AFP - Climate Change Bureaucrats Gone Wild in Cancun

Before the UN bureaucrats began their conference in Cancun to implement energy rationing regulations for the rest of the world, they decided to throw themselves a lavish welcome party!

NRCC - Higher Premiums, Limited Access: What Other Surprises Are In Store?

As Grim Consequences Emerge from Healthcare Takeover, New Hampshire Voters Wonder: Does Carol Shea-Porter Even Know What’s In the Bill? 

Washington- Democrats like Carol Shea-Porter have been working furiously to convince voters that their healthcare takeover was not the disaster it appeared to be, but a mounting body of evidence is proving what the American people have known all along. To make matters worse, it looks like Shea-Porter didn’t even read the bill at all – unless she meant to strip herself and her staff of their existing healthcare coverage.

That’s right, a provision uncovered weeks after the bill passed reveals that Shea-Porter may have forced her own staff to lose their healthcare coverage. The New York Times raises an important question: If Shea-Porter didn’t know about this, did she have any idea what she was forcing upon the American people when she signed off on her party’s trillion-dollar healthcare takeover?

“In a new report, the Congressional Research Service says the law may have significant unintended consequences for the ‘personal health insurance coverage’ of senators, representatives and their staff members.

“For example, it says, the law may ‘remove members of Congress and Congressional staff’ from their current coverage, in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, before any alternatives are available.

“The confusion raises the inevitable question: If they did not know exactly what they were doing to themselves, did lawmakers who wrote and passed the bill fully grasp the details of how it would influence the lives of other Americans?” (Robert Pear, “Baffled by Health Plan? So Are Some Lawmakers,” New York Times, 4/12/10) 

Unfortunately for New Hampshire taxpayers, that’s the easy answer. The alternative is much more disturbing: Shea-Porter rubber-stamped her party’s healthcare agenda even though she knew it would fall woefully short of its promises:

“Public outrage over double-digit rate hikes for health insurance may have helped push President Obama's healthcare overhaul across the finish line, but the new law does not give regulators the power to block similar increases in the future.

“And now, with some major companies already moving to boost premiums and others poised to follow suit, millions of Americans may feel an unexpected jolt in the pocketbook.” (Noam Levey, “Healthcare Overhaul Won’t Stop Premium Increases,” Los Angeles Times, 4/13/10)

And the broken promises don’t end at higher costs. With new pressures on the country’s healthcare system, a growing doctor shortage means that Americans will have a tougher time getting the care they need:

“Experts warn there won't be enough doctors to treat the millions of people newly insured under the law. At current graduation and training rates, the nation could face a shortage of as many as 150,000 doctors in the next 15 years, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.”

“A shortage of primary-care and other physicians could mean more-limited access to health care and longer wait times for patients.” (Suzanne Sataline and Shirley S. Wang, “Medical Schools Can’t Keep Up,” Wall Street Journal, 4/12/10)

“The evidence is piling up and none of it looks good for Carol Shea-Porter,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “New Hampshire families were looking for lower healthcare costs and better access, but Democrats gave them the exact opposite. Did Shea-Porter knowingly rubber-stamp a bill that drives up premiums and limits access to doctors, or did she simply not bother to read legislation that could affect every American and cost taxpayers a trillion dollars? Either way, it’s yet another sign that New Hampshire families need a real representative in Washington rather than someone who blindly signs off on the radical Obama-Pelosi agenda without being honest about the consequences.”

Daily Grind: Take Two Aspirin -- and Call the Undertaker

Red Alert: Check out a new feature from Americans for Limited Government called The Washington News Alert. It is your one stop shop for all the news and commentary around D.C.

Take Two Aspirin – and Call the Undertaker
A heart-felt letter puts what we are fighting for in perspective.

The Playboy Philosophy and Your Health Care
With the weakening of the family unit over the past forty years, big government invariably seeps in to fill the void.

Appointment Watch from ALG Research
This week ALG Research examines the Director of Operational Energy Plans and Programs for the Department of Defense.

Too Hot Not To Note: A Parody of Leadership
Paul Samuelson at RealClear Politics analyzes Barack Obama's failed leadership in health care reform.



