TEA PARTY PATRIOTS:
The GOP quandary: How far right without falling over the edge?
“Tea party loyalists are still somewhat wary of Walker, though, because of past positions on immigration and government support for ethanol, a big issue in Iowa, site of the nation’s first caucus. In 2006, he said during his gubernatorial campaign that “we as conservatives should oppose” federal ethanol requirements. But at the Iowa Ag Summit this month, he said he was “willing to go forward” with federal standards. Tea Party Patriots president Jenny Beth Martin asked Walker why he switched his position. Walker said his position was consistent, explaining that he wants the standard phased out but would not end it right away….”
http://www.limaohio.com/news/opinion/152740404/The-GOP-quandary-How-far-right-without-falling-over-edge
HEALTHCARE:
Obamacare’s Calorie Mandate Takes A Bite Out Of Consumers Wallets
“Just in time for World Health Day, the food police are preparing to launch new calorie-label regulations that will be coming to a restaurant near you. After years of delays, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally released its menu labeling requirements last fall. Even though the agency issued “final” rules, there is still uncertainty about how exactly these regulations will be enforced and whether they’ll actually encourage Americans to eat fewer calories — meaning this has the looks of another costly and unnecessary government mandate. Menu labeling, one of the new Obamacare regulations to take effect this year, will require restaurant chains with 20 or more locations that trade under the same name to display the calorie counts for every food item on their menu. It might sound pretty simple (and helpful) to include calorie counts on menus, but complying with the FDA’s 319-page tome of rules is anything but straightforward. Consider pizza, a popular food choice for American consumers. Under the proposed regulations, pizza chains will have to display the amount of calories for every single combination of toppings that a customer could order on a single slice. The more choices that your favorite pizza chain offers, the more costly it will be for them to comply with the FDA’s requirements. Government at its finest…”
http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/06/obamacares-calorie-mandate-takes-a-bite-out-of-consumers-wallets/
Obamacare’s $800 Billion Tax Hike Explained in One Chart
“April 15 is right around the corner, and millions of Americans will find themselves paying more in taxes than ever thanks to Obamacare. The law is more than a fundamental change to the country’s health care system. It also is a massive tax hike. As The Heritage Foundation’s Federal Budget in Pictures shows, according to the most recent scores, Obamacare will increase taxes by nearly $800 billion for the period of 2013-2022. Obamacare contains 18 separate tax increases. A few of the biggest include a tax on “Cadillac” health insurance plans, which doesn’t take effect until 2018, long after President Obama and many in Congress who voted for the tax in 2010 have departed Washington. Also, there is a tax on health insurance premiums and a higher rate on the Hospital Insurance payroll tax for single filers with incomes above $200,000 ($250,000 for married filers) that also applies to investment income. At a time when the already-onerous tax code has created a significant drag on the economy, Obamacare’s tax hikes only do more damage. Many Americans have found themselves afflicted by higher health insurance premiums, driven up, in part, by new taxes on insurers. Increased rates on capital gains and dividends from the wage and investment tax hike discourage saving and investment, resulting in fewer jobs created and lower wage growth. Because of Obamacare, Americans are paying much higher taxes and those taxes are hurting the economy. Though some bipartisan efforts exist to repeal some of the new taxes that benefit special-interest groups, including the medical device tax, an incomplete approach won’t be sufficient to overcome the detrimental effects of this law. Congress should repeal Obamacare and all of its tax increases…”
http://dailysignal.com/2015/04/06/obamacares-800-billion-tax-hike-explained-one-chart/
‘Cadillac tax’ the next big Obamacare battle
Experts say a majority of employers could eventually face the tax on health care benefits.
“A mix of business groups and labor unions are pushing to tee up the next big Obamacare fight: killing its so-called Cadillac tax. It is, they say, the type of Obamacare “fix” that Republicans and Democrats can agree on — notwithstanding the problem of filling an $87 billion budget hole that nixing the levy would produce. Many expect it to be the next protracted battle over Obamacare — one that threatens to become a headache for Democrats, many of whom never liked the tax despite supporting the law more generally. It’s one of the last big parts of the Affordable Care Act to go into effect — lawmakers delayed the levy until 2018 in part because it is so controversial — but companies are wrestling with it now as they plan employee benefits. Some are already negotiating with unions over benefits that could spill into 2018. “This is going to have a life of its own as the clock ticks closer to 2018,” said Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), a critic of the tax. Though the nickname suggests it will apply to a select few, experts say a majority of employers could eventually face the prospect of imposing what will be the first-ever tax on health care benefits. The IRS began last month spelling out the nitty-gritty of how exactly the tax will work, though it left out many of the details employers say they need. At issue is a 40 percent excise tax on the health benefits companies provide their workers above a certain threshold. In 2018, the tax will hit insurance and related perks valued at more than $10,200 for singles and $27,500 for families. So for family benefits worth $30,000, the tax would apply to the $2,500 that’s above the limit. Taxing those benefits represents a major shift in generations-old tax policy…”
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/obamacare-health-care-cadillac-tax-116659.html
IRS deadline extended for ObamaCare customers sent the wrong tax form
“ObamaCare customers who received the wrong tax form from the federal government this spring will not face penalties if they miss the April 15 deadline, officials announced Friday. Anyone who have not yet been sent corrected tax forms and are “unable to file an accurate tax return” now have until Oct. 15 to file — as long as they request an extension. The government did not say how many people will be given extra time, though officials said in late March that 80,000 people were still waiting on their corrected tax forms. A total of 800,000 people had mailed the wrong forms. “If a taxpayer receives their Form 1095-A before April 15 and is able to file using the form before the deadline, they should do so,” according to a statement from the Treasury Department released late Friday…”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/237893-deadline-extended-for-obamacare-customers-with-wrong-tax-form
Filing deadline extended for ObamaCare customers given wrong tax forms
