TEA PARTY PATRIOTS:
Marco Rubio and the Three-Strikes Theory of Politics
“…In the past year or so, Rubio has been trying to regain the trust of his party’s hard-liners, saying that nobody has an automatic right to immigrate to the United States and stressing that improving border security should be the first priority. He’s had some success in this enterprise. “I think that Sen. Rubio has done something that most politicians don’t do,” Jenny Beth Martin, the president and co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots group, told Politico. “He evaluated what went wrong … [and] is working to make sure he doesn’t make the same mistakes again. I think that neutralizes his mistakes.”…”
http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/marco-rubio-and-the-three-strikes-theory-of-politics
Marco Rubio Announces 2016 Presidential Run [Social Media Reaction] – Supporters, Pundits Chime In
“…From Doral, Florida Mayor Luigi Boria to auto tycoon Norman Braman, Republican supports quickly praised Rubio for entering the race…even if they didn’t give full endorsements. Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin said she was pleased Rubio announced his candidacy, adding that the Patriots will be “watching and listening” to other potential nominees “lead the fight for personal liberty.”…”
http://www.latinospost.com/articles/58783/20150414/marco-rubio-announces-2016-presidential-run-social-media-reaction-–-supporters-pundits-chime-in.htm
Politico: Immigration Stance Could Hamper Rubio’s Chances
“…At the same time, the issue might not be a deal-breaker with GOP voters, particularly because he has since distanced himself from the reform proposals after they failed to gain traction in Congress. “I think that Sen. Rubio has done something that most politicians don’t do: he evaluated what went wrong … [and] is working to make sure he doesn’t make the same mistakes again. I think that neutralizes his mistakes,” Jenny Beth Martin, president and co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, told Politico…”
http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/Marco-Rubio-immigration-conservatives/2015/04/14/id/638351/
HEALTHCARE:
The Individual Mandate Has Made Tax Day Even More Miserable for the Poor
“Perversely, Obamacare’s tax penalty is disproportionately harming those the bill was supposed to help. This tax-filing season marks one of the largest tax hikes on the poor in more than 20 years, thanks to the Affordable Care Act signed into law five years ago. Through the law’s individual mandate, every U.S. person filing a tax return with the IRS is required to check a new box on their tax filings, attesting to whether or not they have health-insurance coverage, answering truthfully under the penalty of perjury. Beginning this year, anyone without health insurance, regardless of their reasons, potentially faces a sizeable increase in their tax burden. More specifically, households that did not have health insurance in 2014 are required to pay the maximum of either 1 percent of their household income or the sum of $95 per uninsured adult and $47.50 per child under 18. According to a recent analysis from H&R Block using data from this tax season, the average tax penalty for not having insurance has been $172, an indication that most taxpayers are paying more than the flat fee of $95 per uncovered adult. Next year those tax penalties will soar even further, as households that do not have coverage will be required to pay the maximum of either 2 percent of household income or the sum of $325 per uninsured adult and $162.50 per child under 18. Up to 6 million individuals, or 4 percent of tax filers, are estimated to have paid the fine this tax season for not having carried insurance in 2014, according to Treasury Department estimates released earlier this year….”
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/416970/individual-mandate-has-made-tax-day-even-more-miserable-poor-jon-hartley
IRS Commissioner: Obamacare Contributes to Longer Wait Times for Tax Help
“Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen told members of Congress Wednesday that taxpayers who call the IRS seeking help on their taxes this year face an average wait time of half an hour, and only about 40 percent of calls are actually answered. The situation, which Koskinen admitted is “abysmal,” is partly due to the agency’s forced role in implementing President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act (ACA), or Obamacare, he explained. “At this point, when you get through – if you get through – it on average would have taken you about 28 to 30 minutes,” Koskinen told members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Wednesday. “About 60 percent of the calls this year are not going through,” he continued. “And that then increases and exacerbates the problem, because when people don’t get through, we’ve had over 6 million…the phone industry calls them ‘courtesy disconnects.’ They’re basically when the system gets overloaded and we know you’re gonna be there too long, you will just simply get disconnected. “So you aggravate the problem, because what happens is people have to call back, so on average a lot of people are calling two, three or four times just to get into that queue to wait for the half hour,” Koskinen explained. IRS employees have also been instructed to only answer “simple questions,” because complex ones will clog up the line of people waiting on hold, he added. In the past, Koskinen has blamed the IRS’s inability to answer taxpayers’ calls on recent budget cuts. The agency’s budget has been cut by $1.2 billion since 2010, according to the Associated Press. But during the hearing, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) pointed out that the IRS has reallocated millions of dollars from taxpayer services to fund the agency’s role in implementing Obamacare, also contributing to the poor customer service…”
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/brittany-m-hughes/irs-commissioner-obamacare-contributes-longer-wait-times-tax-help
Happy tax day: Obamacare is making your filing even more complex
“Some shocking figures from the National Taxpayer Union on what complying with Obamacare tax regs is costing us. This year’s new analysis of tax complexity from National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF) found some startling lead figures: a $234 billion cost to the economy due to 6.1 billion lost hours of productivity and $32 billion spent out-of-pocket to comply with America’s insanely complicated tax system. As always, there is much more to the story. Since 2010, tax complexity costs have remained sky-high, at well over $200 billion each year. From fiscal year 2005 to 2013, the Treasury’s paperwork burden rose from 6.4 billion hours to 7 billion hours never making up less than 74 percent of the burden imposed by all government agencies combined. While last year’s (covering 2013) totals actually trended downward compared to the previous year (2012), there was little reason to believe that was the beginning of a trend toward continued relief. In fact, given the burdens that Obamacare was/and is continuing to add, and to a lesser extent those from the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), there was good reason to think last year was an anomaly. NTUF’s latest study clearly shows that to be the case, as the cost of complexity has spiked upward since last year’s analysis by nearly $10 billion. What does that mean for the future? Looking deeper at NTUF’s research, there is one big reason to think this could be the beginning of a trend in the wrong direction: 3,322 pages of legal guidance for Obamacare (or the ACA) added to IRS.gov (1,077 pages of regulations, 1,377 pages of Treasury decisions, 669 notices, 100 revenue procedures, and 12 revenue rulings). Essentially, Obamacare is coming home to roost. So far, while it certainly contributed to rising complexity over the last tax year, Obamacare has not drastically increased costs under NTUF’s metrics. Yet, it is inflicting new burdens on taxpayers, and this is bound to increase the burdens of tax complexity more than what has already been observed. Fortunately for most taxpayers, all they have to do is check a box on their return to show their insurance meets Obamacare mandates. But for millions of taxpayers, a complicated formula is used to calculate how much a taxpayer might owe if he didn’t have the right insurance for either part or all of last year. Most taxpayers could save a lot of money if they itemized. But the bewildering rules on what and how much you can deduct uusually discourage people from going that route. And that’s a feature – not a bug…”
