TEA PARTY PATRIOTS:
‘Yesterday is Over': Rubio Announces 2016 Campaign
“…Rubio’s announcement is receiving praise from at least one tea party group. He ran as an outsider in 2010 for U.S. Senate and upset the Florida political world with his surprising win, catching the eye of the tea party as it was gaining traction. “As we mark the Sixth Anniversary of our original Tax Day rallies, it’s gratifying to see yet another candidate who shares tea party values enter the 2016 presidential race. We have come a long way, in six years, when three tea party senators are major players in the presidential race,” Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots said in a statement…”
http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/rubios-new-american-century-begins-now-n340721
Marco Rubio frames election as ‘generational choice’
“…Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, hailed Rubio’s entry into the presidential race. “Marco Rubio’s candidacy and the 2016 election are about the future, not the past,” Martin said in a statement. “He knows first-hand that prosperity comes not from a government program, but from free markets and the hard work done by millions of individuals and small business that still believe in the promise of the American Dream.”…”
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2015/04/13/marco-rubio-2016-presidential-announcement/25706739/
Reports: Marco Rubio jumps into 2016 presidential race
“…”With Marco Rubio’s formal entry into the campaign, there is one more strong voice advancing the cause of freedom,” said Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, who went to law school with Rubio, said the expanding field is good for the GOP as it seeks to take back the White House. “He’s a rising star in our party,” Priebus said this morning on WTOP radio. “And he’s a sharp contrast to Hillary Clinton, who right now voters look to as untrustworthy.”…”
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2015/04/13/marco-rubio-president-2016-announcement/21752401/
Reaction to Marco Rubio getting in the race for president
“…Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots: “Sen. Rubio’s personal story inspires, as does his commitment to personal freedom, economic freedom and a debt-free future. Marco Rubio’s candidacy and the 2016 election are about the future, not the past. He knows first-hand that prosperity comes not from a government program, but from free markets and the hard work done by the millions of individuals and small businesses that still believe in the promise of the American Dream. As the GOP presidential field expands, Tea Party Patriots across the country will be watching and listening: Which candidates will lead the fight for personal liberty, and which favor a Democrat-lite approach to managing the welfare state?”…”
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/reaction-to-marco-rubio-getting-in-the-race-for-president/2225312
Fiorina, Tea Party loyalists have much in common
“Carly Fiorina told the Tea Party Patriots Sunday that she too wants smaller, more responsive government, as she spoke and took questions from callers. The grassroots conservative group has been hosting government officials and potential presidential candidates in its teleconferences. Fiorina, a former corporate executive, said she will “probably make a final decision and announcement within a month” on a White House bid. She stands to be the only major Republican woman in the race. Sunday, she stressed her executive skills, criticizing both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations for being managers rather than leaders too often. The next president, Fiorina said, needs to “re-imagine government,” making it smaller and more responsive…”
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2015/04/12/262933/fiorina-tea-party-loyalists-have.html
HEALTHCARE:
An unexpected after-death side effect of Obamacare
“An old law may create a headache for some of the 11 million Americans who gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Medicaid expansion. The estate recovery law allows states to recover Medicaid costs for patients who are older than 55 when they die, although some limits apply, such as exceptions for the disabled and hardship exemptions for survivors. The law is taking some newly enrolled Medicaid patients by surprise, but it’s also prompting a few states to push back on the practice, according to The Wall Street Journal. While the law has been around since 1993, it may be little known to many Medicaid recipients, who are nonelderly adults with incomes at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level. That works out to about $16,245 for an individual in 2015. Even though Medicaid is thought of as a program to provide free health insurance to poor Americans, the estate recovery law was designed to shore up the program’s finances by getting back some of what Medicaid spends on long-term care. Some enrollees weren’t aware of the program when they signed up, while others were given wrong information, PBS’ NewsHour reported last month. One couple, Ruth and Rod Morgan, told the news magazine they had heard about the estate recovery act and asked about it when they signed up in California’s Medicaid program, but they were told that it wasn’t the case. “And then weeks later, we got a letter in the mail saying, congratulations, congratulations! You qualified for Medi-Cal. And then on the back page, this little paragraph says that you are subject to estate recovery, and do not contact your social worker about this,” Ruth Morgan told NewsHour. Critics say the law hits low-income families and families of color, the very people who can’t afford to give up assets to the state. In fiscal 2011, the 40 states that had the law to recover the costs of all Medicaid services after recipients’ deaths collected $498 million, The Journal noted, citing data from the Health & Human Services Department…”
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-a-medicaid-law-may-impact-obamacare-enrollees/
Gallup: Despite Obamacare, 11.9% Still Uninsured
