TEA PARTY PATRIOTS:
TEA PARTY PATRIOTS EXCITED BY PAUL PRESIDENTIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
“Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin expressed excitement at Sen. Rand Paul’s presidential run Tuesday. “It’s exciting to see another energetic, visionary conservative enter the contest for the 2016 nomination,” Martin said in a statement. “Sen. Paul has been at the forefront of the liberty movement, and he will do a lot to shape the debate as the GOP field expands.” Paul was part of the Tea Party wave when he was first elected to the Senate from Kentucky in 2010. He officially announced his presidential candidacy Tuesday. “Rand Paul knows that the paths to prosperity and individual liberty are one and the same; to get there we need a transformational reduction of the role of government in Americans’ lives,” Martin added. She continued, saying the Paul is a factor in the grassroots movement, given his appeal to your people, adding that Tea Party Patriots “look forward to seeing his plan for advancing personal freedom, economic freedom and a debt-free future.” Martin concluded by praising the location of his presidential announcement: the Galt House hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. “And when Rand Paul announces his candidacy at the Galt House, well, he’s won Headline of the Day,” she said…”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/04/07/tea-party-patriots-excited-by-paul-presidential-announcement/
Republican Rand Paul announces presidential run
“…The GOP primary could pit Paul, Cruz and Rubio against each other as they vie for the votes of Tea Party supporters who backed them for the Senate. But the competition is viewed as healthy for Republicans eager to take back the White House. “It’s a positive thing that so many potential candidates do support our values,” said Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots. “It shows our values are once again front and center in the political discussion in America.”…”
http://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2015/04/07/rand-paul-president-2016-election/25400285/
2016 hopefuls Paul, Cruz, Rubio hope there’s enough tea to go around
“After a rough 2014 election season in which most of their candidates were shellacked in Republican primaries, tea party leaders said the trio in the presidential contest shows their movement still has life. “The fact that the first three Republican candidates are going to be candidates that ran for the U.S. Senate and were elected to the U.S. Senate on tea party values and now intend to run for the presidency on tea party values shows the strength and maturity of the movement,” said Jenny Beth Martin, president and co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots…
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/7/rand-paul-ted-cruz-marco-rubio-battle-for-tea-part/
Strategists: Disenchanted GOP Voters Could Give Paul 2016 Triumph
“….The three are first-term senators who all entered Congress in the tea party wave of 2010. “It’s exciting to see another energetic, visionary conservative enter the contest for the 2016 nomination,” said Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots. “Sen. Paul has been at the forefront of the liberty movement, and he will do a lot to shape the debate as the GOP field expands.” As many as 20 Republicans could be vying for the nomination before the Iowa caucuses in February…”
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/rand-paul-disenchanted-republican-voters/2015/04/07/id/637060/
HEALTHCARE:
Obamacare 40% Cadillac Tax Hits No Frills Plans Too. Like Your Plan, Keep Your Plan?
“In 2010, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged passage of Obamacare so we could find out what’s in it. We found many new taxes, but in 2010, few worried about the Cadillac tax that was delayed until 2018. Besides, it would apply only to truly rich plans for the most elite. The numbers no longer seem so elite. The tax applies to individual health plans worth more than $10,200 and family plans worth more than $27,500. They are hit with a whopping 40% excise tax. Former Obamacare adviser Jonathan Gruber gloated that rising medical costs would ensure that the Cadillac tax would all but eliminate tax deductible company provided health insurance. Mr. Gruber even said President Obama was in the room when the Cadillac tax lie was created. 2018 now seems close and the Cadillac tax is looming. Many Democrats and Republicans may be curiously aligned in considering repealing it. Politico has an in-depth story on the Cadillac tax, noting that repealing it would cost $87 billion. Even so, the 40% excise tax will clearly be a catastrophe. Rep. Frank Guinta (R-N.H.) introduced legislation to repeal it. Companies and unions must plan ahead as they negotiate benefits…”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2015/04/07/obamacare-40-cadillac-tax-hits-no-frills-plans-too-like-your-plan-keep-your-plan/
Tax season surprises could roil Obamacare
“The first tax season with Obamacare is drawing to a close on April 15, and “surprises” in some taxpayers’ refunds may affect how many people enroll in health insurance through the program in the future, experts said. President Obama’s healthcare law offers subsidies in the form of tax credits to help individuals purchase insurance. The credits are available either when they sign up for coverage or as part of their tax refunds. Because the credits are calculated based on income, for those receiving financial assistance in advance, any changes to earnings between the time individuals apply for Obamacare and the time they file taxes could mean they have to pay back some of the subsidies by forgoing all or part of their refunds. Tax preparer H&R Block has estimated about 52 percent of Obamacare customers who received advanced credits will have to pay at least part of them back. Experts said that the process of matching Obamacare tax credits with reported income, known as “reconciliation,” could have an impact on enrollment. “Some unexpected surprises could make more people skittish,” said Larry Levitt, senior vice president of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. “I think the better response would be for people to be conscientious about reporting changes in income throughout the year, which would minimize refunds or repayments.” But that can be hard to do…”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tax-season-surprises-could-roil-obamacare/article/2562619?custom_click=rss
If you hated tax day before ObamaCare . . .
“This year, ObamaCare is making the least popular day — April 15 — even worse.