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/04/happy_tax_day_obamacare_is_making_your_filing_even_more_complex.html
VIDEO: 2 ObamaCare Critics Tell Their IRS Horror Stories
“With tax day upon us, an Emmy-winning television show has aired a timely reminder of the horrors that can be inflicted on regular citizens when the IRS attacks. A recent episode of “Facing Life Head-On” features two ObamaCare critics telling their shocking story about being targeted by the IRS. “This should take care of you doing public interviews,” an IRS agent allegedly told one of the critics after he went public about getting dropped from his plan in the Fall of 2013. Entitled “The Victims of ObamaCare,” the show explored how Obamacare is negatively impacting America’s standard of medical care and featured ObamaCare victim Bill Elliott and his health insurance broker, C. Steven Tucker, both of whom, ended up victims of IRS targeting that November. In fact – they received their audit letters on the same day. Elliott, a South Carolinian who voted for Obama in 2008, had his health insurance policy canceled while he was in middle of cancer treatment, and had given up all hope of recovering because a new insurance plan under Obamacare was too expensive. Tucker, an insurance broker from Chicago, decided to get involved after watching Elliott tell his sad tale on the Megyn Kelly Show. He informed Elliott that it was illegal for his insurer to cancel his policy under section 2742 of 1996 HIPAA law. Elliott contacted SC Governor Nikki Haley, and together they faxed over the HIPAA clause to his insurance company and his policy was restored the very next day. After going public with his story, Bill got a letter from the IRS informing him that he would be audited for his 2009 tax return. But as Elliot notes in the documentary, in 2009 he worked for the government, so he already had security clearance and his finances had been checked out. According to Elliott, the IRS “hounded” him, sending two guys to his house “in a black car” where they proceeded to intimidate him. “This should take care of you doing public interviews,” one of the agents allegedly said. It turned out that the audit was from a settlement that shouldn’t have been taxed in the first place. After his tax issue was straightened out with the help of SC Senator Kay Hagan, he was sent another certified letter with a single sentence: “Your 2009 audit has been rescinded.” No apology or explanation from the IRS ensued…”
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/04/15/two-obamacare-critics-tell-their-irs-horror-stories/
Health insurance changes affecting free medical clinics
“The KennyBurkett Clinic of Lagrange is closing because the founder says there’s no longer enough need for free healthcare services within the community. That’s because the Affordable Care Act and Healthy Indiana Plan, otherwise known as HIP 2.0, provide free and low-cost medical insurance to many across the state. However, the programs aren’t helping many of the patients of Matthew 25, Fort Wayne’s free medical clinic. “We’ve been tracking it fairly closely here at the clinic,” said Matthew 25 Health and Dental Clinic CEO Mark Dixon. “On average we see about 40 patients a day on the medical side. Statistically, over the last 15 days we’ve seen about two people a day that have qualified for either HIP 2.0, the Indiana program, or the Affordable Care Act.” Despite the Affordable Care Act Matthew 25 served five percent more patients in 2014 and saw its biggest month this March. Matthew 25 also provides dental services and most government subsidized insurance covers little or no dental care. The agency’s medical director said there are a number of reasons their patients aren’t signing up for federal or state programs. “There are barriers that prevent folks from signing up, even if they might otherwise qualify,” said Dr. Brad Isbister, Medical Director for Matthew 25. “That can be language and literacy barriers, homelessness and the lack of an address, or contact point can make it very difficult. Mental illness, you can imagine, would make it difficult for people to follow through with these things. And then there’s a large group of non-citizens.” Kevin Shane, who was born in Jamaica and became a citizen by marriage, said he struggles to understand U.S. health coverage options. “It’s a hard process for a foreigner,” he admitted…”
http://wane.com/2015/04/14/affordable-care-act-isnt-helping-matthew-25-patients/
Obamacare Sign-Up Stats
“The Marketplace – The White House has said that “about 11.4 million Americans are signed up for private health coverage” through Obamacare’s insurance exchanges. But once you unravel the spin, what the latest numbers show is that the pace of enrollment has slowed down by more than half. If previous trends hold, Obamacare exchanges have enrolled roughly 5 million previously uninsured people…”
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/fefi45edjmj/the-marketplace/
ObamaCare’s Financial Crisis Is Fast Approaching
“Earlier this month, the Obama administration reversed course on spending cuts to the popular Medicare Advantage program. Instead of a nearly 1% cut in payments, private health insurers that offer Advantage plans to seniors would get a 1.25% boost. The turnabout hardly made news, which isn’t surprising since it was the third year in a row that the administration said it was planning to cut payments only to reverse course. It is, however, emblematic of the fiscal trouble ObamaCare has planted in the federal budget. When ObamaCare was being debated, opponents said it relied on unsustainable spending cuts in Medicare, tax hikes that wouldn’t work as expected, and other political land mines designed only so President Obama could claim when he signed the law in 2010 that: “It is paid for. It is fiscally responsible.” Recent events are proving opponents right. Nearly half of ObamaCare’s costs, for example, are supposed to be “paid for” by spending cuts to Medicare, including $136 billion from Medicare Advantage in the first 10 years. But since the law took effect, the administration has tried to minimize the cuts to the increasingly popular Advantage program, which lets seniors choose from a wide range of subsidized private plans, and now accounts for a third of Medicare enrollees. Medicare’s Third Rail The administration effectively canceled the first two years’ Medicare Advantage cuts with $8 billion in bonuses paid out as part of a “demonstration project” widely derided as phony. It also delayed rules changes that would have led to further cuts. “I think that CMS really racked their brains to see where rate relief could be implemented, because they know seniors love the program and enrollment has been robust,” Ipsita Smolinski, founder of consultancy Capitol Street, told the Morning Consult. The other big chunk of Medicare savings — nearly $200 billion — is supposed to come from payment cuts to doctors and hospitals. But when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ chief actuarylooked at this provision, he said such cuts were “unsustainable” because 15% of Medicare Part A providers would operate in the red by 2018.