ALG Blasts Sen. Majority Leader Reid for Making Health Care Rationing Board Unrepealable

"[O]nce passed, any attempt to remove the health care rationing board will be

deemed out of order forevermore.  People are going to die." – ALG President Bill Wilson

December 22^nd, 2009, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today condemned Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for inserting language into the Senate health care bill that would make it nearly impossible to repeal what Wilson called a "health care rationing board."

"The Independent Medicare Advisory Board will become the Healthcare Soviet—dictating rules, rates and procedures in America's health care system with no appeal.  That is why Reid has given it the most protection," Wilson explained.

In the Reid Substitute, under Section 3403 in a section entitled "Limitations on Changes to this Subsection," it states, "It shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report that would repeal or otherwise change this subsection."

Section 3403 establishes the Independent Medicare Advisory Board (IMAB), which would "reduce the per capita rate of growth in Medicare spending" under the Reid substitute.  Wilson said that is "rationing."

"The whole purpose of this panel is to ration health care to seniors, no question," Wilson said. 

"To hide that, the bill states that 'The proposal shall not include any recommendation to ration health care' right after it gets through establishing the power for the IMAB to ration health care," Wilson explained.

"This is Orwellian Newspeak of the first order," Wilson declared, adding, "Right in this section, Harry Reid is saying that they're going to ration health care away from seniors, but they're just not going to call it that."

"And then, to lock it in place, Reid goes as far as to require a two-thirds vote in order to amend or repeal the rationing board," Wilson explained.

The Senate rules change was exposed on the floor of the Senate by Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), as reported by the National Review Online.  Senator DeMint said, "This is not legislation.  This is not law.  This is a rule change.  It's a pretty big deal.  We will be passing a new law and at the same time creating a Senate rule that makes it out of order to amend or repeal the law."

DeMint said that under Senate rules, it should take a two-thirds vote of the Senate to invoke cloture on legislation that contains such rules changes.  And, that, "[A]s the chair has confirmed, Rule 22, paragraph 2, of the standing rules of the Senate, states that on a measure or motion to amend the Senate rules, the necessary affirmative vote shall be two-thirds of the senators present and voting."

However, the Senate President ruled that the rules change was not a rules change, but a change in procedure.

"This is completely unconstitutional," Wilson noted, pointing to Article I, Section 5 of the Federal Constitution, which states: "Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings…"

"Under current rules, the Reid substitute, which includes a rules change making it out of order to amend or repeal a section of the bill, should require a two-thirds vote in order to be enacted," Wilson explained, concluding, "That has not happened, and will not happen, meaning that once passed, any attempt to remove the health care rationing board will be deemed out of order forevermore.  People are going to die."

Shea-Porter Votes to Protect Seniors' Access to Their Doctors

Legislation will prevent critical Medicare payment cuts

Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter voted for the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act.  This legislation will help fix the way Medicare pays physicians, which will help preserve seniors’ access to their doctors.  The legislation passed by a vote of 243 to 183. 

“This bill strengthens Medicare and helps ensure that New Hampshire seniors have access to the doctors they know and trust,” said Congresswoman Shea-Porter. “Our seniors rely on Medicare and this legislation will help ensure that they continue to receive the care they need.”  

“At the end of the day, ensuring access to one’s doctor continues to be a high priority for Medicare beneficiaries—and for AARP.  We believe that H.R. 3961 meets this goal by permanently fixing the current flawed payment formula and replacing it with a new payment system which protects access to physicians by paying them fairly and better rewarding them for providing primary care and preventive services,” said AARP State Director Kelly Clark.

The Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act prevents payment cuts that could force some doctors to stop seeing Medicare patients. Without legislation, there is scheduled to be a 21% cut in payments that would go into effect in January 2010. 

The legislation builds on the Affordable Health Care for America Act, which will close the Medicare Part D “Donut Hole,” extend Medicare solvency by five years, end discrimination for pre-existing conditions, and lower premiums for middle class workers and families.  

“Both the AARP and the American Medical Association have endorsed our bills because they lower costs and improve care for our seniors,” Shea-Porter said.