For about one in four tax filers, it’s turning out to be a nightmare, with extra paperwork and penalties. And for high earners or anyone selling a piece of property or business, ObamaCare means higher taxes. If you enrolled in ObamaCare in 2014 and got a subsidy to pay for it, you’re at risk of losing your refund. Surprise: You may even owe Uncle Sam money. Only 4 percent of people who signed up for ObamaCare got the correct subsidy, so a whopping 96 percent will see their tax bill adjusted, some up and others down. Who would design a system that’s right only 4 percent of the time? Worse, the IRS sent out bungled subsidy information to some 800,000 filers, and now nearly all of them are being told they’ll have to wait, maybe until Oct. 15, to straighten it out. Too bad if they need their refund to make a mortgage payment. And good luck getting help from IRS staff. Even IRS Commissioner John Koskinen admits the agency is answering only 43 percent of calls, and that’s after an average of 26 minutes on hold. No matter what your politics, you’ve got to agree this isn’t working. This is the first tax day when all filers will have to attest that they and their family members had coverage throughout 2014, or pay a penalty. If you lacked coverage last year and want to avoid a penalty, you’ll have to fill out a new Form 8965. So put your weekend plans on hold. The instruction manual for that form is 12 pages long. For 2014, the penalty is 1 percent of adjusted household income, up to the cost of the lowest priced ObamaCare plan (about $5,000 for an individual). A single person earning $40,000 a year will have to pay a $298.50 penalty. To figure out precisely what you owe, use the “shared responsibility payment” work sheet in Form 8965’s instruction book. The penalty doubles to 2 percent in 2015 and then rises to 2.95 percent in 2016…”
http://nypost.com/2015/04/07/if-you-hated-tax-day-before-obamacare/
ObamaCare Individual Mandate Will Bite Dems In 2016
“Democrats are sometimes accused of backing policies that essentially buy off modest-income voters with government handouts. But a policy that does the opposite — ObamaCare’s individual mandate — is ramping up just in time for 2016. Individual mandate penalties are set to roughly triple from a minimum of $95 per person owed this tax season to a bill of at least $325 that will come due in early 2016. And the stakes will be even greater as voters go to the ballot box: A penalty due in 2017 of at least $695 per adult who goes uninsured and doesn’t qualify for one of ObamaCare’s hardship exemptions. Any slight chance that Democrats can avoid millions of working-class and middle-class Americans being hit with mandate penalties in an election year seemed to fade last week, as the Obama administration revealed that its tax-season enrollment extension started with a whimper. The last-ditch effort was meant to give people who found that they’d have to pay a fine when they filed their income taxes a final chance to avoid paying a much bigger penalty next year. But in the first two weeks of the extra period from March 15 to April 30, just 36,000 new signups followed that script. Enrollment Low Again – That followed an open-enrollment period in which 11.7 million people signed up for coverage, which was somewhat disappointing for ObamaCare backers. By the time those who don’t pay are winnowed out, paid exchange enrollment is likely to slip below 11 million, more than 1 million below Congressional Budget Office projections. Just how many millions will have to pay a tax penalty, reducing their tax refund, is far from clear — and will be until the IRS discloses the number who paid a penalty this tax season. In 2014, CBO estimated that 4 million people who were uninsured in 2016 would pay penalties in 2017. That forecast implied that there would be somewhere in excess of 5 million paying penalties in 2016, since the ranks of the uninsured are expected to shrink pretty substantially after 2015 in response to the ramping of the individual mandate tax. Surprisingly Honest – But those figures come with a large margin of error. This year’s enrollment has been weaker than CBO anticipated. Also, fewer people may cheat than CBO expects, by failing to voluntarily disclose that they were uninsured. H&R Block said in February that its tax-filing season data has been in line with its expectations, suggesting that “most taxpayers are accurately indicating their household insurance coverage status.”
Customers paid a $172 tax penalty, on average, meaning that the 1% of taxable income alternative exceeded the minimum $95 fine. That suggests that fines will average $400 or more next year, when those penalized will owe at least 2% of taxable income, or a minimum of $325.
In 2016, the individual mandate penalty levied the following year will be the greater of $695 or 2.5% of taxable income. The biggest wild card may be the employer coverage take-up by modest-to-moderate income individuals — especially young adults — who have been uninsured. This group didn’t get a special signup extension and generally would have faced an enrollment deadline before tax season…”
http://news.investors.com/Politics-ObamaCare/040715-746760-obamacare-individual-mandate-hurt-democrats-in-2016.htm?p=2
Cantor: GOP plan for ObamaCare will nix mandates
“Former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Tuesday the Republican Party could have its first real chance to repeal ObamaCare mandates this year. Cantor said the GOP will have strong bargaining power on healthcare reform if ObamaCare loses in the Supreme Court. That could force the administration to make a major compromise. “The two sides are going to have to work with one another if there’s going to be some resolution here,” Cantor said in a Washington panel hosted by New York University. “Republicans are not going to accept a mandate.” Cantor shared a stage with former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who immediately argued that allowing healthcare reform was not possible without requiring broader participation in the marketplace. “If you get rid of pre-existing conditions, you need a mandate,” Sebelius shot back. Eliminating the individual and employer mandates have been an increasingly big priority for Republicans in this year’s GOP-controlled Congress. But Sebelius argued that popular policy ideas — such as protecting people with pre-existing conditions — aren’t possible without the mandates. “Unless you want a single-payer plan, if you want private insurance industry to survive, you have to tie that to a balanced risk pool,” she said. Cantor said the administration will have to concede on some policy areas, facing pressure from governors and GOP congressional leaders. “Both sides are going to have to step up, and I think the sensitivity on the Republican side is going to be, ‘We’ve got to roll back the sense that [the government] can fix all problems here,’ ” said Cantor, who was unseated in the 2014 election cycle. Both former leaders also warned of the impending doom that could result from the looming court case, King v. Burwell…”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/238149-cantor-gops-court-plan-for-obamacare-will-nix-mandates