“The Treasury Department said Friday that hundreds of thousands of ObamaCare customers who received incorrect tax forms earlier this year will not face penalties for filing after April 15. A statement from the department said that anyone who was not sent the correct replacement tax forms and was “unable to file an accurate tax return” would now have until Oct. 15 to file their taxes, as long as they request an extension by the traditional filing deadline. However, the statement said that anyone who had received a correct form and was able to file before the deadline “should do so.” The Obama administration revealed in late February that it had sent a tax form containing incorrect information on health insurance premiums to approximately 800,000 HealthCare.gov customers. At the time, those people were asked to hold off on filing their taxes for 2014 until a corrected form could be sent out. It was not immediately clear how many people had requested or received an extension. At the time the Obama administration acknowledged the error, around 50,000 people had already filed their tax return using the incorrect forms…”
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/04/06/filing-deadline-extended-for-obamacare-customers-given-wrong-tax-forms/
Tax deadline extended for PPACA customers given wrong form
http://www.benefitspro.com/2015/04/06/tax-deadline-extended-for-ppaca-customers-given-wr
IRS gives recipients of botched tax forms more time
“The federal government will give nearly 1 million Obamacare customers who received an incorrect tax form more time to file their returns. The Treasury Department announced that taxpayers who still haven’t got a new tax form won’t be penalized if they don’t file by April 15 as long as they request an automatic extension. They need to fill out a form and send to the Internal Revenue Service by April 15 to get the automatic six-month extension to Oct. 15. “If a taxpayer receives their [corrected form] before April 15 and is able to file using the form before the deadline, they should do so,” Treasury said Friday. The automatic extension is available for every taxpayer as long as they get in a request form by April 15. The penalty for not filing by April 15 mainly affects taxpayers who owe the government money, and the amount varies from case to case. In February the Obama administration admitted that it sent out 820,000 forms to Obamacare customers with incorrect details. The form, 1095A, is used to calculate how many subsidies a customer should get…”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/irs-gives-recipients-of-botched-tax-forms-more-time/article/2562584?custom_click=rss
Tax refund woes for Affordable Care Act holders
http://www.wmdt.com/news/more-local-news/tax-refund-woes-for-affordable-care-act-holders/32204544
TOP DOC: OBAMACARE ‘DEATH SPIRAL’ ALREADY HERE
‘Young people are not stupid enough’ to buy into federalized program
“With the Supreme Court currently mulling the King v. Burwell case against the Affordable Care Act, supporters of Obamacare have warned that a “death spiral” may result if the court strikes down subsidies for health insurance purchased through federally established exchanges. But the federal health-care takeover law already has caused a death spiral, according to Dr. Lee Hieb, M.D., past president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. It’s just that she speaks of a different kind of death spiral. “There’s a death spiral in medicine already because it’s creating shortages of doctors and hospital closures, and that’s a business death spiral the medical community’s already starting to be in,” Hieb said. A traditional “death spiral” occurs when many healthy people drop health insurance coverage, leaving a risk pool that is smaller and sicker than before. Insurers are forced to raise premiums to continue paying promised benefits to their sick customers. But this premium hike causes remaining healthy customers to drop coverage as well, because they don’t feel it is worth it to pay sky-high premiums for coverage they rarely, if ever, use. Once these healthy people leave, insurers must raise premiums again, causing even more healthy customers to leave. The cycle continues until only the seriously ill remain in the risk pool, because they are the only ones with an incentive to pay the enormous premiums….”
http://www.wnd.com/2015/04/top-doc-obamacare-death-spiral-already-here/
Is ObamaCare Enrollment Already Hitting A Wall?
“Earlier this year, the Obama administration hoped to boost ObamaCare sign-ups by offering a special enrollment period for millions who didn’t know about the individual mandate penalty until they filed their taxes. They’d have until the end of April to buy a plan and avoid paying an even bigger ObamaCare penalty when they file taxes next year. At least one outside observer expected as many as 1.2 million to sign up. But last week the administration admitted — buried in the middle of a press release — that a mere 36,000 had done so by the end of March. It was another sign that enrollment could be hitting a wall, well before ObamaCare has signed up enough people to be sustainable. When discussing ObamaCare, President Obama has repeatedly bragged about what great products the insurance plans are. Subsidized premiums. No medical underwriting. Rich benefits. Free preventive care. Choice of plans. But the public doesn’t seem to share Obama’s enthusiasm…”
http://news.investors.com/politics-obamacare/040615-746512-is-obamacare-enrollment-starting-to-stall.htm
It’s Been Five Years and We Still Can’t Agree on Obamacare
http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/its-been-five-years-and-we-still-cant-agree-on-obamacare/
Illinois weighs automatic enrollment under ObamaCare for inmates leaving prison
“Illinois inmates who will soon get out of jail won’t pass “Go” and get $200, but they may collect their Medicaid card. A new plan working its way through the Illinois statehouse would start the enrollment, or re-enrollment, process for inmates 30 days before their release through the state’s ObamaCare office. State Rep. Camille Lilly, D-Chicago, is sponsoring the legislation that would have Illinois’ Department of Health Care and Family Services enroll inmates automatically upon their release. “You cannot get Medicaid in a state prison,” Mark Heyrman a University of Chicago professor and advocate for Mental Health America Illinois, told lawmakers last month. “The Illinois Department of Corrections is paying for every nickel of your health care, including your mental health care. It is illegal to bill the federal government for that.” But once inmates are free, it is in Illinois’ best interest to enroll them into Medicaid, where the feds pay the freight. Illinois’ prison system released 30,083 people last year, more than 27,000 men and nearly 2,500 women…”
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/04/06/illinois-weighs-automatic-obamacare-for-inmates-leaving-prison/
GOP group comes out for Medicare fix