By 2040, “half of hospitals, two-thirds of skilled nursing facilities, and 90% of home health agencies” would be losing money. Congress just permanently repealed a payment cut plan for Medicare doctors, which Congress had repeatedly delayed since it was enacted in 1997…”
http://news.investors.com/politics-obamacare/041515-747986-obamacare-taxes-and-spending-cuts-arent-working.htm
IRS chief: No backup plan if ObamaCare tax subsidies struck down
“The head of the Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday that his agency does “not spend any time thinking” about whether the Supreme Court could strike down ObamaCare tax subsidies for millions of people this summer. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told a Senate subcommittee that he is doing not preparation for the high stakes case, King v. Burwell. That responsibility, he said, rests with the White House, Congress and the states. “We basically play the hand we’re dealt. The court will make a decision and then we will respond,” Koskinen said at a panel on the agency’s challenges in implementing the Affordable Care Act. “At this point, we have enough challenges running the filing season,” he added. Koskinen said there is “no way” that the agency can predict how the court will decide on King v. Burwell this June, and therefore “we don’t spend any time thinking about it.”…”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/238965-irs-official-no-plans-for-obamacare-court-case
Has Obamacare Turned Voters Against Sharing the Wealth?
“With the advent of the Affordable Care Act, the share of Americans convinced that health care is a right shrank from a majority to a minority. This shift in public opinion is a major victory for the Republican Party. It is part of a larger trend: a steady decline in support for redistributive government policies. Emmanuel Saez, an economics professor at Berkeley and one of the nation’s premier experts on inequality, is a co-author of a study that confirms this trend, which has been developing over the last four decades. A separate study, “The Structure of Inequality and Americans’ Attitudes Toward Redistribution,” found that as inequality increases, so does ideological conservatism in the electorate. The erosion of the belief in health care as a government-protected right is perhaps the most dramatic reflection of these trends. In 2006, by a margin of more than two to one, 69-28, those surveyed by Gallup said that the federal government should guarantee health care coverage for all citizens of the United States. By late 2014, however, Gallup found that this percentage had fallen 24 points to 45 percent, while the percentage of respondents who said health care is not a federal responsibility nearly doubled to 52 percent. Robert Blendon, a professor of health policy and political analysis at Harvard’s School of Public Health, wrote in an email that the character of the debate over health care began to change during the 2008 campaign. Before that, according to Blendon, the major issue was the moral principle of providing care for the poor. In the context of the presidential campaign, however, the public focus shifted: Critics started raising concerns about the cost of these plans — higher taxes and premiums for those with coverage, more government interference in physician choices, and of course the potential of abortion coverage. People with coverage [83.7 percent of the population in 2010] became concerned about the implications for middle income people with these universal plans. The altered public mood is especially relevant because the Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling later this year in King v. Burwell, a case that challenges the legality of the Affordable Care Act. If the court rules against the A.C.A., public and private health care delivery would be disrupted, to put it mildly. Congressional Republicans are already working on replacement proposals that would, among other things, limit coverage for the poor. The liberal Urban Institute has analyzed the potential consequences of a court ruling against the Affordable Care Act: the number of uninsured people in the 34 states that have chosen not to open their own exchanges would, according to the institute, increase by 8.2 million; $28.8 billion in tax credits and other benefits would be eliminated for 9.3 million people in 2016 alone; and “the number of people obtaining insurance through the private non-group markets in these states would fall by 69 percent, from 14.2 million to 4.5 million,” as a relatively healthy, younger population loses federal subsidies and drops insurance coverage. With the loss of healthier customers, insurance companies would be forced to raise premiums for their remaining clientele by 35 percent, from an annual average of $4,130 to $5,590, according to the institute’s study…”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/15/opinion/has-obamacare-turned-voters-against-sharing-the-wealth.html?_r=0
In Praising ObamaCare, They Bury It
The law’s cheerleaders tend to cite two main accomplishments. Both of them are irrelevant.