“Nearly 12 percent of American adults still do not have health insurance, according to a Gallup poll published Monday. This is despite the fact that the individual mandate in President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA), AKA Obamacare, took effect at the beginning of 2014. According to Gallup 11.9% of American adults were uninsured in the first quarter of 2015. That was down one percentage point from the previous quarter and 5.2 points since the end of 2013, just before the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate went into effect. The Gallup survey shows the ACA falling far short of the president’s statement that the law would be “about making sure that all of us, and all our fellow citizens, can count on the security of health care.” In a speech in the Rose Garden on April 1, 2014, six months after the federal government initiated its rollout of its health insurance marketplace, Obama told the American people, “Today should remind us that the goal we set for ourselves, that no American should go without the health care that they need; that no family should be bankrupt because somebody in that family gets sick, because no parent should have to be worried about whether they can afford treatment because they’re worried that they don’t want to have to burden their children; the idea that everybody in this country can get decent health care–that goal is achievable.” “That’s what the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is all about: making sure that all of us, and all our fellow citizens, can count on the security of health care when we get sick, that the work and dignity of every person is acknowledged and affirmed,” Obama said…”
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/brittany-m-hughes/gallup-despite-obamacare-119-still-uninsured
Survey: Nearly 9 in 10 U.S. adults now have health insurance
“Underlining a change across the nation, nearly 9 out of 10 adults now say they have health insurance, according to an extensive survey released Monday. As recently as 2013, slightly more than 8 out of 10 had coverage. Whether the new number from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index turns out to be a high-water mark for President Barack Obama’s health care law, or a milestone on the path toward his goal of getting virtually all U.S. residents covered, remains to be seen. The law’s future is still up in the air, and will turn on factors ranging from an upcoming Supreme Court decision on consumer subsidies to actions by Republican leaders in states opposed to Medicaid expansion. The Gallup-Healthways survey found that the share of adults who lack insurance dropped to 11.9 percent for the first three months of this year, the lowest level since that survey began its tracking in 2008. The latest update overlaps with the period when the health law’s second sign-up season was winding down. Coverage gains from 2014-2015 translate to about 3.6 million fewer adults uninsured since the fall, before open enrollment got under way, according to Gallup…”
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nearly-9-in-10-u-s-adults-now-have-health-insurance-survey/
Uninsured rate drops again under ObamaCare
“A new survey finds that only 11.9 percent of people in the United States lacked health insurance in the first quarter of the year, a drop of 5.2 percentage points since ObamaCare went into effect. The Gallup-Healthways survey released Monday finds that the rate of people lacking health insurance fell 1 percentage point, from 12.9 percent, at the end of 2014. Since ObamaCare’s coverage expansion went into effect at the beginning of 2014, the rate has fallen from 17.1 percent. Gallup notes that some of the decrease could also be due to the improving economy, but the healthcare law appears to be playing a major role. The rate is lower than its 14.6 percent mark at the beginning of 2008, which was before the economy crashed. The Obama administration has been using the declining numbers to argue that the law is working. It touted its estimate in March, based on Gallup data, that 16 million people had gained coverage because of the law. “The evidence shows that the Affordable Care Act is working, and families, businesses and taxpayers are better off as a result,” Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said then.”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/238586-uninsured-rate-drops-again-under-obamacare
Uninsured rate continues to drop in Obamacare era: poll
Hispanics see gains, but 30 percent still
“The uninsured rate continued to drop in the age of Obamacare, according to a survey released Monday that showed a 1 percentage point dip from the final quarter of 2014 to the start of this year. Overall, the rate of Americans lacking coverage has dropped 5.2 points — to 11.9 percent — since the final quarter of 2013, or right before the Affordable Care Act’s main provisions took effect, the Gallup-Healthways survey found. Pollsters said an improving economy and decreasing unemployment rate may have contributed to the drop. “However, the uninsured rate is significantly lower than it was in early 2008, before the depths of the economic recession, suggesting that the recent decline is due to more than just an improving economy,” they said. Among subgroups, the survey found lower income Americans and Hispanics saw the steepest drops in their uninsured rates. The rate among those making less than $36,000 in household income has dropped 8.7 points since the close of 2013…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/13/uninsured-rate-continues-drop-obamacare-era-poll/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Senate tees up votes on $200B Medicare deal
“The Senate is poised to vote Tuesday on a handful of amendments to a roughly $200 billion Medicare deal, according to three people familiar with the negotiations. Senate leaders are expected to enforce limited debate on the amendments, creating the high bar of 60 votes for passage, according to a lobbyist familiar with the talks. “We don’t want to amend this bill to death; we want three simple amendments,” Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday from the Senate floor. Reid did not specify what proposals the amendments would contain. But two people familiar with the talks, including a Senate Democratic aide, said Democrats want a four-year extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the removal of abortion-related language known as the Hyde Amendment and a repeal of the Medicare therapy cap.