“The center-right group American Action Network is spending $1.8 million on advertisements thanking Republican lawmakers for supporting the House budget and a bill to reform payments to doctors under Medicare. The passage of a budget and the bill to repeal automatic cuts to doctors under Medicare — known as the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) — were two victories for House Republican leadership last month after a rocky start to the year. The ads thank 76 members who voted for the budget and the SGR bill. Part of the ad buy is $350,000 for TV ads thanking eight members, including Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), the top members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.), the fourth-ranking Republican in the House. The TV ads note that the budget cuts $5 trillion in spending, repeals ObamaCare and balances in 10 years. A radio ad in four more districts touts the SGR bill, that members were “showing them the right way to save Medicare, with conservative reforms that protect seniors and doctors and reward quality and accountability, while still saving millions of taxpayer money.”…”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/237971-gop-group-launches-ads-praising-budget-medicare-bill
Without Obamacare, Jobs Report Might’ve Been Worse
“The Affordable Care Act, which is infusing millions of new paying customers into the economy who previously couldn’t afford medical care services, continues to boost jobs growth as the health industry emphasizes outpatient care and value-based medicine. The health care industry added 22,000 jobs last month, which was about on par with February totals for health services jobs, according to the jobs report issued Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the past year alone, 363,000 jobs have been added in the health sector. The entire U.S. economy added 126,000 jobs in March though such totals ended a string of 12 consecutive months when 200,000 jobs or more were added to employment rolls. The growth in health care continues to come in the ambulatory care sector which is key to the shift away from fee-for-service medicine to value-based care models that emphasize outreach to patients, encouraging them to take their medications and see a primary care provider, typically in a less costly outpatient care setting. The labor department said there were 19,000 jobs added in the ambulatory care sector. By comparison, hospitals added just 8,000 jobs. And the nursing home sector actually contracted by losing 6,000 jobs. As an example of the shift going on in health care, technology firms are benefiting as well as hospitals and other traditional medical care providers look to cloud-based platforms to help them manage populations of patients. Value-based care emphasizes health outcomes. On Friday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said health technology company ZirMed, which helps hospitals manage populations of patients in part with predictive analytics and help with claims management, is openings its first Chicago office and would add 200 or more jobs, including “advanced healthcare technologists” to what it calls a “Healthcare Analytics Center of Excellence.”…”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2015/04/04/without-obamacare-jobs-report-mightve-been-worse/
Reconciliation Can Solve GOP’s Irreconcilable Differences With Obamacare
““It’s time to embrace reality.” That’s what President Obama said about Obamacare on its 5th anniversary in late March. He meant it as a warning to critics — Obamacare is here to stay, so quit “belly-aching.” But after five years of false promises, massive disruptions to the healthcare marketplace, enormous costs, repeated delays, and legal challenges, the law has never been more vulnerable than it is today. Congressional Republicans can use a budgetary procedure called “reconciliation” to repeal Obamacare — and replace it with a market-oriented reform package that gives patients and doctors, not government officials, control over Americans’ healthcare decisions. GOP leaders can’t afford to squander this opportunity. Republicans in both the House and Senate have already taken the first step toward executing this strategy by approving measures that would balance the budget in a decade and repeal Obamacare in its entirety. For those unfamiliar with the lawmaking “sausage” factory, the next step in the budget process is for leaders in the House and Senate to form a conference committee to iron out differences between the two budget plans. Even then, the congressional budget wouldn’t have the force of law. Lawmakers would still need to try to turn these budget promises into legislation through what’s called reconciliation. This reconciliation bill would go to the president for his possible signature. Unlike other pieces of legislation, a reconciliation bill cannot be filibustered in the Senate. In the past, lawmakers have used reconciliation to get tax cuts or entitlement reforms through Congress that a determined minority might otherwise block. Reconciliation is how Congress passed welfare reform under President Clinton and two tax cuts under President Bush. And it’s how Democrats rammed Obamacare through Congress in 2010 without a single Republican vote, after they lost their filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Critics claim that repealing Obamacare via reconciliation is either impossible or foolhardy — especially given that the president has pledged to veto any bill that harms his eponymous law. Perhaps it would be better, the argument goes, to use reconciliation to enact piecemeal changes to Obamacare that the president might actually sign. Or maybe Republicans should employ reconciliation to push for something else on their agenda, like tax reform…”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypipes/2015/04/06/reconciliation-can-solve-gops-irreconcilable-differences-with-obamacare/
Medicare Advantage to see payment increase, not cut
“Government payments to health insurers as part of the Medicare Advantage program will not be cut, as originally proposed, but will instead rise, the Obama administration announced Monday. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rate cut of 0.95 percent in February under the Medicare Advantage program, where the government contracts with private insurers for seniors’ care. On Monday, though, the CMS in its final announcement revealed there instead would be an increase of 1.25 percent, not a cut. The health insurance industry and some lawmakers in both parties had fought the cuts, but the Obama administration stressed that the new rate is not because of a change in policy but because of changes in actuarial estimates. Namely, the administration is now estimating a higher growth rate in health spending, which brings up the payments under Medicare Advantage…”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/238027-medicare-advantage-to-see-payment-increase-not-cut
Florida governor again changes course on Medicaid expansion
“Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has again reversed his stance on expanding Medicaid under ObamaCare, which would use billions of federal dollars to extend coverage to about 800,000 people. For the first time Monday, Scott turned his back on a Medicaid expansion plan that was recently proposed by Florida’s GOP-controlled Senate but had been rejected by its GOP-controlled House. The governor said he withdrew support for the expansion out of distrust for the federal government. He pointed to frustration that the government said it will no longer reimburse Florida hospitals “to the level it is funded today” to treat low-income patients who can’t pay their bills, Scott wrote in a statement. “It would be hard to understand how the state could take on even more federal programs that [the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] could scale back or walk away from,” Scott’s office wrote in a statement…”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/237984-florida-governor-again-changes-course-on-medicaid-expansion
