CHUCK SCHUMER: I say to John Boehner, if you love America you are going to want to pass our bill. It is bipartisan: McCain-Schumer. One republican, one democrat. It has got great support.
QUESTION: Do you think the reform bill is ever going to happen?
CHUCK SCHUMER: Oh yeah. If not this year, in 2017…”
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/03/17/chuck_schumer_its_st_patricks_month_celebrate_with_mccain-schumer_immigration_bill.html
GOP divided on immigration changes
“A bipartisan Senate bill aiming to increase the number of high-skilled visas doled out by the federal government is running up against Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). During a hearing Tuesday, Grassley made it clear that he believes the bill sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), which has high-profile co-sponsors including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), “only makes the problem worse.” “It doesn’t close the loopholes or prevent abuse. It doesn’t make sure that American workers are put before foreign workers,” Grassley said, adding that the system was originally meant to be complementary. “It only increases the supply of cheaper foreign labor.” Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), one of the most vocal opponents of comprehensive immigration reform, also said the visa program is being abused to a “huge degree.” The technology industry has a large stake in the battle and has supported an increase in the cap. The majority of those high-skilled visas — known as H-1B visas — go to people working in the computer industry. “It’s a false choice that we can’t protect American workers and create a better system that allows American companies to get access to the best talent in the world,” said Todd Schulte in a statement, the president of FWD.us, an immigration advocacy group founded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Nine senators have sponsored Hatch’s bill, which would raise the cap on H-1B visas from 65,000 to 115,000 and allow that number to increase based on the economic climate. While not a co-sponsor, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said he is encouraged by the proposal and said sending foreign students home after graduation “strikes me as foolish.” “I thought that we agreed that legal immigration is a good thing,” he said, noting that he supported cracking down on abuse. But Grassley is pushing his own changes. He specifically wants language that would require U.S. companies to try and recruit American workers before using the visa program. He also wants more oversight and random audits of companies who use the program. “I find it ironic, thought, that the same folks who fought the immigration reform last Congress are now arguing that our immigrant laws, particularly, as they relate to high-skilled workers are broken and encourage abuse,” Hatch said. “You can’t have it both ways.” He also wants to close loopholes, highlighted by a California electric company…”
http://thehill.com/policy/technology/235948-gop-divided-on-high-skilled-immigration-changes
Immigration Reform Unlikely To Move In Foreseeable Future; Administration Appeals Federal Judge Injunction Blocking Executive Actions On Immigration
http://www.natlawreview.com/article/immigration-reform-unlikely-to-move-foreseeable-future-administration-appeals-federa
Please Explain 100,000 Deferrals for Illegal Aliens
Did DOJ and DHS lawyers lie to Judge Hanen?
“There has been a flurry of procedural developments in the