The children’s insurance program is extended for two years under the bill, which House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has described as one of the critical compromises in the deal. But Senate Democrats have repeatedly argued that two years is not enough. Repeal of the Medicare therapy cap, which limits outpatient coverage, has been a top priority for groups such as AARP. “This is a noncontroversial amendment that will help beneficiaries across the country. This is something that will improve the bill,” Ariel Gonzalez, director of federal health and family advocacy for AARP, said in an interview. Reid said he would agree to a “very, very short time agreement” on the amendments, so lawmakers could act quickly on the legislation, which would end Medicare’s sustainable growth rate, and with it, a policy problem that has vexed Congress for two decades…”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/238643-senate-tees-up-votes-on-200b-medicare-deal
GOP senator rips ‘doc-fix’ deal
“Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) slammed the House-passed $200 billion Medicare deal, saying lawmakers are “shattering” their promise to balance the budget. “I don’t see how we can look our constituents in the eye and say we’re producing a balanced budget,” he said Monday from the Senate floor, adding that lawmakers are “shattering our promises to our constituents.” The Senate is expected to vote this week on amendments to the Medicare deal, which would end the program’s sustainable growth rate (SGR) and prevent a series of dramatic cuts to doctor reimbursement payments. Sessions said if the legislation passes as written it will add that amount to the debt over 10 years. He said the legislation isn’t paid for despite being told “by a number of people that it was paid for.” “Was the plan to really balance the budget or to produce talking points,” he asked. “This is why the American people don’t trust Congress.” Sen. Mike Lee is expected to offer an amendment that would include a pay-for to finance the proposal. Sessions suggested that while the “doc fix” deal needs to be passed, lawmakers “need to do it responsibly, in a grown up fashion.” “I wish I didn’t have to say these things, but the truth is this is not responsible,” he said. Sessions suggested that he had “a list” of ways the legislation could be paid for “We don’t need to gimmick up this legislation,” he said. “This violates the budget control act.”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/238670-gop-senator-rips-doc-fix-deal
Feds reject ObamaCare open enrollment for pregnant women
“The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has denied a request from Democrats to create a special open enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act for women when they find out they are pregnant. In a response to the March letter sent by Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee ranking member Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) with 36 signatures, HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said the agency does not have “the legal authority to establish pregnancy as an exceptional circumstance” to create a special enrollment period. Burwell said pregnant women could enroll in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). “Women with low and moderate incomes can enroll in these programs at any time if they qualify,” she wrote. “And, like all other qualified individuals, pregnant women can enroll in the Marketplace during the annual open enrollment period.” Lawmakers originally asked for the special enrollment period in an effort to address what they called a gap in coverage that could leave women without access to maternity care. “Good maternity care is essential for the well-being of children, and studies show that maternal mortality rates are three to four times higher for women who do not receive prenatal care,” said the letter to HHS, signed by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.). Without health insurance, lawmakers said, women will either be forced to forgo this critical care or face lofty out-of-pocket costs. In a statement to NPR in February, Burwell said HHS had not included pregnancy as a qualifying life event because it was following insurance companies in determining open enrollment periods. But she said then that HHS was open to considering the issue. “It is absolutely critical that all pregnant women have access to health care coverage, so I am disappointed by today’s announcement,” Murray said in a statement last week. “I will continue looking for ways to get this done so that more women can get covered and get the affordable, high quality care they need for themselves and their young children.”…”
http://thehill.com/regulation/238621-hhs-denies-dems-call-for-open-enrollment-for-pregnant-women
Is Reconciliation a Real Challenge to Obamacare?
“Even if some Republicans don’t really want to go there, even if it’s an exercise in futility, many are convinced the guaranteed-to-be-vetoed process of budget reconciliation promises to put Obamacare at the center of the 2016 debate. And that, conservatives say, is exactly where they want it. Reconciliation is the optional legislative process by which Congress may seek to implement fiscal savings by “reconciling” tax and entitlement statutes with a budget resolution. It’s a two-step process. The first step is to pass a budget resolution both chambers agree on (which is not subject to a presidential signature or veto.) The second step is to then pass a reconciliation bill that finds savings within the budget resolution’s structure. Budget rules allow a reconciliation bill to avoid a Senate filibuster, so it is frequently used to pass policies that wouldn’t survive that chamber’s typical procedural hurdles. Its more recent use was to pass Obamacare and, before that, President George W. Bush’s tax cuts. It is still subject to presidential signature or veto. If Obama vetoed a reconciliation bill that dismantles key elements of his signature health care law, proponents argue it would make it clear to 2016 voters that the only element missing from a successful repeal is a Republican president. Repealing all of the health care law through reconciliation is impossible. Reconciliation must be used to effect savings through changing taxes, spending or entitlements. Outside that purview puts it under the normal Senate procedural process. But staying within reconciliation’s strictures might be difficult, given GOP leadership’s penchant for avoiding Obamacare votes that could be tough for vulnerable Republicans. That doesn’t mean it can’t — or won’t — be done. There is a way congressional Republicans could, theoretically, alter the Affordable Care Act so severely it requires replacement, budget gurus say. G. William Hoagland, a senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a former GOP staff director of the Senate Budget Committee for more than two decades, told CQ Roll Call it wouldn’t take much. “Shoot it full of holes so much that it dies,” Hoagland said. “You don’t have to kill it outright, but you put in on the recovery table and it doesn’t recover.” Hoagland cited two potential health care law changes that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, could each deliver roughly $1 trillion in savings over the next 10 years: the elimination of state subsidies and the halting of a Medicaid expansion. Politically, “Let’s cut Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion” isn’t as great an applause line as the “Let’s repeal every last word of Obamacare” rallying cry Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has taken to using on the stump…”
http://blogs.rollcall.com/218/2016-republican-strategy-obamacare-ballot/?dcz=
President predicts ObamaCare victory: Case ‘pretty clear cut’
“President Obama said Monday expressed confidence that the Supreme Court will uphold a key portion of his healthcare law this summer. “I’m confident in the Supreme Court applying its own rules of interpreting laws [and] will uphold the law,” Obama said in an interview with Portland, Maine, NBC affiliate WCSH. “It’s pretty clear cut.” The high court is expected to rule on whether insurance subsidies can legally be distributed to people in states served by the federal insurance exchange, HealthCare.gov. Plaintiffs in King v. Burwell argue that a phrase in the Affordable Cart Act, “established by the state,” means that people in the 37 states without insurance exchanges should not be eligible for tax subsidies. Maine is one of those states. Supporters of the ObamaCare fear that if the justices side with the plaintiffs, the law will unravel. The court gave few clues about how it might rule during oral arguments in March, though it appeared that Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy could be the swing votes…”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/238680-president-predicts-obamacare-victory-case-pretty-clear-cut
Obama: ‘Pretty clear cut’ that Obamacare will survive Supreme Court test
“President Obama said Monday that there is little doubt the Supreme Court will rule in the administration’s favor and won’t gut a key portion of the president’s signature health care reform law. In an interview with WCSH-TV of Portland, Maine, Mr. Obama said the case is “clear cut” and that he is confident Obamacare will survive as written.