Florida’s Republican governor says he no longer supports expanding Medicaid
“A little more than two years ago, Florida Gov. Rick Scott made an announcement that shocked the political world: the Republican, who had spent a portion of his personal fortune to oppose Obamacare when it was being drafted in Congress, now supported expanding Medicaid in his state. And it wasn’t just the policy announcement itself. It was the emotional way in which Scott described his conversion from Obamacare hater to Medicaid expansion supporter, speaking about the loss of his mother just months earlier. Expanding Medicaid to nearly 1 million low-income adults was just a matter of doing what’s right, he said in February 2013. “While the federal government is committed to paying 100 percent of the cost of new people in Medicaid, I cannot in good conscience deny the uninsured access to care,” said Scott, a former chief executive of the nation’s largest for-profit hospital chain. Scott advocated a temporary three-year program that could be reversed in case the federal government reneged on its funding promise. But the Florida state legislature didn’t go along, passing up tens of billions of dollars in federal support. Florida is one of 22 states that haven’t joined the Medicaid expansion. And yet the Florida legislature now appears to be reconsidering its stance, or at least debating it again.The Senate has passed a budget that includes federal expansion funding, but the plan faces stiff opposition in the House, which shut down the expansion two years ago. Amid these negotiations, Scott now says he opposes the Medicaid expansion. Scott issued a statement Monday that he doesn’t think the federal government will live up to its funding promise, the Associated Press reported. The federal Department of Health and Human Services pushed back in a Monday statement, saying that “the law is clear” on how much support the federal government must provide for the expansion. In a way, Scott’s change of heart isn’t all that surprising. After giving that emotional speech more than two years ago, Scott didn’t campaign or pressure lawmakers from his own party. Meanwhile, two Republican governors, John Kasich of Ohio and Jan Brewer of Arizona, made full use of their executive powers to expand Medicaid in their states (and faced lawsuits from state lawmakers because of it)…”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/04/06/floridas-republican-governor-just-flip-flopped-on-the-medicaid-expansion/
Would Jeb Bush Take On His Former Business Partners in the Hospital Industry to Repeal Obamacare?
The former Florida governor made over $2 million from a hospital conglomerate that supports Obamacare and stands in the way of badly needed conservative health-care reforms.
“In early 2007, Tenet Healthcare Corp., the giant, publicly traded hospital conglomerate, was reeling. The previous year, the company had been forced to agree to a $900 million settlement with the Justice Department in a Medicare-fraud scandal. Seeking to improve its reputation, Tenet turned to Jeb Bush, offering the former Florida governor a seat on its board of directors. In the more than seven years Bush served on Tenet’s board, the company executed a remarkable turnaround, emerging from the scandal into a period of expansion that returned it to the top of the health-care industry. Bush himself benefited handsomely from the growth. Last year alone, he earned $170,000 in stock awards and $188,000 in fees. He earned over $2 million during the seven years he served on the Tenet board and sold $1.1 million worth of stock in 2013, according to the Los Angeles Times. Support for Obamacare has driven Tenet’s renewed success. “Early on we push hard to be contracted with as many exchange plans as possible,” CEO Trevor Fetter said on an earnings call last summer, referring to the health-care exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act. Tenet also promoted the law’s enrollment drive. “We are confident at least 16,000 people enrolled in exchange-based products and tens of thousands more enrolled in Medicaid as a result of our efforts,” Fetter said. Bush resigned from his lucrative position at Tenet late in 2014, in anticipation of a presidential run. That puts him in the uncomfortable position of leaving an industry that supports Obamacare in order to seek the nomination of a Republican party committed to the repeal of the law. Bush navigated that conflict during the legislative debate by staying silent in public, while making clear in board meetings that he opposed the law but recognized the difference between “personal views and what is best for the company,” Fetter told the New York Times. If he hopes to dismantle Obamacare as president, he’ll have to show a greater willingness to fight the hospital lobby than he displayed to his former colleagues…”
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/416474/would-jeb-bush-take-his-former-business-partners-hospital-industry-repeal-obamacare
Scott Walker: If Supreme Court guts Obamacare subsidies, GOP governors will be under ‘incredible pressure’
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/04/06/scott-walker-if-supreme-court-guts-obamacare-subsidies-gop-governors-will-be-under-incredible-pressure/
In N.H., Carson suggests Obamacare may be about controlling lives
“Dr. Ben Carson says he doesn’t “want to” be president, but feels “obligated to at least seriously consider it.” And the retired neurosurgeon who’s weighing a run for the GOP presidential nomination suggested that Obamacare may be more about controlling Americans rather than helping them. “I don’t doubt that some of the people involved in this gigantic government program of the so-called Affordable Care Act had good intentions, that they wanted to do something. But I do wonder how much thought they put into it,” Carson said as he gave the keynote address to a National Cultural Diversity Awareness Council conference in Manchester. “It does make me wonder sometimes about the motivations,” of those behind President Obama’s health-care law, Carson said. “It’s my own personal opinion that if you can control the most important thing a person has, their health and their health care, then you’re well on the way to controlling every aspect of their life,” he added…”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/04/06/in-n-h-carson-suggests-obamacare-may-be-about-controlling-lives/?wprss=rss_politics
Religious colleges seek contraception mandate exception like for-profit companies
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/6/religious-colleges-seek-contraception-mandate-exce/
IMMIGRATION:
Poll: Yes to more aggressive deportations, no to welfare, citizenship for kids of illegals