“In the five years since the passage of ObamaCare, the battle over the law has not abated. One popular salvo is the supposedly objective “let’s just see how it is working” analysis carried out by the law’s supporters. There are two tricks common to this line of reasoning. The first is to note triumphantly how health-care coverage has increased in five years. President Obama said in his March 25 speech marking the law’s anniversary that “we know beyond a shred of a doubt that the policy has worked,” adding that “coverage is…”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-praising-obamacare-they-bury-it-1429137478?mod=rss_opinion_main
SEN. PERDUE: NATIONAL DEBT-INCREASING ‘DOC FIX’ PAID FOR WITH ‘OUTRAGEOUS LEVELS’ OF BORROWING
“Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) voted Tuesday night against the so-called “Doc Fix” bill that raises the national debt by nearly $200 billion. That makes him one of only eight Republicans to vote for limited government and fiscal conservatism. “We have got to stop borrowing at these outrageous levels to meet our federal priorities. Meeting the needs of our seniors, doctors, and rural health centers is a priority, but we need to find the money within the budget process, and put together a responsible way to pay for these priorities, not use more borrowed money that adds to our long-term debt,” Perdue said in a statement his office provided to Breitbart News. Perdue had voted against an amendment earlier in the process from Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) that would have offset the spending increases in the bill with spending cuts, but his office says the reason why he voted against Lee’s amendment was not the same reason several more establishment-leaning Republicans including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell voted against the Lee amendment. Perdue’s team told Breitbart News that the reason he opposed the Lee amendment is because he took it to mean that it didn’t specify where the cuts to offset the spending increase would come from and would arbitrary across-the-board cuts, as sequestration was. Perdue did vote later in the evening for a measure put forward by join Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to keep Congress within the restrictions of the Budget Control Act. That measure failed because McConnell and several establishment Republicans joined all the Democrats in killing it. The final “Doc Fix” bill busted through the Budget Control Act spending caps, effectively resulting in the biggest Republican-led increase to the national debt since George W. Bush was president.”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/04/15/sen-perdue-national-debt-increasing-doc-fix-paid-for-with-outrageous-levels-of-borrowing/
Despite ‘doc fix,’ some doctors still face cuts
“Some Medicare doctors will still face a temporary 21 percent hit to their pay this month, even after Congress met the government’s Wednesday deadline to stave off the cuts. The Senate held a late-night session on Tuesday to finalize the repeal of Medicare’s flawed payment formula known as the “doc fix,” which cuts doctors’ reimbursement rates every year unless Congress takes action. The bill passed just before 10 p.m., which Senate leadership said would be just enough to halt the payment cuts. But the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) wrote in a notice to providers on Wednesday that “a small volume of claims” will be paid using the reduced rate…”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/238975-some-doctors-will-still-face-payment-cuts-after-doc-fix-bill
Watchdog finds more delays for veterans in Philadelphia VA office
“In another black mark for the beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs, a watchdog reported Wednesday that the agency’s Philadelphia office forces thousands of veterans to wait nearly a year for answers on claims, loses their mail and falsifies dates on benefits claims. The VA’s pension management center in Philadelphia took an average of 312 days to respond to more than 31,000 inquiries from veterans and their families, the report from the VA Inspector General’s office found. The agency is required to respond to such inquiries within five days. “Inquiries were mismanaged, leaving questions from customers about benefits and services without answers or assistance,” said the report obtained by The Washington Times. Poor record-keeping in Philadelphia also created duplicate documents that resulted in at least $2.2 million in overpayments to beneficiaries, a mistake that came up in 23 percent of the cases examined by the IG. There’s also evidence that sloppy handling of documents resulted in veterans’ personal information being exposed. Investigators found “unprotected” documents containing veterans’ personal identity information in an office kitchen accessible to people who don’t work at the VA. The investigators couldn’t determine how long the documents were there. “Improper storage may have compromised the personal information of some veterans and employees,” the report said…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/15/watchdog-more-delays-veterans-philadelphia-va/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
House upset by VA’s entrenched culture of retaliation against whistleblowers
“When Christian Head testified before Congress last year in an effort “to improve the health care provided to our country’s heroes,” his bosses at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (GLAHS) were not pleased. Not long after returning to Los Angeles, the head and neck surgeon was moved from an office in the chief of staff’s suite to a former storage room two floors below — “a tiny, dirty, poorly furnished closet-sized” space with a cracked computer monitor, he told another House hearing Monday. Monday’s session demonstrated that VA’s entrenched culture of retaliation against whistleblowers endures, a year after revelations exploded over poor service and the covering up of long patient wait times. The retaliation continues despite the solid efforts of the current VA secretary, who replaced one driven out by the scandal. “The number of new whistleblower cases from VA employees remains overwhelming,” Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner told the House Veterans’ Affairs subcommittee hearing…”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/04/15/house-upset-by-vas-entrenched-culture-of-retaliation-against-whistleblowers/?wprss=rss_national
Congress to VA about Denver hospital: ‘How are we going to pay for it?’