The Supreme Court heard arguments last month in the King v. Burwell case, which hinges on whether the government legally can pay subsidies to customers in states that rely on federal health car exchanges. The law says subsidies can be paid only to customers in exchanges “established by the state.” At least 34 states, including Maine, elected not to set up and operate their own exchanges and have been relying on the federal system. While the Supreme Court could effectively derail Obamacare in those 34 states, the president isn’t worried. “I am confident the Supreme Court, applying its own rules of interpreting laws, will uphold the law. It’s pretty clear cut,” Mr. Obama said…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/13/obama-pretty-clear-cut-obamacare-will-survive-supr/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Miami-Dade enrolls 400,000 in Obamacare, more than 43 states
“With special enrollment all but concluded in this year’s Affordable Care Act health insurance sign up period, Miami-Dade County has claimed nearly 400,000 enrollments, more than any county in Florida and 43 entire states, according to federal data. The state is a record breaker, too, leading nationwide enrollment with 1.6 million sign ups, surpassing expert projections for 2015. The county breakdown, based on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ZIP code enrollment numbers through Feb. 22 and analyzed by nonprofit organization Enroll America, provides the first look at the distribution of enrollment throughout Florida’s 67 counties. According to the data, Miami-Dade County leads the state with 392,231 plan selections, followed by Broward with 221,758 and Palm Beach with 136,612. Together, the three counties are responsible for more than 750,000 sign ups, or about 47 percent of Florida’s total enrollment. Orange and Hillsborough counties finish off the top five. Monroe County enrolled another 6,844 consumers. Milton Vazquez, Florida spokesman for Enroll America, said that from the beginning, the organization’s effort was particularly focused on South Florida because of its high uninsured rate compared to the rest of the state. “Even knowing that, going in, it was really high, when I first heard that we were projecting 700,000 in these three counties, my mouth was open,” Vazquez said…”
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article18433949.html
A Make-or-Break ObamaCare Moment
If the Supreme Court opens the door, Republicans must be ready with a simple, workable health-care plan.
“Early this summer the Supreme Court will render a decision on King v. Burwell, the case challenging the IRS workaround that allows ObamaCare subsidies to be paid through federal exchanges. Many on the right believe that if the justices rule against the administration, it would be the final stake in the heart of ObamaCare. Nothing could be further from the truth. Millions of Americans would lose their federal subsidies and therefore be unable to pay for expensive ObamaCare coverage. In that case we can expect President…”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-make-or-break-obamacare-moment-1428967562?mod=rss_opinion_main
Why Hillary Clinton should (and will) embrace Obamacare
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/04/13/why-hillary-clinton-should-and-will-embrace-obamacare/?wprss=rss_national
Investigator: VA whistleblower cases remain ‘overwhelming’
“A top federal investigator says the number of whistleblower cases reported at the Department of Veterans Affairs remains “overwhelming,” a year after a scandal broke over chronic delays for veterans seeking medical care and falsified records covering up the delays. Carolyn Lerner, head of the independent Office of Special Counsel says complaints of waste, fraud and abuse, as well as threats to the health and safety of veterans, continue to pour in, even after Congress gave the department an extra $16 billion last year to shorten waits for care and overhaul the agency. Lerner told Congress Monday that so many complaints have been filed that VA cases represent 40 percent of all incoming cases being investigated by her agency. The special counsel’s office has jurisdiction over the entire federal government…”
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/investigator-va-whistleblower-cases-remain-overwhelming
Shock Testimony: VA Officials Retaliate Against Whistleblowers by Illegally Accessing Their Medical Records
“An official at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said Monday that Department of Veterans Affairs officials are known to be retaliating against VA whistleblowers by illegally going through their medical records, in an apparent attempt to harass and discredit these whistleblowers. This surprising testimony from Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner was delivered at a House Veterans Affairs subcommittee hearing, which was called to discuss the problems whistleblowers face when they try to expose the ongoing failure of the VA to provide medical care to veterans…”
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/04/13/shock-testimony-va-officials-retaliate-against-whistleblowers-by-illegally-accessing-their-medical-records/
VA building projects riddled with mistakes and cost overruns
“There are hospital doors at the half-built Veterans Affairs medical center outside Denver that were supposed to cost $100 each but ended up running $1,400. There’s a $100-million-and-still-rising price tag for an atrium and concourse with curving blond wood walls and towering glass windows. And entire rooms that had to be refashioned because requests for medical equipment changed at the last minute and in other cases the equipment didn’t fit. No one had bothered to measure. Not even completed yet, this $1.7 billion facility is already among the most expensive hospitals in the world, and it’s just one of several VA hospital projects that are greatly over budget and behind schedule, according to the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress. “Everything that could have gone wrong did. It’s just an astounding price tag,” said David Wise, who wrote in a GAO report about the Aurora project and VA construction problems in Orlando, Las Vegas and New Orleans. The hospital construction woes are the latest in a long line of troubles that the Department of Veterans Affairs faces, from accusations of retaliation against whistleblowers to a backlog of compensation benefits to reports that wait-times for appointments in some parts of the country still haven’t improved. Wait-times range from 30 days to more than six months. Last May, President Obama accepted the resignation of VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki in the wake of a coverup of months-long hospital wait-times for veterans seeking treatment for everything from cancer to post-traumatic stress disorder. Obama and Robert McDonald, Shinseki’s replacement, have vowed to restore trust in the agency…”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/va-building-projects-riddled-with-mistakes-and-cost-overruns/2015/04/13/e66279b4-d4b9-11e4-a62f-ee745911a4ff_story.html?wprss=rss_national