“Despite President Obama’s efforts to cool the nation’s views on illegal immigrants storming over the U.S.-Mexico border, Americans have reached a new level of anger over the issue, with most demanding a more aggressive deportation policy — and reversal of a law that grants citizenship to kids of illegals born in the U.S. A new Rasmussen Reports survey released Monday also finds Americans questioning spending tax dollars on government aid provided to illegal immigrants. A huge 83 percent said that anybody should be required to prove that they are “legally allowed” to be in the country before receiving local, state or federal government services. Overall, the poll is bad news for the White House because it shows sustained, and in some cases, elevated anger and frustration over the surge in undocumented immigrants in the United States. For example, 62 percent told the pollster that the U.S. is “not aggressive enough” in deporting those illegally in the United States. Just 15 percent believed the administration’s current policy was “about right” and 16 percent said it was “too aggressive.” That 62 percent number is a jump from a year ago when it was 52 percent.”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/poll-americans-want-illegals-deported-no-citizenship-for-kids-born-in-u.s./article/2562575
Michael Cutler: Immigration Reform Begins by Stopping Terror at Border
“It’s “well and good” that Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says the U.S. is keeping tabs on some 40 Americans who have re-entered the country after traveling to Iraq and Syria to fight with terrorists, but more must be done to keep illegals from crossing the borders, former INS special agent Michael Cutler said Monday on “America’s Forum” on Newsmax TV. “If you look at all the terrorist attacks that have been carried out inside the United States, with the exception of Timothy McVeigh — whether it was the attack at the CIA in ’93 or the first attack at the World Trade Center in ’93, and 9/11 — these were all foreign nationals,” said Cutler, who testified before the 9/11 Commission. Those attacks were done by people “who have managed one way or another to gain entry into the United States, embed themselves, and then go about their deadly preparations,” he said…”
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsmax-Tv/michael-cutler-terrorism-foreigners-homeland-security/2015/04/06/id/636637/
State Dept. program will fly in Central American immigrant children to U.S.
“A new State Department and Department of Homeland Security Program will fly immigrant children from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador to their parents in the U.S. for free. Parents can apply to have their children picked up and flown over the border to them on the taxpayer’s dime, as long as they have some kind of legal immigration status, The Daily Caller reported Wednesday. The program was created in response to a surge of unaccompanied Central American children making the perilous trek to illegally cross the U.S. border that began last summer. Any permanent resident, parolee or illegal immigrant granted or in the process of being granted a work permit under President Barack Obama’s executive order or his deferred action policy, who have children under age 21 living in Honduras, Guatemala or El Salvador can apply for the program, The Daily Caller reported. If the application is approved, the child will be granted special refugee status and flown to the U.S. to receive “resettlement assistance” and will be eligible for taxpayer benefits. If the child has children of their own under 21 they can come into the U.S. too, along with parents of the child who is married to the applicant. The State Department defended the program in a November memo, saying that reuniting children with families this was is “a safe, legal, and orderly alternative to the dangerous journey that some children are currently undertaking to the United States,” Fox News reported Saturday…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/4/state-dept-program-would-fly-in-immigrant-children/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Denver schools take lead in hiring DREAMer teachers
“Like many sojourners to this country, Alejandro Fuentes Mena lives with uncertainty as U.S. immigration policy is debated in the courts, Congress and the White House. But as he awaits a final ruling on his own future, he’s helping other young people build their dreams. Fuentes, who settled in the United States illegally as a child, is a Denver elementary school teacher under a pilot program that recruits young immigrants like him to teach disadvantaged students. Teach for America, a national nonprofit running the program, believes people like Fuentes can be role models for students. Fuentes, 23, has applied for a work permit and reprieve from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, a presidential order. Recipients of deferred action, like Fuentes, are also known as DREAMers. Fuentes wasn’t directly affected by a judicial order this year that stopped the White House from expanding the number of immigrants who could remain in the country temporarily. But it left him worried. “If they overturn this part of immigration reform, will they go back and overturn other parts?” he said. In the meantime, the Teach for America program he’s involved in has grown from two teachers in Denver, where it was launched last year, to 40 teachers in classrooms across the country, including Arizona, California and New Mexico. Denver’s 11 instructors with DACA status comprise the largest group. Teach for America plans to create more opportunities for immigrants like Fuentes. The organization has been recruiting and training teachers since 1989 with the goal of helping disadvantaged students by encouraging bright college graduates to teach them…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/4/denver-schools-take-lead-in-hiring-dreamer-teacher/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Illegal immigrant children surge across border at highest rate since last summer’s peak
“The second wave of unaccompanied illegal immigrant children has begun, with more than 3,000 of them surging across the Mexican border into the U.S. last month — the highest rate since the peak of last summer’s crisis and a warning that another rough season could be ahead. Immigration officials warned that they expected another surge as the weather improved. Although the numbers are down some 40 percent compared with last year’s frenetic pace that sparked a political crisis for the Obama administration, fiscal year 2015 is shaping up to mark the second-biggest surge on record. Authorities report having captured 15,647 children traveling without parents who tried to jump the border in the first six months of the fiscal year. Through this point in 2014, they had apprehended 28,579…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/6/illegal-immigrant-children-surge-across-border-at-/
Democrats File Court Brief Backing Obama Immigration Orders
“A group of 181 Democratic members of the House weighed in on the legal fight over immigration on Monday, telling an appeals court that the executive branch has the authority to make the policy changes that President Barack Obama announced in November. In an amicus brief, the lawmakers said the enforcement of immigration laws and the deferral of certain deportations are squarely within the discretion of the president — a central part of the legal dispute now at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The brief adds that the White House is often better positioned than Congress to determine how to adjust to laws like immigration.