Federal Obamacare exchanges better at retaining, recruiting enrollees in 2015: Study
“Obamacare exchanges run by the federal government both retained a higher percentage of 2014 customers and added new ones at a better rate than states with their own portals, an analysis released Tuesday found. Avalere Health, a Washington-based consultancy, says 34 federal exchanges re-enrolled 78 percent of their 2014 customers in 2015, on average, through HealthCare.gov, while 11 state-run exchanges for which it had data retained 69 percent. Avalere said the discrepancy is hard to explain. One theory is that more state-exchange customers than federal ones over-reported their income in 2014 and then shifted onto Medicaid, the government health program for the poor. California, the largest state-run exchange, shifted 200,000 enrollees into the program for 2015, Avalere said, but cautioned it is unclear why the state-run exchanges would be disproportionately affected by the phenomenon. The federal exchanges increased enrollment by 61 percent from 2014 to 2015, to 8.8 million customers, while state-run exchanges upped enrollment by 12 percent, to 2.2. million, the study says. While large-scale federal exchanges in Florida and Texas increased enrollment by 62 percent and 64 percent, respectively, large state-run counterparts in California and New York increased their customer base by just 1 percent and 10 percent. “Federally-facilitated exchange states significantly outperformed their state-run counterparts in 2015,” said Caroline Pearson, senior vice president at Avalere. “Some of the higher 2015 enrollment may be attributed to initial technological issues with HealthCare.gov that may have depressed 2014 enrollment, however that alone does not explain why state-run exchanges did so poorly, relative to the federally-facilitated exchange states.”…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/7/obamacare-exchanges-better-getting-enrollees-study/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Income divide separates young Americans on Obamacare
“The rollout of Obamacare has led to a major drop in the uninsured rate among young adults, but the wealthier among that group saw the biggest decline first, according to a new study. The report, released Monday in the journal Health Affairs, also underscores that young adults remain more likely to lack health coverage than the general population, even several years into the Affordable Care Act. “They’ve always had this incredibly high rate of uninsurance,” said Stacey McMorrow, an Urban Institute researcher and co-author of the report. But the rate has plummeted in recent years. In 2009, the year before the Affordable Care Act was passed into law, the uninsured rate among adults age 19 to 25 stood at 30 percent. By the second quarter of 2014, after open enrollment closed for the first year of Obamacare private insurance plans, the uninsured rate among that age group was 19 percent. Among the overall population, the uninsured rate stood at about 12.3 percent in early 2015. The sharp decline in uninsured rates among young adults happened at different times depending on their income levels, according to the study. From 2010 to 2013, young adults with higher incomes saw a disproportionate decrease in their uninsured rates, the result of an Obamacare provision that allows people under age 26 to stay on their parents’ health plans. The uninsurance rate among that income group, who earn more than four times the poverty level, fell from 15.7 percent to just 6.1 percent during that three-year time frame, according to the report. Young adults who earned between 139 percent and 400 percent of the poverty level saw their uninsured rate drop from 37 percent to 26.4 percent. But young adults with low incomes, who earn 138 percent or less of the poverty level, saw no significant reduction in uninsurance rates in the first few years after that rule took effect. In 2014, however, young adults with either low or moderate incomes experienced significant reductions in their uninsured rate, the result of two other major provisions. Those provisions were the expansion of the Medicaid program to include more people, and the launch of government-run insurance exchanges selling subsidized health plans that went into effect that year, the study found…”
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102563400
Congressman faults ObamaCare for universities dropping student coverage
“Colleges and universities are making the decision to stop selling health insurance, leaving one congressman to blame it on the “poorly written” Affordable Care Act. In an interview with The Associated Press, Steven M. Bloom, director of federal relations for the American Council on Education, says the main driver of colleges getting out of the insurance business is a provision in ObamaCare that prevents students from using taxpayer subsidies to purchase school insurance. Brady, Kevin (R-TX)Throw in the rising cost of student insurance, the expansion of Medicaid in some states, and a provision that allows people under 26 to remain on their parents’ health insurance, and you have some colleges and universities making the decision to stop offering health insurance to students. Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX) opposes the idea and blames ObamaCare. In his Monday Morning Memo podcast, Brady recalls a town hall conversation he had with a college student who said she could not afford the ObamaCare plan she signed up for. The student’s parents were on Medicare, which wasn’t an option for her. “Another case of one-size-fits-all, Washington-knows-best healthcare continues to prove itself to be the wrong solution for Americans,” the congressman said. Steven Bloom tells the AP that he has heard of instances where schools are reluctant to drop insurance coverage, “particularly in instances where states declined to expand Medicaid.”…”
http://www.onenewsnow.com/politics-govt/2015/04/07/congressman-faults-obamacare-for-universities-dropping-student-coverage#.VSQ6XbqWvKA
Obamacare birth control challenge gets a hearing
“The next big Obamacare question of whether religious schools can duck the birth control mandate got another federal appeals court hearing on Tuesday. One of several similar lawsuits winding their way through the courts, this one is brought by two Baptist colleges that say the Obama administration hasn’t provided enough of an out from having to provide birth control coverage for workers under Obamacare. Like other religious schools, hospitals and charities, East Texas Baptist and Houston Baptist argue they should be entirely exempted from that requirement. The administration has said if they don’t want to pay for it, they can sign a form transferring that ability to a third-party insurer — but the groups say that still involves them in coverage for birth control they morally oppose. “The government is using East Texas Baptist and Houston Baptist’s health plans to deliver drugs and devices they object to,” said Diana Verm, counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the group representing the universities. “That’s a violation of their religious liberty and the law.”…”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/obamacare-birth-control-challenge-gets-a-hearing/article/2562655?custom_click=rss