VA tells Congress it has plan to pay for Denver hospital
“The Veterans Affairs Department told Congress it wants to tap a $5 billion fund for improving health care to finish the over-budget Denver VA hospital, Sen. Michael Bennet’s office said Monday. The department wants to transfer $830 million from the fund to the $1.73 billion hospital under construction in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Bennet spokesman Adam Bozzi said. Congress allocated the $5 billion to hire more physicians, upgrade facilities, improve efficiency and make other changes to give veterans better access to health care. A VA spokesman didn’t immediately return a call for comment. Congress has been pressing the VA for a plan to pay for the cost overruns and to explain what went wrong and fire those responsible. The U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs has scheduled a hearing Wednesday on the hospital. Last year, the VA estimated the hospital would cost $630 million and be finished this year. It’s now expected to take until 2017 to complete. The 184-bed medical center will replace an old, crowded facility in Denver. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colorado, suggested diverting the department’s multimillion-dollar bonus budget to the Denver project until it’s complete. But VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson called that suggestion “a lousy idea.”…”
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/va-tells-congress-it-has-plan-pay-denver-hospital
IMMIGRATION:
Illegals’ crimes expose broken immigration system as next border surge looms
“As the Obama administration prepares for a new surge of illegal immigrant children this year, some of those from previous waves are turning up on court dockets across the country, charged with serious crimes such as capital murder and aggravated rape. The cases are exposing many of the holes in the immigration system and the way the U.S. has tried to grapple with children fleeing economic troubles, domestic abuse or gang violence in Central America — and sometimes bringing those very troubles to the U.S. with them. From the law, which requires most of the children to be turned over to social workers, to immigration authorities and the court system, which allow most of them to abscond, never showing up to be deported, to the lack of a safety net to help the children once they’re free in the country, the cases suggest a broken process nearly from start to finish, with some children getting lost in the system and others being released because of overcrowding, only to reappear when they’re called before a judge to answer for a bigger crime. “The eagerness of the administration to open our borders is not without consequence,” said Rep. Duncan Hunter, a California Republican who has tracked the issue. “Now we’re seeing some of these same minors in the criminal justice system, and the crimes some are being brought in for are very serious, even heinous. The administration, with their approach, wants to assume everyone that shows up on America’s doorstep has good intentions, but that’s a dangerous assumption, and we’re seeing evidence of the fact.” The administration admits it was overwhelmed by last summer’s surge, which officials said caught them by surprise, with more than 60,000 so-called “unaccompanied minors” — children traveling without a parent — streaming across the border in fiscal year 2014. The pace is picking up once again heading into the warmer months of 2015, according to the latest government statistics, and though it’s down from 2014’s frenetic rate, it’s still shaping up as the second-worst year on record. Oftentimes the children don’t even sneak into the country but instead boldly seek out a Border Patrol agent to turn themselves in to, trusting that generous laws, crowded courts and bureaucratic confusion will give them a chance to disappear into the shadows…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/13/illegal-immigrants-crimes-expose-broken-immigratio/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Immigration Influx To Exceed Population Of Seven Top US Cities
“While the debate over amnesty rages, the U.S. already expects to admit 10 million new legal immigrants on a path to citizenship over the next decade — more than the population of seven large American cities combined. At the current rate, the influx of legal immigrants over the next ten years will exceed the total populations of Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Boston, Atlanta and St. Louis combined, according to federal data compiled by Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions’ office. The U.S. offers green cards to about 1 million new legal permanent residents each year. Over the past five years, the Department of Homeland Security has issued 5.25 million green cards total. Recent immigration reform proposals would have drastically upped the number of legal immigrants entering the country each year. The 2013 Gang of Eight immigration bill would have tripled the number of green cards issued over the next decade to a total of 30 million new legal residents. To put that in context, that’s more than the entire populations of five Central American countries combined Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Sessions’ office says that polls have consistently found that only a very small number of Americans hope to increase legal immigration. Gallup found in June that a plurality of 41 percent of Americans said they’d support decreasing legal immigration, while just 22 percent think legal immigration should be upped. American voters are even more decisively opposed to giving amnesty to people in the country illegally. A poll from Paragon Insights found in January that 58 percent of voters opposed President Obama’s current proposal to end deportation for four million undocumented immigrants. While Americans have often focused on the rapid influx of illegal immigrants, some are turning their attention toward legal immigration and its affect on jobs and wages for American workers…”
http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/13/immigration-influx-to-exceed-population-of-seven-top-us-cities/
Deportations of illegal immigrants plummet on Obama’s watch
“The federal government’s chief deportation agency has seen its success plummet under President Obama, and its chief, Sarah R. Saldana, will tell Congress on Tuesday that they’ve had trouble adapting to the changing face of illegal immigration and a lack of cooperation from both American cities and from foreign countries. Ms. Saldana, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), says in testimony prepared for the House Judiciary Committee that the dramatic drop in deportations is a reflection of a trickier set of circumstances and pressures from all sides. She said she had to pull agents off their regular duties during last summer’s illegal immigrant surge at the border, which meant fewer people focusing on deporting the longtime illegal immigrants living in the interior of the U.S. And she said the lack of cooperation from states, counties and cities when agents ask them to hold an illegal immigrant for pickup has also hindered efforts. “While the reasons for this may vary, including state and local legislative restrictions and judicial findings of state and local liability, in certain circumstances we believe such a lack of cooperation may increase the risk that dangerous criminals are returned to the streets, putting the public and our officers at greater risk,” she will testify. Ms. Saldana is likely to face a severe grilling over the troubles at her agency, as she defends Mr. Obama’s immigration policies, which have neutered much of ICE’s work. Republicans said it amounts to a “failure” on the agency’s top priority…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/13/immigration-chief-sanctuary-cities-influx-kids/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Sharp Drop In Deportations, Obama Immigration Chief To Testify