“As representatives of diverse communities across the United States, amici have witnessed how an approach to enforcement of the immigration laws that does not focus on appropriate priorities, such as felons or national security threats, undermines confidence in the nation’s immigration laws, wastes resources, and needlessly divides families,” the lawmakers’ brief states. “Amici regard the actions of the executive branch challenged in this suit as appropriate measures to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security’s limited enforcement resources are directed toward the removal of persons who pose actual threats to public safety,” the brief states. Democratic lawmakers signing the brief include House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, Assistant Leader James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra of California, Caucus Vice Chairman Joseph Crowley of New York, Judiciary Committee ranking Democrat John Conyers Jr. of Michigan and Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee ranking Democrat Zoe Lofgren of California.
The 5th Circuit is scheduled to hear arguments in New Orleans this month on whether to continue to block the Obama administration from implementing immigration policies announced in November that would allow prosecutorial discretion to defer the removal of millions of illegal immigrants. Republican House members have said that Obama’s actions go beyond non-enforcement of deportation laws and grant affirmative benefits to illegal immigrants. U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen in Texas issued the injunction in February, siding with 26 states that challenged Obama’s executive orders. Those orders would grant deferred deportation for the parents of U.S. citizens and legal residents and expand on the deferred deportation program that the Obama administration created in 2012 for immigrants who came to the United States as children. Also Monday, a group of former members of Congress filed an amicus brief in support of the Obama administration’s actions. In the brief, the former lawmakers said the president’s discretion is important “because, as they well know, the exercise of that discretion is often critical to the effective enforcement of the nation’s laws.”…”
http://www.rollcall.com/news/democrats_file_court_brief_backing_obama_immigration_orders-241084-1.html
Words vs. Deeds on Amnesty
“Democratic amnesty-pushers, and their Republican collaborators, keep telling us how popular “comprehensive immigration reform” is. But the actions of those same politicians suggest they don’t believe their own press releases. For instance, 181 House Democrats signed on to an amicus brief defending the administration’s right to unilaterally amnesty millions of illegal aliens. So far, so good. But what about the others? “The 12 Democrats who left their names off are mostly centrists and members who will face tough reelection races next year.” But if amnesty’s so popular, why wouldn’t these vulnerable Democrats campaign on their support for it? Then there’s Oregon. You’ll recall that in November the voters there overwhelmingly voted down a measure passed by the legislature to give driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. (Lest you think they’re right-wingers, in the same election they legalized pot and reelected their crooked Democratic governor, who has since resigned.) The reason the citizenry was able to kill the license bill is that the open-borders crowd forgot to include an “emergency clause” in the bill, which would have allowed it to go into effect immediately. As you can imagine, the anti-borders crowd isn’t going to make that mistake again. So in their latest effort at helping illegal aliens — a bill that would give taxpayer-funded scholarships to illegal-alien students at state universities — they’ve inserted that crucial emergency clause. The only “emergency” is that voters might be given an opportunity to stop this latest giveaway of their money to intruders. A new Rasmussen poll suggests that amnesty-pushers’ fear of letting voters express their thoughts on immigration at the ballot box is well-founded. Yes, you can ask questions in any number of ways and, yes, Americans are ambivalent about the issue. But when you ask the same question over time you get a sense of trends, and these don’t look good for the anti-borders crowd. Sixty-two percent of likely voters said the government is ”not aggressive enough in deporting those who are in this country illegally,” up from 56 percent in November and 52 percent one year ago. When asked, “Should illegal immigrants who have American-born children be exempt from deportation?” 51 percent said no, up from 42 percent in November. Also, 54 percent oppose automatic citizenship for children born to illegals, and 83 percent said people should prove legal status before receiving welfare. Mencken wrote that “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” If only…”
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/416534/words-vs-deeds-amnesty-mark-krikorian
Dems: Immigration actions are legal
“Nearly every House Democrat endorsed a legal brief on Monday supporting President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. A total of 181 House Democrats signed onto an amicus brief in a Texas court that argues Obama’s deferred deportation programs should be allowed to move forward. “Congress has vested the Secretary of Homeland Security with broad discretion to determine how best to implement the immigration laws, including the particular decisions embodied in the Deferred Action Memorandum,” the brief states. A Texas district court judge in February issued a preliminary injunction that halted Obama’s executive actions.