“How is the Department of Veterans Affairs going to pay for it? That was just one of the woes tackled at a tense, nearly three-hour congressional hearing on Wednesday on the most expensive construction project in the VA’s history: a still uncompleted $1.7 billion hospital in suburban Denver, which a number of lawmakers again and again said was causing “bipartisan heartburn and angst.” Not only does the project need congressional approval for an additional $830 million in funding to avoid shutting down, but the medical center’s current design is still too small by about 550,000 gross square feet…”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/04/15/congress-to-va-about-denver-hospital-how-are-we-going-to-pay-for-it/?wprss=rss_national
VA chastised for hospital project’s ‘historic construction catastrophe’
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/va-chastised-for-hospital-projects-historic-construction-catastrophe/2015/04/15/79695502-e392-11e4-905f-cc896d379a32_story.html?wprss=rss_politics
VA employee says he was fired after warning of hospital cost
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/15/congress-looks-into-1-billion-overrun-at-denver-va/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
IMMIGRATION:
Obama amnesty granted more than 500K Social Security numbers
“The administration has granted about 541,000 Social Security numbers to illegal immigrants under President Obama’s original 2012 deportation amnesty for Dreamers, officials told Congress in a letter made public Wednesday. That means almost all of the illegal immigrants approved for the amnesty are being granted work permits and Social Security numbers, opening the door to government benefits ranging from tax credits to driver’s licenses. Social Security officials, in the April 10 letter to Sens. Jeff Sessions and Ben Sasse, said they don’t keep track of how many illegal immigrants have been denied numbers, and defended their process for granting the ones they have doled out. “We will not issue an SSN if an individual has insufficient or unacceptable documentation,” Social Security Commissioner Carolyn W. Colvin said in the letter. “In addition, we will not issue an SSN if [Homeland Security] is unable to verify the individual’s immigration/work authorization status.” Social Security numbers are considered one of the gatekeepers for being able to live and work in the U.S., and some experts have said granting them to illegal immigrants makes it easier for them to access rights reserved only for citizens, such as voting. But the Obama administration has ruled that the illegal immigrants it has approved for its temporary deportation amnesty, known as “deferred action,” are here legally for as long as the program exists, and so they are entitled to work permits and Social Security numbers…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/15/obama-amnesty-granted-more-500k-ssn/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
MORE THAN A HALF MILLION SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS ISSUED TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS GRANTED AMNESTY
“The Obama administration has issued more than half a million new Social Security Numbers (SSN) to illegal immigrants granted amnesty under President Obama’s Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals program. In a letter to Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Ben Sasse (R-NE), exclusively obtained by Breitbart News, the Social Security Administration (SSA) reveals that by the end of Fiscal Year 2014 the Obama administration “had issued approximately 541,000 original SSNs to individuals authorized to work under the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy since its inception” in 2012. The administration said it did not maintain a count of the number of individuals who applied but were denied an SSN. “We have longstanding, rigorous procedures for processing SSN requests. Under out stringent requirements, SSN applicants must present evidence of identity, age, and work-authorized immigration status,” SSA Acting Commissioner Carolyn Colvin wrote to Sessions and Sasse in response to their March 12 request. “As with all SSN applications, we review the evidence submitted for authenticity, and for non citizens, we also verify immigration and work authorization status directly with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) via an electronic process called the Systemic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program.” Colvin further noted that no SSNs had been granted under the Obama administration’s November 20, 2014 expansion of DACA and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) due to a federal district court judge’s preliminary injunction on those programs…”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/04/14/over-a-half-million-social-security-numbers-issued-to-illegal-immigrants-granted-amnesty/
Senators Ask Gov’t How Many Illegals Got Social Security — The Number Is Almost Unbelievable
“The Social Security Administration has told Congress that more than half a million illegal immigrants have received new Social Security numbers, under President Barack Obama’s 2012 executive action allowing younger immigrants to stay in the United States and work. Obama imposed his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals plan, also known as DACA, in 2012, and in doing so gave younger illegal immigrants legal protection and the ability to work. More than 600,000 immigrants have applied under the program, and in March, Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) asked how many of these immigrants also received Social Security numbers. At the time, they thought as many as 90,000 had received Social Security numbers, but Acting Social Security Administration Commissioner Carolyn Colvin said it was several multiples of that number. “By the end of fiscal year 2014, we had issued approximately 541,000 original SSNs to individuals authorized to work under the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy since its inception,” she wrote. Colvin said her agency did not have any data on how many immigrants might have applied for Social Security numbers who did not get one. Colvin said her agency has “rigorous procedures” for processing these requests, and that applicants must show proof of identity and the ability to work. “We will not issue an SSN if an individual has insufficient or unacceptable documentation,” she wrote. The two senators also asked how many illegal immigrants have received Social Security numbers under Obama’s more recent immigration action late last year. That action expanded DACA, and created a new program to let parents and legal guardians of legal residents stay in the country and work. But Colvin said the answer to that question is, “none,” because a federal court has shut down that program for now. “We would only issue SSNs to these individuals if DHS began to accept and adjudicate applications and grant work authorization and documentation evidencing such authorization,” she wrote.”…”
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/04/15/senators-ask-govt-how-many-illegals-got-social-security-the-number-is-almost-unbelievable/
U.S. TO ADMIT MORE LEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN DECADE THAN THE COMBINED POPULATION OF 7 MAJOR CITIES