“Obama’s chief immigration officer will testify this week before Congress about the sharp drop in deportations of illegal immigrants in recent years. Sarah Saldaña, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is expected to attribute the plummeting numbers to the surge of children at the border and uncooperative local and foreign governments. Only 102,000 criminal illegal immigrants identified and apprehended by ICE were deported in Fiscal Year 2014, which is an 18 percent drop, according to a statement announcing the hearing. And the number of arrests of criminal illegal immigrants is down by 35 percent from this time last year. Almost 800 personnel and other resources were reallocated last year to deal with the huge influx of Central American children crossing the border, she says in prepared testimony obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation. The agency transferred nearly 60,000 children to DHS custody, and had to build three new family detention centers, according to immigration law, to detain families apprehended at the border…”
http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/13/sharp-drop-in-deportations-obama-immigration-chief-to-testify/
Trade agreement is a Trojan horse for Obama’s immigration agenda
“Congress is considering whether to give President Obama the power to fast-track the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a sweeping international regulatory agreement the White House describes as “rules for the world’s economy” — and the U.S. TPP regulates everything from the environment and energy (climate change, anyone?) to minimum wages, food and, most notably, immigration. If approved, the Trans-Pacific Partnership would have the force of a treaty. Its regulations would override U.S. law. With fast-track trade promotion authority (TPA), only a simple majority in both houses of Congress, not a two-thirds supermajority in the Senate, would be needed for approval. Congress could not change any of the rules in it, and the White House would not be obligated to follow any directives Congress offers on what those rules should look like. The Trans-Pacific Partnership includes an entire chapter on immigration. It is a Trojan horse for Obama’s immigration agenda. House members who were ready to defund the Department of Homeland Security to stop President Obama’s executive action on immigration must not give him TPA, which he will use to ensure his immigration actions are locked in when he leaves office. The U.S. Trade Representative says “temporary entry” guest worker visas are a “key feature” of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. “Temporary entry” reminds one of Milton Friedman’s famous dictum: “Nothing is as permanent as a temporary government program.” TPP isn’t the first time the Obama administration has used trade agreements to rewrite immigration law. Its U.S.-South Korea deal expanded the L-1 visa program, which corporations use to bring foreign workers into the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General slammed the L-1 program for fraud. Its crackdown met with pushback from the corporate community, and the Obama administration listened — to the corporations. Speaking at an international corporate business summit in March, Obama announced that “My administration is going to reform the L-1B visa category, which allows corporations to temporarily move workers from a foreign office to a U.S. office in a faster, simpler way. … [T]his could benefit hundreds of thousands of nonimmigrant workers and their employers.” (Emphasis added.) Those hundreds of thousands of “nonimmigrant workers” aren’t Americans — they are foreign workers not counted as immigrants. Guest worker visas top the wish list of the corporate interests pushing immigration reform. They are also pushing the Trans-Pacific Partnership. One corporate trade association says bluntly that “The TPP should remove restrictions on nationality or residency requirements for the selection of personnel.” In The Trans-Pacific Partnership: A Quest for a Twenty-first Century Trade Agreement, Joel Trachtman declares that immigration is an “important frontier” in TPP, “promising great opportunities for individual migrants” and “developing country workers.” It cites the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement as a precedent for TPP….”
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international/238574-trade-agreement-is-a-trojan-horse-for-obamas-immigration
GOP judges in the majority on Obama immigration stay
“A federal appeals court panel assigned to consider whether to temporarily lift a block on President Barack Obama’s latest round of immigration-related executive actions leans Republican, 2-1, and contains a sharply conservative judge who drew national attention for clashing with the administration over Obama’s health care reform law. The 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals announced Monday that the three-judge panel scheduled to hear arguments on the Justice Department’s request for a stay of an injunction against Obama’s immigration actions will consist of Judges Jerry Smith, Jennifer Walker Elrod and Stephen Higginson. Smith was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, Elrod by President George W. Bush and Higginson by Obama. Smith is the best known of the trio. During oral argument on a health care related case in 2012, he ordered a Justice Department lawyer to do what critics described as a homework assignment: produce a three-page paper explaining whether the courts had the authority to determine whether laws were constitutional. Smith was prompted to give the unusual instructions after Obama said, amidst debate over the constitutionality of his signature health care reform law, that it would be “unprecedented” for the Supreme Court to strike down a law passed by Congress. Obama later clarified his remarks to say he was referring to the modern era and to laws where Congress was claiming power to regulate an economic activity. (The Supreme Court ultimately upheld the individual mandate in the health care law, 5-4.) The split on the appellate panel is consistent with the overall lean of the 5th Circuit, which is considered the country’s most conservative federal appeals court. Its active Republican-appointed judges outnumber Democrats, 2-1. The panel is set to hear two hours of oral argument Friday morning in New Orleans on the issue of whether to stay a district court judge’s injunction from February blocking Obama’s efforts to offer deferred deportation and work permits to millions more undocumented immigrants…”