Rand Paul Doesn’t Mention Obamacare Repeal In 2016 Announcement
“Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul formally announced his presidential campaign Tuesday, and notably failed to mention a top target of GOP hopefuls: Obamacare. Paul has been vaunting his health care know-how while prepping his campaign, emphasizing his career as an ophthalmologist before running for office for the first time in 2010. But Paul overlooked the health-care law while listing a number of hot-button issues in his speech. In contrast, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the only other Republican to formally declare a 2016 campaign, took the time in his announcement last month to call for repealing “every word” of Obamacare. Cruz has made a name for himself by filibustering Obamacare funding for over 21 hours in 2013. Kentucky, Paul’s home state and the locale of his speech, has a complicated relationship with the health-care law. It’s one of the few GOP strongholds that created its own Obamacare exchange instead of leaving it to the federal government and the only Southern state to also expand Medicaid. While Kentucky’s uninsured rate has dropped, largely due to the vast Medicaid expansion, the law remains unpopular in the state. The senator has consistently called for Obamacare’s repeal, however, and features his opposition to the law on his campaign website…”
http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/07/rand-paul-doesnt-mention-obamacare-repeal-in-2016-announcement/
HSAs, not Obamacare, promote personal responsibility, Carson says
“Dr. Ben Carson, a potential presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon, questioned the motivations behind the Affordable Care Act speaking in Manchester yesterday. “If you can control the most important thing a person has – their health and their health care – then you’re well on your way to controlling every aspect of their life,” he said. Before President Obama’s signature health care law took effect, he said, 85 percent of people were satisfied with their health insurance – leaving only 15 percent looking for change. With “the amount of time and money we spent, we could have given that 15 percent the best plan anybody can imagine and still been in much better shape,” said the renowned former director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, who was the first person to successfully separate conjoined twins joined at the head. “It makes me wonder about the motivations. Can people really be that dense, or do they have other motivations in mind?” he said, speaking at a gathering of the National Cultural Diversity Awareness Council at the Radisson Hotel. Carson said he was brought up in poverty by a mother working multiple jobs, leaving at 5 a.m. and returning at midnight. In spite of her struggle, he said, she didn’t seek welfare benefits because “she noticed most people she saw go on welfare never came off of it.” In many places across the country, it’s easier to “cultivate all the various entitlement programs and live on that than it is to work a minimum wage job,” Carson said, adding that the system is an incentive for people to not work and therefore not develop their skills. He said “trillions and trillions of dollars” have been spent “since the Great Society programs of the ’60s,” resulting in more people on food stamps, more people in poverty, more broken families, more crime and more incarceration. “Everything that was supposed to be better is much worse,” he said. “Intelligent people would look at that and say, ‘Hmm, maybe we need to change course.’ And people who perhaps have lost their cerebral connection would not think that. They would say, ‘We need to throw more money at it.’ ” There’s a silent, logical majority in the country, Carson said, who need to speak up if that course is to change. The health care debate is critical, he said…”
http://www.concordmonitor.com/news/politicalmonitor/16406147-95/hsas-not-obamacare-promote-personal-responsibility-carson-says
Top Legislator Says The VA Won’t Get A Dime More Of Taxpayer Funds Until It Shapes Up
“Republican Rep. Jeff Miller said Congress ”will not authorize another dime” for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ hospital in Denver until the VA “takes it seriously.” The VA thinks it needs around $830 million to finish construction of the state-of-the-art hospital. Just last year, VA officials estimated that the new Denver hospital would open in May 2015 and cost only $630 million dollars. That estimate has since been shattered. Deputy VA Secretary Sloan Gibson recently sent a letter to Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, saying the total cost will amount to $1.73 billion. According to Gibson, the department will need Congress to authorize an additional $830 million. Miller isn’t interested. “VA’s handling of the Denver construction fiasco has been a case study for how not to handle a crisis, and that remains true to this day,” Miller said in a statement to The Daily Caller News Foundation…”
http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/07/top-legislator-says-the-va-wont-get-a-dime-more-of-taxpayer-funds-until-it-shapes-up/
VA Reform: Another Obama “Success Story”
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/04/08/va_reform_another_obama_success_story_126182.html
IMMIGRATION:
Democrats push to extend health, legal rights to immigrants
“Responding to federal inaction over immigration reform, California Democrats on Tuesday will propose a package of 10 bills that would extend health care, legal rights and business protection to immigrants who are illegally living in the state. Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, will lead the majority party’s push to expand health coverage to all Californians, regardless of their immigration status, although they are not proposing any funding to pay for the extensions. The package includes help for immigrants to apply for legal status if they have been a victim of a crime and assistance for the recent surge of immigrant children crossing the border to stay in the country, according to a legislative source who was briefed on the proposal but not authorized to discuss it before its release. Another bill bans businesses from discriminating against a person on the basis of their immigration status, citizenship or language. Other bills seek to establish a state agency to help newly arrived immigrants, protect immigrants from unscrupulous employers and extend legal protections to avoid detention and deportation, according to a written summary of the legislation. Democrats who control the governor’s office and both chambers of the Legislature have said they want to find ways for immigrants to come out of the state’s economic shadows. Senate Minority Leader Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, questioned the costs…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/7/democrats-push-to-extend-health-legal-rights-to-im/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Previously Deported Immigrants Can Now Enter the U.S. on Taxpayers’ Dime
They can also receive a wide variety of federal benefits once they arrive.