“Unless Congress moves to limit current legal immigration rates, the U.S. will add at least 10 million more legal immigrants over the next decade — more than the combined populations of seven major cities, according to GOP staffers on the Senate’s Immigration subcommittee. A chart the committee released Monday reveals that the populations of Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Denver, St. Louis, and Dallas together would not equal the number of new immigrants set to be admitted over the coming ten years. The chairman of the subcommittee, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), has been arguing for a curb to current immigration levels. “What we need now is immigration moderation: slowing the pace of new arrivals so that wages can rise, welfare rolls can shrink and the forces of assimilation can knit us all more closely together,” Sessions wrote in an op-ed Thursday (emphasis his)….”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/04/13/u-s-to-admit-more-legal-immigrants-in-decade-than-the-combined-population-of-7-major-cities/
Republican wants to make Obama’s actions on immigration impeachable
“Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) has authored a resolution that seeks to define President Obama’s executive actions on immigration as impeachable offenses. The Yoho resolution defines impeachable “high crimes and misdemeanors” in a way that is clearly aimed at Obama’s actions to unilaterally delay deportations for certain illegal immigrants. Listed impeachable crimes in his resolution include “failing to take care that the laws be faithfully executed through signing statements or systematic policies of nonenforcement,” “misusing federal agencies to advance a partisan political agenda,” and “issuing executive orders or presidential memoranda that infringe upon or circumvent the constitutional powers of Congress.” But Yoho insisted that his proposal isn’t directly aimed at Obama. “Let me be clear, this resolution isn’t directed at any one president and doesn’t favor one party or the other. Essentially, it will put all presidents — current and future, both Democrat and Republican — on notice that Congress will finally begin holding them accountable,” Yoho said in a statement this week. The resolution would also establish “intentionally lying to Congress to obtain an authorization for war” and “intentionally lying under oath to a Federal judge or grand jury” as impeachable crimes. House GOP leaders have distanced themselves from talk of impeachment among hard-line conservatives. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) insisted last summer that impeachment is a “scam” perpetuated by Democrats to boost their fundraising. But some Republicans, notably 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and former Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.), have explicitly called for the president to be impeached. Yoho launched a long-shot bid for Speaker in January and accrued just two votes, including one from himself. The Florida Republican also authored a symbolic bill passed by the House in December to block the executive branch from deferring deportations of illegal immigrants…”
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/238920-gop-lawmaker-moves-toward-impeachment
White House expected to add steel spikes to fence
“The White House is expected to add half-inch steel spikes to its perimeter fence as a protective measure against potential jumpers, NBC Washington reports. The report says the spikes would be attached to the existing fence for at least a year, before a permanent fence is built. The National Parks Service is looking into that proposal, along with a permanent fix to either raise the height to 10 feet or to add a second interior fence, according to NBC, but the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and U.S. Capital Planning Commission must approve the final decisions. “I want to see those spikes to make sure they don’t look so foreboding that people who visit the White House will figure they shouldn’t be there,” Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) told NBC. Holmes Norton has repeatedly called for the fence to be raised and modified in the wake of a number of recent fence-jumpers. In the most serious case, one intruder made it inside the White House and into the East Room before an agent caught him. The NBC documents also show the agencies debated other options including a solid wall, a moat or an electric fence. All of those were rejected…”
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/239014-white-house-expected-to-add-steel-spikes-to-fence
The charts that explain why Mark Zuckerberg is lobbying for immigration reform in the US
“Silicon Valley has plenty of jobs, just not enough people to fill them. Recruiters spend a lot of time luring gainfully employed software engineers away from competitor companies—a tough task when they’re already accustomed to high salaries and perks that range from unlimited vacation to twice-monthly maid service. To solve this, tech companies are also aggressively recruiting new graduates and foreigners. But the latter path is particularly tricky under current US immigration laws. Organizations like fwd.us, the immigration reform lobby set up by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and others, are pressing the government to raise its existing cap on H1-B visas—the ones designated for highly skilled workers and those who have obtained a master’s degree or higher in the US. The chart below shows the growing demand for H1-B visas. For fiscal year 2016, 233,000 petitions were filed in the first five days for the 85,000 available visas, 35% more than in the same period the year before and a 2,100% jump from 2012. That’s more than before the financial crisis. Based on these numbers, it’s clear that Silicon Valley’s hiring crunch isn’t letting up anytime soon…”
http://qz.com/383673/the-charts-that-explain-why-mark-zuckerberg-is-lobbying-for-immigration-reform-in-the-us/
Certain immigrants could get ‘restricted’ NC driver permits
“People in North Carolina living unlawfully within the U.S. could obtain a driver’s permit if they go through several legal hoops in legislation that’s cleared one House committee. A judiciary panel voted Wednesday for a bill one of its sponsors says isn’t about immigration but rather law enforcement and public safety. Rep. Harry Warren of Salisbury says the bill will provide more data to police about more people who already are driving. The measure creates “restricted” driver’s permits and identification cards to people not lawfully present in the country. Applicants would undergo criminal background checks and provide fingerprints. The cards would be invalid to obtain public benefits or to register to vote. Opponents say the permit would only encourage more immigrants unlawfully in the country to come to North Carolina…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/15/certain-immigrants-could-get-restricted-nc-driver-/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Immigration Reform 2015: Loyola University Votes To Increase Fees To Support Undocumented Student Scholarship
http://www.ibtimes.com/immigration-reform-2015-loyola-university-votes-increase-fees-support-undocumented-1882924
Immigration Reform Activists Who Tried To Protect Immigrants From Deportation Found Guilty Of Obstruction Charges
http://www.ibtimes.com/immigration-reform-activists-who-tried-protect-immigrants-deportation-found-guilty-1882346
Carly Fiorina: Jeb Bush ‘dead wrong’ on Common Core, immigration