http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2015/04/gop-judges-in-the-majority-on-obama-immigration-stay-205433.html
OPT program offers businesses incentive to hire foreign workers over Americans, critics say
“Businesses are increasingly making use of a little-known program that lets them hire high-skilled foreign workers for internships, without having to pay their payroll taxes — creating what critics say is yet another perverse incentive to pick would-be immigrants over American workers. Employers don’t have to pay the taxes on workers here under the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, which allows former students to stay and work for up to 29 months after they graduate from a U.S. college or university, and nearly 500,000 applications have been approved over the last five years, according to a report being released Monday by the Center for Immigration Studies. “You can be out of your university for more than two years and kindly old Uncle Sam still regards you as a student, allows you to still work legally in this country and worse, pays your employer a bonus instead of hiring a comparably qualified citizen or green card holder,” said David North, the researcher who wrote the report. OPT was designed so new graduates could gain experience in their field. The program was supposed to be a 12-month grace period, but President George W. Bush created a program that allows foreign former students who got degrees in certain math, science or technology fields to remain an additional 17 months. President Obama expanded the definitions to allow more foreigners to qualify for the program, and late last year, as part of his deportation amnesty, announced he would expand the program even further — though no details have been released yet. Mr. North said the government has missed out on $4 billion in Social Security and Medicare taxes that would have been paid by workers who are subject to the payroll tax…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/13/opt-program-may-cause-americans-lose-jobs-foreign-/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
REPORT: ‘OBSCURE’ VISA PROGRAM MAKES CERTAIN FOREIGN WORKERS LESS EXPENSIVE THAN AMERICAN WORKERS
“A new report from the Center for Immigration studies argues an obscure program has the government offering a “bonus” to employers who hire certain immigrant graduates of U.S. colleges instead of American workers. According to CIS expert David North’s report, the Optional Practical Training program allows recent foreign graduates to retain their “student” visa status for a period of 12 months and if they graduated in a science, technology, engineering of math they can extend it for another 17 months. That “student” status has tax implications — and good ones for the employer and immigrant according to North’s report. He argues that since “neither the employer nor the alien has to pay payroll taxes, which are mandated on resident workers and their employers” then the U.S. ends up offering “a bonus of as much as $11,600 to employers when they hire an alien graduate rather than a U.S. graduate.” North’s report further argues that, based on information uncovered by a recent Freedom of Information Act request more than 433,000 12-month OPT visas were issued under this program and more than 64,000 17 month extensions from 2009-2013. Based on North’s calculations that amounts in loses to the Social Security and Medicare trust funds as high as $4 billion…”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/04/13/report-obscure-visa-program-makes-certain-foreign-workers-less-expensive-than-american-workers/
Poll: Floridians Oppose Special Treatment for Cuban Immigrants
“Opposition to U.S. immigration policies continues to mount among the American people. A plurality of Floridians now wants to end the special privileges granted to Cuban immigrants under federal law, according to a Sun-Sentinel poll. Specifically, 37 percent of Floridians want to eliminate the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, which gives special treatment to Cuban immigrants, and 46 percent wish to do away with the so-called “wet foot / dry foot” policy that favors Cuban immigrants apprehended on land. Both Florida’s general population and its Hispanics in particular now oppose such policies. Approximately 45 percent of Hispanic Floridians support travel restrictions for Cubans granted refugee status in the U.S., which would prevent the refugees from traveling back to Cuba. Support for the travel restrictions is higher among Florida Hispanics than among the general population of Floridians…”
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/416857/poll-floridians-oppose-special-treatment-cuban-immigrants-ryan-lovelace
US judge: Immigration courts must consider non-cash bond
“A federal judge in Seattle says immigration judges in western Washington must consider whether to release detained immigrants without requiring cash bonds. U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik issued the ruling Monday in a case brought by a Honduran woman who was held in custody for five months while she sought political asylum because she couldn’t afford to pay her bond, which was first set at $7,500 and then lowered to $3,500. Lawyers with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and the American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of Maria Sandra Rivera. They said they wanted to challenge a longstanding practice of local immigration judges to always require a cash bond before releasing detainees – even though federal law allows the detainees to be released on other conditions of supervision. Activists said the old policy had been in place for 15 years and resulted in poor immigrants being stuck in detention solely because of their poverty…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/13/us-judge-immigration-courts-must-consider-non-cash/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Exclusive: Huckabee, Preparing For 2016, Rails Against Illegal Immigration In New Video [VIDEO]
“Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, making moves ahead of a likely GOP campaign for president, is releasing a video that focuses on illegal immigration and helping “every American earn his or her maximum wage.” The web video, shared first with The Daily Caller, will be disseminated by Huckabee’s America Takes Action political organization on Tuesday. “We’ve got to repeal Obama’s unconstitutional executive orders, oppose amnesty and secure the border,” Huckabee says in the video. “You don’t punish people for living by the rules. If you’re rewarding people who play outside the rules, and punish people who live within the rules, pretty soon nobody is going to play by the rules.” Adds Huckabee: “By securing the border and protecting American workers and their livelihoods, we’ll finally help every American earn his or her maximum wage.”