“In 2014, unaccompanied alien children from Central America walked across America’s southern border in droves. This year, the U.S. government will pay for unaccompanied alien children to be flown into the country, even if they were convicted of a felony, and furnish them with federal benefits to boot. It sounds outlandish, so how is it happening? It’s called the In-Country Refugee/Parole Program for Central American Minors, and the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security introduced it on November 14, 2014. They promised it would not become “a pathway for undocumented parents to bring their children to the United States,” but it appears that’s not the case. The program not only creates a pathway for Central American children to reunite with their newly amnestied parents, it also pays their travel costs and ensures them federal benefits. The program is open to any unmarried child under age 21 in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, provided they have a parent lawfully present in the U.S. If the children fail to qualify as refugees, they may be admitted as parolees, which will be determined on a case-by-case basis…”
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/416545/previously-deported-immigrants-can-now-enter-us-taxpayers-dime-ryan-lovelace
Dem senators: Overturn injunction on Obama’s immigration actions
“Four Democratic senators are urging an appeals court to let the Obama administration move forward on immigration. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) on Tuesday filed an amicus brief that calls on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn an injunction blocking implementation of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) deferred deportation programs. “President Obama’s executive action on immigration was well within his legal authority and was a step towards reforming our broken immigration system,” the senators said in a statement. “The Senate has an interest in ensuring that when Congress gives the Executive Branch the authority and responsibility to execute America’s immigration laws in a humane and thoughtful manner, the federal courts respect Congress’s decision.” The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hear oral arguments next week on the administration’s push to overturn a ruling by District Court Judge Andrew Hanen, who put a temporary hold on Obama’s attempts to slow deportations and grant benefits to some people in the country illegally. The senators said that it would be a “disaster” if Hanen’s decision is upheld. “It will be a disaster not just for immigration law but for federal governance generally,” they said. “If a judge can stop the Secretary of Homeland Security from providing commonsense guidance on immigration officials’ exercise of prosecutorial discretion, not only will it be impossible to have a reasoned immigration policy in this country, it will be impossible for other federal agencies to operate in a manner that is consistent and rational.” The senators’ brief follows a brief from 181 House Democrats. Stephen Kinnaird, the counsel of record and co-chair of the appellate practice of Paul Hastings LLP, pointed out that the senators are all past or present chairmen or ranking members of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s administrative law committee…”
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/238097-dem-senators-overturn-injunction-on-obamas-immigration-actions
CENTRIST HOUSE DEMS DON’T SIGN BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF OBAMA EXEC AMNESTY
“On Monday, 12 centrist House Democrats–including an Oregon Democrat who declared that amnesty for illegal immigrants is the new civil rights movement and will determine who controls the country for the next 30 years–refused to sign an amicus brief in support of President Barack Obama’s executive amnesty, revealing that voters in their districts may not be as supportive of granting amnesty to illegal immigrants as national Democrats. According to The Hill, 181 House Democrats signed the brief, which argues that “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.” But 12 Democrats, including Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR), did not. Schrader’s refusal to do so is indeed curious given that he declared at a pro-amnesty rally in February that the amnesty movement is the new civil rights movement and “probably the biggest issue of the 21st century.”
“It will decide who is in charge of this country for the next 20 or 30 years,” he said. The Hill noted that the 12 Democrats who did not sign the brief “are mostly centrists and members who will face tough reelection races next year.” They include: Reps. Brad Ashford (NE), Jim Cooper (TN), Henry Cuellar (TX), Gwen Graham (FL), Rick Larsen (WA), Dan Lipinski (IL), Stephen Lynch (MA), Collin Peterson (MN), Schrader (OR), Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), Peter Visclosky (IN), and Tim Walz (MN). The Obama administration has appealed a federal judge’s injunction that temporarily halted its executive amnesty program. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has decided to hear oral arguments in the case later this month. During the 2014 midterm election cycle, vulnerable Senate Democrats from red states begged Obama to delay his executive amnesty until after the election to improve their chances of retaining their Senate seats. Though Obama did wait until after the election to announce his executive amnesty, Republicans gained control of the Senate and took back Congress largely because the electorate, according to exit polling, disapproved of Obama’s executive amnesty for illegal immigrants…”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/04/06/centrist-house-dems-dont-sign-brief-in-support-of-obama-exec-amnesty/
Appeals court sides with Obama over 2012 deportation program
“A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit against an Obama administration program delaying deportations of certain illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. The unanimous opinion from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals comes as a separate case on whether President Obama’s expanded immigration executive actions can proceed. In the decision on Tuesday, the court ruled plaintiffs, the state of Mississippi and agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not provide enough evidence to prove they were harmed by the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that allows qualifying illegal immigrants to apply for work permits. “We conclude that neither the agents nor the state of Mississippi has demonstrated the concrete and particularized injury required to give them standing to maintain this suit,” the court’s opinion states. Mississippi had argued that immigrants granted work permits through DACA would have raised costs for the state associated with schools, healthcare programs and law enforcement. Mississippi cited a 2006 study estimating the net cost of illegal immigration at $25 million per year. But the district court that originally rejected the case determined that the study didn’t provide sufficient evidence because it was conducted six years before DACA began. The appeals court agreed that Mississippi’s allegation based on that study was “purely speculative.” The appeals court ruling also dismissed the ICE agents’ argument that they would receive retribution if they detained an illegal immigrant eligible for DACA. It pointed to directives from the Department of Homeland Security that give agents discretion over how to handle illegal immigrants. “The fact that the directives give this degree of discretion to the agent to deal with each alien on a case by case basis makes it highly unlikely that the agency would impose an employment sanction against an employee who exercises his discretion to detain an illegal alien,” the court’s opinion states. A Texas district court judge issued a preliminary injunction in February that froze Obama’s November executive actions to expand DACA, as well as a separate program allowing the parents of legal U.S. citizens to remain in the country…”