The order came after 26 states, led by Texas, filed a lawsuit challenging Obama’s actions as unconstitutional. In their brief, the Democrats argued that the expansion of programs to delay deportations of illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children and parents of legal citizens are within the executive branch’s authority. The House Democrats maintained that allowing the Texas district court judge’s ruling to stand would establish a slippery slope for executive and, ultimately, congressional power. “The ruling therefore threatens the executive’s ability to enforce statutes, within resource constraints, in a manner that remains faithful to Congress’s intent, and in turn threatens Congress’s ability to enact effective legislation,” the lawmakers stated in the brief. All members of the House Democratic leadership, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.), Assistant Leader James Clyburn (S.C.) and Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra (Calif.), endorsed the document. Twelve of the 188 Democrats in the House didn’t sign onto the brief. The 12 Democrats who left their names off are mostly centrists and members who will face tough reelection races next year: Reps. Brad Ashford (Neb.), Jim Cooper (Tenn.), Henry Cuellar (Texas), Gwen Graham (Fla.), Rick Larsen (Wash.), Dan Lipinski (Ill.), Stephen Lynch (Mass.), Collin Peterson (Minn.), Kurt Schrader (Ore.), Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), Peter Visclosky (Ind.) and Tim Walz (Minn.). Five non-voting delegates who caucus with the Democrats were among the brief’s signatories: Madeleine Bordallo (Guam), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.), Pedro Pierluisi (Puerto Rico), Stacey Plaskett (Virgin Islands) and Gregorio Sablan (Northern Mariana Islands). Earlier Monday, more than 70 city and county leaders submitted a similar legal brief arguing that Obama’s executive actions be allowed to proceed. The Justice Department has filed an appeal of the Texas court’s decision. That case is now in the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals…”
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/238012-house-dems-side-with-obama-in-immigration-court-case
Dem Mayors Beg Judge For Amnesty, As Peak Number Of Americans Oppose It
“More voters than ever think the United States should be more stringent about deporting illegal immigrants, according to a Rasmussen poll released Monday, in contrast to several liberal mayors who are calling on a federal court to allow President Obama’s executive amnesty to take effect. The poll suggests an ongoing disconnect between voters’ preferences on immigration policy and some politicians’ efforts. The growing dissatisfaction with policies comes in spite of President Obama’s effort to halt deportations for five million through an executive action. The amnesty program was halted earlier this year by a federal court in Texas, which ruled Obama’s actions violated the Administrative Procedure Act. (RELATED: Federal Judge Blocks Obama’s Amnesty) Rasmussen found that 62 percent of likely voters said the government isn’t aggressive enough in deporting illegal immigrants, up from 56 percent last November when President Obama announced his amnesty plan. Just 16 percent think the government is overly aggressive in deporting those here illegally. Notably, 51 percent now think that illegal immigrants with American-born children should not be exempt from deportation — a key part of Obama’s executive orders — up from 42 percent in November. Thirty-two percent support the exemption. Just over half of voters said they worry that attempts to identify and deport illegal immigrants could end up violating the rights of U.S. citizens. Most overwhelmingly, however, Rasmussen found that voters support restricting welfare to legal immigrants only. Eighty-three percent said they support requiring people to prove they are legally present before they can access local, state or federal government services…”
http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/06/dem-mayors-beg-judge-for-amnesty-as-peak-number-of-americans-oppose-it/
Va. AG files brief in support of Obama immigration plan
“Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the government’s bid to end a judge’s roadblock of the Obama administration’s immigration plan. Virginia joins 14 other states and the District of Columbia with the amicus brief filed Monday by Herring’s office. Herring said the administration’s immigration proposals could protect from deportation up to 92,000 undocumented immigrants in Virginia. Justice Department attorneys have filed an emergency motion with a federal appeals court in New Orleans to lift the preliminary injunction issued this year by a judge in Brownsville, Texas, blocking President Barack Obama’s immigration plan. The injunction had been issued on the request of a coalition of 26 states that filed a lawsuit to overturn the plan…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/6/va-ag-files-brief-in-support-of-obama-immigration-/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Immigration and Equality
“Now that a federal judge has enjoined President Obama’s unilateral amnesty, immigration reform will have to be achieved the old-fashioned – and constitutional – way: by compromise with Congress. A grand bargain is not impossible, but it will require a broad re-framing of the issues and a clear sense of what is at stake. For one thing, any such bargain should end, once and for all, governmental discrimination on the basis of race. Affirmative action and immigration might, at first glance, appear unrelated; in fact, they are profoundly and perversely intertwined. It is often said that anti-immigration sentiment is driven by a fear of competition; Americans are said to fear competing against new immigrants for jobs, for contracts, for educational opportunities. This account leaves out a crucial part of the story: Americans have never lacked competitive spirit or feared a fair fight. What many Americans fear is that these competitions will, in fact, be rigged from the outset. The sad fact is that they are right. American law and policy will discriminate in favor of most immigrants — those of favored races such as blacks and Hispanics — and their children, and their children’s children. Correspondingly, American law and policy will discriminate against Americans of disfavored races — Asian Americans, Indian Americans, Caucasian Americans — and their children, and their children’s children. This discrimination is enshrined in federal law, in state law, and in private policy abetted by law. It is called affirmative action…”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/04/06/immigration-and-equality/
Arizona delegation decries release of immigrant with TB
“Arizona’s two senators and some members of its congressional delegation are disputing the impending release of an immigrant with tuberculosis in Pinal County. Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake, along with representatives Ann Kirkpatrick and Paul Gosar, urged U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to reconsider in a letter Friday. According to Pinal County Director of Public Health Thomas Schryer, an ICE detention facility in Florence will release the immigrant, who is in the country illegally, because the agency has no legal reason to hold him. Schryer says the immigrant has been receiving treatment for the past seven months for a drug-resistant form of TB. Gosar says his release will jeopardize residents and impose financial burdens on the county. An ICE spokeswoman did not return a request seeking comment Sunday…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/5/arizona-delegation-decries-release-of-immigrant-wi/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