http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/13/exclusive-huckabee-preparing-for-2016-rails-against-illegal-immigration-in-new-video-video/
SPENDING/BUDGET/ECONOMY:
CBO: Feds Taxing More, Spending More, Running Bigger Deficit in 2015
“The federal government taxed away more money, spent more money and ran a bigger deficit in the first half of fiscal 2015 than it did in the first half of fiscal 2014, according to the Congressional Budget Office. “The federal government ran a budget deficit of $430 billion for the first half of fiscal year 2015, CBO estimates–$17 billion more than the shortfall recorded in the same span last year,” the CBO said in its Monthly Budget Review for March 2015, which was published April 8. “Both revenues and outlays were about 7 percent higher than the amounts recorded in the first six months of fiscal year 2014.” The federal fiscal year begins on Oct. 1 and ends on Sept. 30. In the first six months of fiscal 2014, the government took in approximately $1,323,000,000,000 in revenue, according to CBO. In the first six months of this fiscal year, it took in approximately $1,420,000,000,000—an increase of $98,000,000,000. Meanwhile, the federal government spent approximately $1,736,000,000,000 in the first six months of fiscal 2014. It spent approximately $1,851,000,000,000 in the first six months of the fiscal year—an increase of $115,000,000,000 over last year. Last year, the government ran a deficit of $413 billion in the first six months of the fiscal year. This year, it ran a deficit of $430 billion—a $17 billion increase over last year. The biggest source of additional tax revenue for the federal government was the individual income tax. In the first six months of fiscal 2014, Americans paid the federal government approximately $585,000,000,000 in individual income taxes. In the first six months of fiscal 2015, Americans paid $642,000,000,000 in individual income taxes—an increase of $57 billion (or 9.7 percent) from fiscal 2014…”
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/cbo-feds-taxing-more-spending-more-running-bigger-deficit-2015
US budget deficit expanded slightly in fiscal first half
“The deficit through the first half of the budget year ran slightly above last year’s pace, with the March imbalance up $16 billion over a year ago. The Treasury Department said Monday that the March deficit came to $52.9 billion compared to a deficit of $36.9 billion in March 2014. Through the first six months of the budget year, the deficit totaled $439.5 billion, 6.3 percent higher than last year’s six-month deficit of $413.3 billion. The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting a full-year deficit of $486 billion, roughly on par with 2014’s deficit of $483.4 billion. Congress returned Monday from a two-week recess facing what is expected to be months of wrangling between Republicans and Democrats over competing budget plans. The latest budget report showed that government revenues over the last six months totaled $1.42 trillion, up 7.3 percent from a year ago. Government spending over the same period totaled $1.86 trillion, an increase of 7.1 percent over the previous year. Spending on Medicare rose 8 percent, and spending on Medicaid shot up 23 percent. The 2014 deficit was down from $680.2 billion in 2013. Before 2013, the U.S. had recorded four straight years of annual deficits above $1 trillion, reflecting the impact of a severe financial crisis and the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. President Barack Obama in February unveiled a budget proposal for 2016 — his final full year in office — that seeks authorization from Congress to spend $4 trillion next year. It projects a 2016 deficit of $474 billion. Obama’s spending plan would raise $2 trillion in higher taxes over the next decade from the wealthy, corporations and smokers while granting tax breaks to low-income and middle-income families. It would boost spending on domestic programs such as increased road construction and a proposal to provide a free community college education to students who qualify…”
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/us-budget-deficit-expanded-slightly-fiscal-first-half
White House Predicts Rising Deficits Over the Next Four Years
“The trend of declining deficits is reversing, intruding on a critical talking point for President Barack Obama on fiscal responsibility even as the national debt has nearly doubled under his watch. The White House’s top economic adviser on Monday predicted more deficit increases, particularly after Obama leaves office. That’s when the deficit will rise as a percentage of the economy, said Jason Furman, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. The budget deficit increased by 6 percent for the first half of fiscal year 2015 that began in October, up to $439.47 billion from $413.26 billion in the first half of fiscal year 2014. This marks a reversal from deficits that declined from more than $700 billion in 2012 to $600 billion in 2013, after having spiked to $1.3 trillion before Obama came into office after the 2008 recession. Still, the deficit has been significantly higher under Obama than during most of the George W. Bush presidency…”
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/04/13/white-house-predicts-rising-deficits-over-the-next-four-years/
Six examples of government waste from this year’s budget-hawk reports
“Congress faces a deadline Wednesday for approving a unified 2016 budget, and lawmakers from both parties are looking for ways to trim the $18 trillion federal debt to varying degrees. At least two reports this year have highlighted perceived waste that the government could address as it tries to reduce spending. Citizens Against Government Waste released its annual “Prime Cuts” report this month, recommending programs that the government could eliminate for some $648 billion in savings next year. The group has conservative roots, but its recommendations affect a wide variety of programs, from farm aid and defense spending to AmeriCorps and community-development grants. Also this month, Rep. Steve Russell (R-Okla.) released the first edition of “Waste Watch,” following in the footsteps of former Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who published an annual “Waste Book” for years before retiring in January. Below are six examples of alleged waste from this year’s budget-hawk analyses:…”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/04/13/six-examples-of-government-waste-from-this-years-budget-hawk-reports/
Unwanted tanks and other government waste detailed in reports
“If the Republican majority in Congress really wants to cut back on government waste, it can find some inspiration from a pair of reports recently released, detailing examples of egregious spending and programs that could arguably go on the chopping block. Rep. Steve Russell, R-Oklahoma, last week released the first edition of his “Waste Watch” report, which identifies 10 specific instances of recent government waste, totaling more than $117 million. Russell is picking up the torch formerly carried by Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, whose “Waste Book” annually laid out examples of government excess. Russell writes in the introduction of his report, “For the most part, this money has already been wasted. However, each item points to larger, ongoing issues that merit further oversight, investigation, or action by Congress in order to protect taxpayer money.” Most of the examples from Russell, an Army veteran, pertain to defense and foreign policy. For example, in 2012, the U.S. paid an Afghan construction firm nearly $500,000 to build a training exercise facility for the Afghan Special Police. However, just four months after the project was finished, the facility’s walls began to disintegrate in the rain. It turns out the contractor constructed the facility out of bricks ma