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/238116-appeals-court-sides-with-obama-over-2012-deportation-program
APPEALS COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IN CHALLENGE TO 2012 EXEC. AMNESTY
“A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a dismissal of a challenge to President Barack Obama’s 2012 executive amnesty, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The case — which was decided in advance of another challenge to Obama’s more sweeping November 20, 2014 executive amnesty — involved a lawsuit challenging DACA on the part of a number of immigration enforcement agents and the state of Mississippi, according to a report in Politico. According to the report, the court found that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue because they did not prove that the program would harm the agents or the state. “Neither Mississippi nor the Agents have alleged a sufficiently concrete and particularized injury that would give Plaintiffs standing to challenge DACA,” Politico quoted the opinion written by Judge W. Eugene Davis and joined by Judges Carolyn King and Priscilla Owen. The opinion comes as the 5th Circuit is set to consider the Obama administration’s appeal of a district court judge’s hold on Obama’s more sweeping executive actions last year, specifically the expansion of DACA and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA)…”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/04/07/appeals-court-rules-in-favor-of-obama-administration-in-challenge-to-2012-exec-amnesty/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+breitbart+%28Breitbart+News%29
Appeals court tosses immigration agents’ challenge to 2012 amnesty
Case could signal rough road for state challenging latest Obama amnesty
“A federal appeals court Tuesday tossed a lawsuit trying to halt President Obama’s 2012 deportation amnesty for illegal immigrant Dreamers, ruling that neither immigration agents nor Mississippi, who had sued to stop the amnesty, could show an actual injury. The ruling comes from the same appeals court that is preparing to hear an even bigger challenge to Mr. Obama’s new amnesty announced in November 2014, and the decision suggests the 26 states challenging that amnesty will have to meet a high bar if they are to succeed. “Neither Mississippi nor the agents have alleged a sufficiently concrete and particularized injury,” the three-judge panel said, tossing the lawsuit for lack of standing…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/7/court-tosses-immigration-agents-challenge-2012-amn/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
States’ Obama amnesty challenge could be undercut by ‘Dreamer’ lawsuit ruling
“A federal appeals court Tuesday tossed a lawsuit trying to halt President Obama’s 2012 deportation amnesty for illegal immigrant “Dreamers,” ruling that neither immigration agents nor Mississippi could show enough of an injury to be allowed to sue. The ruling comes from the same appeals court that is about to hear an even bigger challenge to Mr. Obama’s new amnesty announced in November 2014, and the new decision suggests the 26 states challenging that amnesty will have to clear a high bar if they are to succeed. “Neither Mississippi nor the agents have alleged a sufficiently concrete and particularized injury,” the three-judge panel said, throwing out the lawsuit for lack of standing. The judges said they never had to decide whether Mr. Obama’s 2012 amnesty is legal in the first place — though they did give several hints on major issues, saying they believe the president’s orders do not tie anyone’s hands and agents can still decide whom to try to deport. That’s a key issue in the challenge to the 2014 amnesty as well. Immigrant rights advocates said Tuesday’s decision is a boost for Mr. Obama, maintaining that if the court holds steady, it will also have to toss the challenge brought by Texas and the 25 other states, a challenge seen as a direct threat to Mr. Obama’s policy. “Such a holding would result in a reversal of the district court’s injunction and clear the way for immediate implementation of the president’s deferred action programs, bringing relief to millions,” said Jessica Karp Bansal, litigation director for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/7/obama-amnesty-challenge-could-be-undercut-by-dream/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Immigration ceiling hit in one week
“The U.S. government will begin doling out high-skilled worker visas through a lottery system after applications exceeded the cap a week after the enrollment period began. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said Tuesday that the 65,000 cap on new applications for skilled visas had already been hit for the year. That includes another 20,000 visas that will be handed out to people with a master’s degree or higher that will not count against the cap. The agency had anticipated the rush of applications when enrollment started on April 1, and the news will only bolster the effort of reform advocates who say the current cap on the visa program — known as H-1B — should be increased. The cap has been routinely and quickly hit in recent years. “This incredible demand is the latest evidence that our high-skilled immigration system is broken and failing to keep the world’s top talent here in the United States,” TechNet President Linda Moore said in a statement. The visas are particularly important to the computer industry, which takes up about half of the high-skilled visas. Tech advocates, like FWD.us and others, had launched a campaign to coincide with the enrollment period, highlighting the plight of PJ Cobut, the co-founder of Echo Labs, who has said he would have to move his company out of the Untied States if his application was not selected…”
http://thehill.com/policy/technology/238121-high-skilled-immigration-cap-hit-week-after-enrollment-opens
Obama’s Visa Double Game
Siding with unions instead of workers trying to follow the law.
“The day after President Obama issued is executive orders on immigration last year, he told a high-school audience in Nevada that he acted to help correct a “fundamentally unfair” system that punishes people who “play by the rules,” “families who try to come here the right way” and “business owners who are doing the right thing by their workers.” On April 15 we’ll find out if he means it. That’s the day a stay on a federal judge’s ruling throwing out the Labor Department’s authority to administer H-2B visas is set to…”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/obamas-visa-double-game-1428448502?mod=rss_opinion_main
Report: Border Patrol Agent Suspects Apprehended Illegal Immigrant Was Russian Asset Sent to Infiltrate the U.S.