“Former Hewlett-Packard CEO and potential Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina on Tuesday blasted her likely contender, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, as a “big government Republican” who is “dead wrong” on issues like immigration reform and Common Core. “Jeb Bush is dead wrong on a couple issues,” Ms. Fiorina said Tuesday morning on Laura Ingraham’s radio show, The Daily Caller reported. “He’s dead wrong on comprehensive immigration reform. He’s dead wrong on Common Core. He’s dead wrong about government being too powerful. I think government is too powerful. I’m not sure he believes that.” “There’s no question that there are big government Republicans and there are big government Democrats,” she continued. “Jeb Bush’s record suggests that he is a big government Republican. I don’t tend to agree with Common Core — you and I have had this discussion before — his answer on Common Core is that, ‘Well it’s not intended to be a heavy-handed bureaucratic program. It’s intended to be a set of nationwide standards.’ Bureaucracies only know one way: It’s called heavy-handed. So if you get a federal bureaucracy, or in some cases even a state bureaucracy, involved in anything, it will become heavy-handed. That’s how we’ve gotten bigger and bigger government under both Republicans and Democrats.” “An establishment decision continues to feed the political class — that’s the story of the establishment. That’s the story of the political class. It’s a system of people who have worked within the system forever, and they’ve all been advantaged by the system,” Ms. Fiorina said. “Ours is intended to be a citizen government and citizens are not in the system, they’re in the grassroots, which is why winning this election is going to take both leadership and citizenship — real citizenship. Grassroots, bottom up.”…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/15/carly-fiorina-jeb-bush-dead-wrong-on-common-core-i/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Rubio reverses: As president, I’d end Obama’s executive amnesty for illegals
“A follow-up to yesterday’s mini-bombshell from Byron York about what Rubio said in 2013. Skip to 3:15 below. To be fair, he never told York categorically that he’d let Obama’s order stand if elected president. What he said was, “I cannot imagine a scenario where a future president is going to take away the status they’re going to get.” If you want to pretend that that’s meaningfully distinct from what Rubio would do as president himself, have at it. The best spin that can be put on this, I think, is that Rubio lied to York at the time because he wanted to put pressure on righties to support the Gang of Eight bill. In other words, he didn’t sincerely believe that O’s order would be irreversible by a GOP successor but he wanted conservatives to believe it so that they’d panic and decide to accept half a loaf on immigration in the form of the Senate immigration bill. That wouldn’t be the first time Rubio used Obama in a sort of good cop/bad cop routine to get amnesty passed. If it makes you feel better to think that he was lying to righties two years ago to try to scare them into supporting comprehensive immigration reform rather than lying to them now about what he’ll do as president, again, have at it. Here’s a more useful question than babbling about what Rubio really meant: How would a new Republican president, under tremendous pressure from the right to cancel O’s amnesty order and tremendous pressure from center-righties, Democrats, and Latinos to keep it intact, split the baby? The obvious solution, a la ObamaCare, is not merely to repeal but repeal and replace. Odds are very good that whoever ends up as GOP nominee, Ted Cruz included, will roll out an immigration plan early in the general election campaign that demands much stronger enforcement but also contemplates some form of legalization for illegals, including and especially those illegals who’ve already been covered by Obama’s most recent executive order. (The plan probably won’t allow a path to citizenship in the interest of keeping conservatives happy, but that’s a detail. Once legalization happens, citizenship will follow down the road inevitably.) That would allow the nominee to promise, truthfully, that ending Obama’s amnesty is a priority for him when he takes office while also placating amnesty fans by giving them a statutory route to keeping the basics of O’s plan in place. Righties will grumble, but if there’s ever a moment when they’d be willing to forgive some heresy on immigration, it’s as a pander to swing voters in the thick of a presidential race where Hillary Clinton stands to benefit if they revolt. That’s what Rubio’s counting on. I’d say it’s a smart bet…”
http://hotair.com/archives/2015/04/15/rubio-reverses-as-president-id-end-obamas-executive-amnesty-for-illegals/
Yes, Immigration Will Hurt Rubio In Primaries
“Out with the old conventional wisdom, in with the new. Now that Marco Rubio is an announced presidential candidate, we’re starting to hear how his immigration stance won’t be a deal-breaker for conservatives. Although Rubio has since distanced himself from comprehensive immigration reform, he backed the Gang of Eight deal that was widely viewed as an amnesty. Why? Because the bill would have granted legal status to the vast majority of illegal immigrants in the United States. Jonathan Bernstein argues Rubio can get past misgivings about amnesty: “[G]o back to Mitt Romney’s experience in 2012, when many thought he had no chance of getting the Republican nomination because of his approval of a Massachusetts health-care law that was compared to Obamacare.” As long as Rubio plays the “us versus them” partisan politics correctly, Bernstein argues, the details of his immigration policy won’t matter much to rank-and-file Republican voters…”
http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/15/yes-immigration-will-hurt-rubio-in-primaries/
DNC Head: Marco Rubio Wants Latinos To ‘Go Back Where You Came From’ [VIDEO]
http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/15/dnc-head-marco-rubio-wants-latinos-to-go-back-where-you-came-from-video/
Christie: N.J. legal action against immigration amnesty plan his ‘message’ to Obama
“Gov. Chris Christie said on Wednesday that he was sending a message to President Obama when he quietly threw his support behind Texas and other states suing the federal government over the president’s amnesty program for unauthorized immigrants. Christie, speaking to reporters in New Hampshire, said Obama’s handling of immigration reform has been “wrong” and that he took to the courts to tell the president as much. “The signal I’m sending is that the president shouldn’t do it by executive action and that he should work with the Congress to get something done,” Christie said. “It’s the only message that I’m sending on that.” Christie was prompted to react to comments made earlier this month by a longtime key ally in New Jersey’s Latino community, Martin Perez, who accused the governor of pandering to the “extreme right of the Republican Party” by joining governors in three other states — Texas, Louisiana and South Dakota – in a court brief opposing the federal government’s request to implement executive orders seeking amnesty for certain unauthorized immigrants. The lawsuit stems from court proceedings initiated by 26 states after Obama announced wide-reaching executive actions on immigration in November…”
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/04/christie_responds_to_latino_ally_who_accused_him_o.html
SPENDING/BUDGET/ECONOMY:
House conservative leader wants budget deal focused on ObamaCare
“Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman Bill Flores (R-Texas) will lobby Republicans negotiating a House-Senate budget deal to include narrowly-written instructions on reconciliation that focus on repealing ObamaCare, according to a House GOP aide. That would put Flores on the side of Senate Republicans who have signaled they want to focus their reconciliation effort on ObamaCare. House Republicans included broader instructions in their budget. House Budget Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) and his Senate counterpart Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) are responsible for working out the deal with conferees. If both chambers adopt a budget compromise, it would authorize a reconciliation process in which committees produce deficit-cutting measures. Those measures could not be filibustered in the Senate because they are written under reconciliation rules. That means a bill repealing ObamaCare might be able to make it through the House and Senate, though it would be vetoed by President Obama. Republicans have already been working behind the scenes on a deal that merges the two resolutions each chamber adopted in late March. The RSC budget that the House rejected last month in a 132-294 vote advocated using reconciliation to torpedo ObamaCare…”
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/238982-rsc-chairman-to-push-for-narrow-reconciliation-instructions-in-budget-deal
Senate votes to negotiate final, GOP-driven budget with House
“The Republican-led Senate voted Wednesday to enter final budget talks with allies in the House, clearing the way for a plan that seeks balance within a decade while cuing up a coveted path to repealing Obamacare. House Speaker John A. Boehner named his conferees Tuesday, and the Senate was expected to follow suit by the afternoon, after voting 54-43 to kick off the conference. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi said his plan keeps Social Security solvent by finding cuts elsewhere, and restores cuts to Medicare that were included in Obamacare. “A balanced budget approved by Congress will help make the government live within its means and set spending limits for our nation,” the Wyoming Republican said. GOP leaders were supposed to polish off a unified budget by Wednesday, although Congress rarely meets the April 15 deadline. At conference, lawmakers will try to hammer out differences over spending and their approaches to Medicare. The House plan turns the health program for seniors into a voucher-like system, while the Senate’s does not. Still, key negotiators say they should be able to sort out their differences. Both plans seek balance within a decade, and both call for the repeal of Obamacare while retaining the law’s tax revenues. Democrats sought a seat at the table Wednesday, saying the majority’s plan puts the wealthy ahead of a struggling middle class. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vermont independent, complained the GOP plan made harsh cuts to the Medicaid health program for the poor and Pell grant program that helps working-class families send their kids to college. “I find the Republican budget that will likely pass to be totally, totally inadequate and a budget whose priorities are way, way, way out of place with where the American people are,” said Mr. Sanders, who leads Democrats on the Budget Committee. Republicans, though, are intent to pass a unified budget and take advantage of a process known as “reconciliation,” which would allow them to pass new legislation on a filibuster-proof basis in the Senate. Leaders have said they are most likely to target Obamacare or tax reform with the tool. Mr. Boehner appointed five GOP members Tuesday to the House-Senate budget conference, naming Budget Chairman Tom Price of Georgia along with Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, Diane Black of Tennessee, Todd Rokita of Indiana and John Moolenaar of Michigan…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/15/senate-votes-negotiate-gop-driven-budget-house/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Senate leaders appoint budget negotiators
“Leaders in the Senate on Wednesday evening appointed the members of a budget conference committee that will be tasked with crafting a final spending blueprint for fiscal 2016 with the House. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) appointed all GOP members of the Budget panel to the conference committee. The GOP conferees are Chairman Mike Enzi (Wyo.) and Sens. Charles Grassley (Iowa), Jeff Sessions (Ala.), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Rob Portman (Ohio), Pat Toomey (Pa.), Ron Johnson (Wis.), Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Roger Wicker (Miss.), Bob Corker (Tenn.) and David Perdue (Ga.). Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) appointed all members on the minority side of the budget panel: Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Angus King (I-Maine). Their appointments come a day after House leaders named conferees from the lower chamber to the conference committee. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) appointed Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (Ga.), Vice Chairman Todd Rokita (Ind.) and committee members Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.), Diane Black (Tenn.) and John Moolenaar (Mich.) to the panel. The three House Democratic conferees are Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), the House Budget panel’s ranking member, and Reps. Gwen Moore (Wis.) and John Yarmuth (Ky.). Republicans will miss the legal deadline Wednesday to adopt a conference agreement on the GOP budgets in both chambers. Congress has missed the deadline numerous times and have rarely completed action in time with few consequences…”
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/239023-senate-leaders-appoint-budget-negotiators
Senate names entire budget panel to negotiate spending blueprint
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/senate-names-entire-budget-panel-to-negotiate-spending-blueprint-117022.html
House panel approves $35B energy, water spending bill
“Energy and Water appropriators easily passed their $35.4 billion funding bill on Wednesday. The bill spends $1.2 billion more in 2016 than the current fiscal year, $633 million less than President Obama requested in his budget. It contains a handful of riders — on gun policies and restrictions to Clean Water Act standards — that ranking Democrat Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) called “unnecessarily and controversial,” but subcommittee members were generally congenial and congratulatory on Wednesday nonetheless. The bill, which passed unanimously, is the first 2016 spending measure to go to the full appropriations committee. Despite the bill’s easy passage Wednesday, subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) acknowledged that Congress and the White House could still spar over amendments as the legislative process continues. In the past, GOP efforts to attach provisions about EPA greenhouse gas standards to energy and water funding bills have drawn Democrats’ ire. “I don’t know where it will come, but it will come, whether it’s on Interior, or the EPA or on this bill,” Simpson said. “People are going to offer amendments, and they’re either passed or not passed, and then the administration has to do what the administration’s going to do.” The underlying bill increases funding for nuclear weapons security programs, the Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Energy programs and scientific research, among other things. It cuts funding for renewable energy programs by $279 million while increasing funding for research into fossil fuels and nuclear power. The bill, Simpson said, would “refocus the portfolio on the energy that we actually use.”…”
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/238911-house-panel-approves-35b-energy-water-spending-bill
House panel approves $77B bill to fund military construction,