ICE says immigrant with tuberculosis won’t be released
“Immigrations and Customs Enforcement says a man with tuberculosis will not be released from detention in Arizona. The man, who has not been identified, is at a detention center in Florence. Thomas D. Schryer, director of public health in Pinal County, said the agency notified him a few weeks ago that the man would be released. Schryer said the man has started and stopped treatment multiple times and is resistant to the common drugs used to battle tuberculosis. ICE said the man was issued a removal order in 2013 and is an enforcement priority, but a judge must decide whether he will be deported. Immigration authorities test all detainees for tuberculosis, although it’s fairly rare that a detainee is diagnosed…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/6/ice-says-immigrant-with-tuberculosis-wont-be-relea/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Business advocates lobby Congress for more guest workers, high-tech visas
“With the push for a broad immigration bill now dead in Congress, business advocates are ramping up their calls for Republicans who run both chambers to at least consider updating the nation’s guest-worker programs to help boost the economy. From overhauling the visa that allows in farmworkers to boosting the number of high-tech visas awarded each year, businesses are insisting the gridlock that has stalled the legalization debate for current illegal immigrants not derail their own needs, which they say are rising along with the economy. “Tens of thousands of people will be turned away simply because we don’t have enough visas to meet the needs of our economy,” said John Feinblatt, the chairman of the Partnership for a New American Economy, on a press-conference call last week as he begged for Congress to enhance the H-1B visa program, which allows foreigners with high-tech skills to take jobs in the U.S. Meanwhile, more than five dozen members of Congress wrote a letter last week saying that any move to stiffen enforcement should also revamp the existing agricultural guest-worker program, known as the H-2A visa, which the lawmakers said isn’t working. The bipartisan group of House members was sending a signal that even getting an enforcement-only bill, which has been the GOP leadership’s early approach, will run into trouble with Republicans who represent agriculture-heavy districts that rely on illegal immigrant labor to man the farms. Farmers say that if they’re going to have to find legal workers, the government must make sure there’s a supply of legal foreign workers available, through the H-2A program. “It is imperative that any effort to implement mandatory E-Verify be coupled with a solution to agriculture’s unique labor needs,” the lawmakers, led by Rep. Dan Newhouse, Washington Republican, said in a letter to House leaders. “Failure to couple these reforms together would create an unworkable situation for American agriculture.”…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/5/congress-immigration-debate-turns-to-guest-workers/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Immigration Reform 2015: US Cities Call For Delay Of Obama Executive Order To End
“A growing number of officials from U.S. cities are urging a Texas judge who blocked President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration to consider what they say are the “significant harms” the delay imposes on local governments. More than 70 mayors and state representatives across the country have signed the Cities United for Immigration Action, an effort spearheaded by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti highlighting the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability, the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and the perceived benefits immigration reform has for cities across the country. “Continuing to delay implementation of the President’s executive action on immigration hurts our economy and puts families at risk,” de Blasio said in an emailed statement Monday. Among the advantages cited in the group’s brief, filed Monday, are job creation, increased local tax revenue and improved public safety. “Our cities are united, and we will fight for the immigration reform this nation needs and deserves — whether in the courtroom, in Congress, or in our communities. Make no mistake about it: our voices will be heard,” said de Blasio. In November, Obama bypassed Congress in signing an executive order shielding nearly 5 million immigrants from deportation and granting benefits to some parents of citizens and legal residents. The topic has become an important talking point among lawmakers leading up to the 2016 presidential elections. Republicans quickly denounced the unilateral movement and accused the president of overstepping his boundaries. A U.S. District Judge in Texas later blocked the actions after 26 states, led by Texas, sued to have the President Obama’s actions stopped….”
http://www.ibtimes.com/immigration-reform-2015-us-cities-call-delay-obama-executive-order-end-1870558
Driver’s license demand surges
Surprising 500,000 Immigrants apply
“A surge of undocumented immigrants seeking driver’s licenses has surprised the California Department of Motor Vehicles, pouring in at twice the rate officials expected and underscoring massive interest in the new program. Just three months after driver’s licenses became available to immigrants living in California illegally, the product of legislation advocates had pursued fruitlessly for years before prevailing and passing Assembly Bill 60 in 2013, 493,998 have sought licenses. The number has surprised officials who spent months bracing for an influx of new customers by hiring staff, opening new DMV offices and extending hours. “The interest in this program is far greater than anyone anticipated,” DMV Director Jean Shiomoto said in a statement. In preparing to offer the new licenses, the DMV estimated that about 1.4 million immigrants would apply over the course of three years. The new figures show they have handled one-third of that expected total in three months, a rate double what the DMV expected, although the official estimate of the total number of eligible applicants remains the same. About 203,000 people have received licenses . An initial burst of applicants began to level off in February, said a spokesman for the DMV. He attributed the rapid pace to a mass information campaign that enlisted law enforcement, elected officials, consular authorities and foreign language media to get the word out. “There’s been a lot of outreach from many groups, many organizations,”said Artemio Armenta, a spokesman for the DMV. “A lot of efforts from every angle, from social media to the news media to community organizations getting the word out – it’s been a big effort across the board.” The swell of immigrant license seekers has led to longer wait times for walk-ins at field offices and processing centers, particularly in Southern California. In response, DMV officials have been encouraging customers to handle requests online or make appointments. They added phone lines, responding to customers complaining of getting busy signals when they called for appointments, and restructured the workflow at offices. “We sort of have a triage system, if you will,” Armenta said. “We were seeing longer lines at the beginning because people were coming in early, hoping to be the first to apply for a license.”…”
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/article17373587.html
California gets nearly 500K license applications under AB60
“California received nearly a half-million applications for driver’s licenses from immigrants in the country illegally in the