“TheBlaze TV’s For the Record says it has exclusively learned that a man who entered the U.S. illegally in February 2015 was suspected of being a “Russian asset sent to infiltrate the U.S.” “The man said he was a former Iraqi soldier who had recently lived in Ukraine and was on his way to Maryland,” a For the Record narrator said in a preview of the show that aired on The Glenn Beck Program Tuesday. “According to a DHS intelligence document, the apprehending agent suspected that the man was actually a Russian asset sent to infiltrate the U.S.” Glenn Beck interviewed Chris Cabrera, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, who appears in the For the Record special airing Wednesday. “We’ve seen people from Iraq. We’ve seen people Syria, Turkey, Ethiopia, Somalia, Albania, you name it, Pakistan, they’ve come here,” Cabrera said. “It is very concerning to see something like that. That’s just one of the people that we catch. Obviously a lot more get past us.”…”
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/04/07/report-border-patrol-agent-suspects-apprehended-illegal-immigrant-was-russian-asset-sent-to-infiltrate-the-u-s/
EXCLUSIVE: MEXICAN LOS ZETAS CARTEL GREW $2 MILLION DRUG FIELD ON TEXAS SOIL
“U.S. law enforcement discovered a two million dollar marijuana field in Texas linked the Mexican Los Zetas cartel. The field was discovered in Webb County, near the border city of Laredo, Texas. The cartel link was confirmed by Border Patrol agent Hector Garza, speaking to Breitbart Texas in his role as president of National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) Local 2455. Agent Garza declined to name the specific Mexican transnational criminal organization involved in this case, though he did acknowledge that both the Nuevo Laredo, Mexico and the Laredo, Texas regions are controlled by the Los Zetas cartel and that they ruthlessly deny competition in their territory. Agent Garza stated, “This seizure is indicative of cartel drug production operations moving into Texas and the United States as a whole. It is just a matter of time before more of these production operations start popping up in and around our communities.” He continued, “Local law enforcement is hesitant to acknowledge cartel connections in these types of cases, largely due to the economic damage to border communities when Americans realize that cartel activity is spilling over. Regardless, the truth must be spoken.” Agent Garza was presumably referring to a recent report from local television station KGNS where Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar offered a personal opinion to media that the Los Zetas were not involved. The sheriff made clear in his statement that he was expressing a personal opinion. Sheriff Martin Cuellar is also the brother of Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar, who represents the district…”
http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2015/04/07/exclusive-mexican-los-zetas-cartel-grew-2-million-drug-field-on-texas-soil/
Missouri Senate OKs budget cutting immigrant scholarships
“Missouri students living in the U.S. illegally would not be able to receive state-funded scholarships under a budget proposal senators approved Tuesday. The measure would also require public colleges to charge those students the international rate of tuition. Republicans have touted the bill as blocking limited state resources from going to those without legal immigration status, while it’s been decried by Democrats as hampering those students from seeking a college education. Efforts by Democratic Sen. Jill Schupp, of Creve Coeur, to strip the budget bill of the spending restriction failed in a voice vote. Democrats argued the bill would unfairly ramp up education costs for immigrants brought to the country illegally by their parents. “We are now penalizing them for something outside their control,” said Sen. Jason Holsman, D-Kansas City. Lead Senate budget writer Republican Sen. Kurt Schaefer of Columbia urged lawmakers to vote against Schupp’s proposal. Defeat of the amendment means the ban on state aid for immigrants without legal status has approval from both chambers, cementing it into the final $26 billion budget plan for next fiscal year…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/7/missouri-senate-oks-budget-cutting-immigrant-schol/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
States flouting post-9/11 ID law, giving cards to illegal immigrants that mirror licenses
“After the 9/11 attacks, Congress passed the REAL ID Act to prevent foreign nationals from fraudulently obtaining a U.S. driver’s license — by requiring that any ID issued based on unverifiable foreign documents look different in “design or color” from an official driver’s license. That way, TSA and other law enforcement would know the ID holder might not be who they say they are. But more than a decade later, several state and local governments are openly flouting the law, issuing ID cards that are barely distinguishable from a bona fide driver’s license. That means those with mere ID cards, like illegal immigrants, might be able to pass off their cards as a driver’s license at the airport and elsewhere — creating a huge gap in security. Examples include Washington, D.C., and Colorado. For card-holders in the nation’s capital, a small star in the corner is the only visual cue that distinguishes a D.C. license from a mere ID card. In Colorado, the distinguishing characteristic for the ID cards is a small black band. “If you could issue a letter grade to the way states are handling this, it would be an ‘F’,” said Andrew Meehan, of the Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License. From the outset, states have chafed at the new federal rules. They called the policy an unfunded mandate and federal intrusion. More recently, advocates for illegal immigrants have opposed the parts of the law that require “noncompliant” cards for undocumented workers to look different than licenses for U.S. citizens and legal residents. “What we object to is states that gratuitously would try to do much more than necessary for the sole purpose of stigmatizing individuals,” said American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Jon Blazer. “On the other hand, some states have taken a better approach in this regard, and have put the minimal requirements that they’re obliged to put under federal law.” Meehan said 23 states currently meet Department of Homeland Security standards. However, six of those states issue ID cards that look virtually identical to a standard driver’s license, violating the act’s language. Since January alone, one of those states — California — has issued licenses to 500,000 illegal immigrants. “In California they are accepting hundreds of documents issued by foreign governments,” Meehan said. “They are very difficult to verify.”
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/04/07/states-flouting-post-11-id-law-giving-cards-to-illegal-immigrants-that-mirror/
Albuquerque City Council OKs nonbinding immigration measure
“The Albuquerque City Council split along party lines as it narrowly approved a non-binding measure expressing support for immigrants and calling for comprehensive immigration policy changes. The council’s vote Monday was 5-4, with Democrats in the majority and republicans in the minority. The memorial offers support for business owners who immigrated to the United States and cited the role immigrants play in New Mexico’s workforce and their children. Debate was heated at times as opponents said it was too supportive of President Barack Obama’s executive orders regarding immigration, but supporters refused to delete those provisions. Councilor Dan Lewis opposed the measure, saying it included “very partisan statements.” Councilor Klarissa Pena said it was important to make a statement though the council can’t make immigration policy changes…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/7/albuquerque-city-council-oks-nonbinding-immigratio/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Where they stand: Rand Paul on issues of 2016 campaign
“Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul opened his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination Tuesday with a pledge to fight for greater liberties and smaller government. A look at where he stands on some issues: IMMIGRATION – A thorny issue for Paul. He sees himself as a “different kind of Republican” and has encouraged his party to abandon its fixation on “amnesty,” saying the concept has trapped Republicans from embracing compromise. Yet Paul has spent considerable time trying to block or undo immigration proposals offered by others. In 2013 he voted against an immigration overhaul pushed by Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham. He also introduced legislation that sought to undo President Barack Obama’s executive orders to delay deportation of some immigrants in the country illegally. He likes to say Washington “can’t invite the whole world” to the United States…”
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/where-they-stand-rand-paul-issues-2016-campaign
SPENDING/BUDGET/ECONOMY:
Oklahoma congressman releases ‘Waste Watch’ report
“New U.S. Rep. Steve Russell of Oklahoma City is taking a page out of former Sen. Tom Coburn’s book when it comes to highlighting government spending. The freshman Republican on Tuesday released what he’s calling “Waste Watch,” which documents what Russell calls excessive public spending. The document is similar to Coburn’s annual “Wastebook” that highlighted lavish spending by public agencies. Among the spending highlighted by Russell is $450,000 on a firing range in Afghanistan that fell apart and $1.1 million billed to the federal government for parties at a lavish resort in Pennsylvania. Russell says the goal of his report is to prevent such spending. Russell is a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/7/oklahoma-congressman-releases-waste-watch-report/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Report: Wasteful Spending Adds Over $600 BILLION To Debt
“A new report is recommending hundreds of cuts to the federal budget that would save trillions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse over the course of just five years. “Prime Cuts 2015” is the latest installment in a series of reports that Citizens Against Government Waste has released annually since 1993. It contains 601 recommendations the group says would save taxpayers $639 billion in the first year and $2.6 trillion over five years. The largest single cut proposed in the report is the elimination of the Rural Utilities Service, which CAGW estimates would save the federal government $9.6 billion per year, or slightly more than $48 billion over five years. The RUS is a successor to the Rural Electrification Administration, which was established in 1935 to bring electricity to America’s rural communities. It achieved 98.7 percent electrification and 95 percent telephone service coverage by 1981. Instead of “declaring victory and shutting down the REA,” though, the government restructured the agency into the RUS and tasked it with expanding telephone and broadband service to rural communities. Among the wasteful projects undertaken by the agency, CAGW asserts, are a $667,120 grant to a town in Arkansas with a population of 122 ($5,468 per resident) and $3.3 billion in grants and loans to fund 854 water and waste disposal projects which together “created only 415 new jobs.”…”
http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/07/report-wasteful-spending-adds-over-600-billion-to-debt/
21 Days: Treasury Says Debt Has Been Frozen at $18,112,975,000,000
According to the Daily Treasury Statement for Friday, April 3, which was published by the U.S. Treasury on Monday, April 6, that portion of the federal debt that is subject to a legal limit set by Congress closed the day at $18,112,975,000,000—for the 21st day in a row. $18,112,975,000,000 is about $25 million below the current legal debt limit of $18,113,000,080,959.35…”
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/21-days-treasury-says-debt-has-been-frozen-18112975000000
Consumer bureau pushes to start financial education in kindergarten
“Getting your financial affairs in order could start early as kindergarten. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said Tuesday that it’s launching an effort to advance financial education in schools. The agency, created by Dodd-Frank, published “Advancing K-12 Financial Education: A Guide for Policymakers,” to serve as a resource guide to help lawmakers make a case for K-12 financial education, set standards and find resources, and implement and expand initiatives. The guidance contains strategies for furthering the development and implementation of financial education in states like New Jersey, which in 2011 authorized credit unions to take deposits, such as tax receipts, from the state. While serving as public depositories, the credit unions accepting the funds are required to provide funding for K-12 financial education. “We have watched too many Americans struggle to manage their affairs within our complex financial system,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a statement. “Financial education in our schools is critical to the financial well-being of future generations. The resource guide will allow the CFPB to serve those policymakers looking to make progress on K-12 education.” CFPB said recent research has found that students who receive K-12 financial education achieve significantly higher savings and net worth later in life. High school students who take financial education class are also more likely to have higher credit scores and make payments on time as adults.”
http://thehill.com/regulation/238093-cfpb-pushing-k-12-financial-education
GOP chairman hitting the road to push for highway bill
“House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) is leading a “roadshow” in his home state this week to highlight a looming deadline for extending the nation’s infrastructure spending that will be facing Congress when it returns from recess. Shuster is scheduled to visit construction sites in Pennsylvania on Tuesday and Wednesday with members of the Transportation panel and fellow lawmakers from his state. The GOP Chairman is also traveling with state transportation secretaries from Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. Officials with the House Transportation Committee said the trip is intended to highlight “the federal-state partnership in infrastructure and the Nation’s competitiveness, and the importance of Congress passing a long-term surface transportation bill.” “The Roadshow and similar events outside of Washington, DC will continue to help the Committee explore the country’s infrastructure needs, and gather perspectives from states, local officials, businesses, and job creators about h