On Health Care Day, Obama Skips Signing Executive Order on Abortion; Stupak, on Defense, Compares Order to Emancipation Proclamation « Row 2, Seat 4

On Health Care Day, Obama Skips Signing Executive Order on Abortion; Stupak, on Defense, Compares Order to Emancipation Proclamation « Row 2, Seat 4

Nope didn't see this one coming a mile away!!! Yeah he may well sign it, but then again, he may not. You see that is the thing about an executive order, the President can do what he likes with it. Boo Rep. Stupak, we stood with you. Personally, I think the President made your -ak look like an -id. Who am I though? Just one of a handful of Americans that realize that we live in a Republic and would like you to explain the grants of money that the airports in your district got just days before the vote.

Long Live that Republic.

Saying Goodbye to the Freedom We Hold So Dear

20 Ways Obamacare Will Take Away Our Freedoms With House Democrats poised to pass the Senate health care bill with some reconciliation changes later today, it is worthwhile to take a comprehensive look at the freedoms we will lose. Of course, the overhaul is supposed to provide us with security. But it will result in skyrocketing insurance costs and physicians leaving the field in droves, making it harder to afford and find medical care. We may be about to live Benjamin Franklin’s adage, “People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both.” The sections described below are taken from HR 3590 as agreed to by the Senate and from the reconciliation bill as displayed by the Rules Committee. 1. You are young and don’t want health insurance? You are starting up a small business and need to minimize expenses, and one way to do that is to forego health insurance? Tough. You have to pay $750 annually for the “privilege.” (Section 1501) 2. You are young and healthy and want to pay for insurance that reflects that status? Tough. You’ll have to pay for premiums that cover not only you, but also the guy who smokes three packs a day, drink a gallon of whiskey and eats chicken fat off the floor. That’s because insurance companies will no longer be able to underwrite on the basis of a person’s health status. (Section 2701). 3. You would like to pay less in premiums by buying insurance with lifetime or annual limits on coverage? Tough. Health insurers will no longer be able to offer such policies, even if that is what customers prefer. (Section 2711). 4. Think you’d like a policy that is cheaper because it doesn’t cover preventive care or requires cost-sharing for such care? Tough. Health insurers will no longer be able to offer policies that do not cover preventive services or offer them with cost-sharing, even if that’s what the customer wants. (Section 2712). 5. You are an employer and you would like to offer coverage that doesn’t allow your employers’ slacker children to stay on the policy until age 26? Tough. (Section 2714). 6. You must buy a policy that covers ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment; prescription drugs; rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices; laboratory services; preventive and wellness services; chronic disease management; and pediatric services, including oral and vision care. You’re a single guy without children? Tough, your policy must cover pediatric services. You’re a woman who can’t have children? Tough, your policy must cover maternity services. You’re a teetotaler? Tough, your policy must cover substance abuse treatment. (Add your own violation of personal freedom here.) (Section 1302). 7. Do you want a plan with lots of cost-sharing and low premiums? Well, the best you can do is a “Bronze plan,” which has benefits that provide benefits that are actuarially equivalent to 60% of the full actuarial value of the benefits provided under the plan. Anything lower than that, tough. (Section 1302 (d) (1) (A)) 8. You are an employer in the small-group insurance market and you’d like to offer policies with deductibles higher than $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for families? Tough. (Section 1302 (c) (2) (A). 9. If you are a large employer (defined as at least 101 employees) and you do not want to provide health insurance to your employee, then you will pay a $750 fine per employee (It could be $2,000 to $3,000 under the reconciliation changes). Think you know how to better spend that money? Tough. (Section 1513). 10. You are an employer who offers health flexible spending arrangements and your employees want to deduct more than $2,500 from their salaries for it? Sorry, can’t do that. (Section 9005 (i)). 11. If you are a physician and you don’t want the government looking over your shoulder? Tough. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized to use your claims data to issue you reports that measure the resources you use, provide information on the quality of care you provide, and compare the resources you use to those used by other physicians. Of course, this will all be just for informational purposes. It’s not like the government will ever use it to intervene in your practice and patients’ care. Of course not. (Section 3003 (i)) 12. If you are a physician and you want to own your own hospital, you must be an owner and have a “Medicare provider agreement” by Feb. 1, 2010. (Dec. 31, 2010 in the reconciliation changes.) If you didn’t have those by then, you are out of luck. (Section 6001 (i) (1) (A)) 13. If you are a physician owner and you want to expand your hospital? Well, you can’t (Section 6001 (i) (1) (B). Unless, it is located in a country where, over the last five years, population growth has been 150% of what it has been in the state (Section 6601 (i) (3) ( E)). And then you cannot increase your capacity by more than 200% (Section 6001 (i) (3) (C)). 14. You are a health insurer and you want to raise premiums to meet costs? Well, if that increase is deemed “unreasonable” by the Secretary of Health and Human Services it will be subject to review and can be denied. (Section 1003) 15. The government will extract a fee of $2.3 billion annually from the pharmaceutical industry. If you are a pharmaceutical company what you will pay depends on the ratio of the number of brand-name drugs you sell to the total number of brand-name drugs sold in the U.S. So, if you sell 10% of the brand-name drugs in the U.S., what you pay will be 10% multiplied by $2.3 billion, or $230,000,000. (Under reconciliation, it starts at $2.55 billion, jumps to $3 billion in 2012, then to $3.5 billion in 2017 and $4.2 billion in 2018, before settling at $2.8 billion in 2019 (Section 1404)). Think you, as a pharmaceutical executive, know how to better use that money, say for research and development? Tough. (Section 9008 (b)). 16. The government will extract a fee of $2 billion annually from medical device makers. If you are a medical device maker what you will pay depends on your share of medical device sales in the U.S. So, if you sell 10% of the medical devices in the U.S., what you pay will be 10% multiplied by $2 billion, or $200,000,000. Think you, as a medical device maker, know how to better use that money, say for R&D? Tough. (Section 9009 (b)). The reconciliation package turns that into a 2.9% excise tax for medical device makers. Think you, as a medical device maker, know how to better use that money, say for research and development? Tough. (Section 1405). 17. The government will extract a fee of $6.7 billion annually from insurance companies. If you are an insurer, what you will pay depends on your share of net premiums plus 200% of your administrative costs. So, if your net premiums and administrative costs are equal to 10% of the total, you will pay 10% of $6.7 billion, or $670,000,000. In the reconciliation bill, the fee will start at $8 billion in 2014, $11.3 billion in 2015, $1.9 billion in 2017, and $14.3 billion in 2018 (Section 1406).Think you, as an insurance executive, know how to better spend that money? Tough.(Section 9010 (b) (1) (A and B).) 18. If an insurance company board or its stockholders think the CEO is worth more than $500,000 in deferred compensation? Tough.(Section 9014). 19. You will have to pay an additional 0.5% payroll tax on any dollar you make over $250,000 if you file a joint return and $200,000 if you file an individual return. What? You think you know how to spend the money you earned better than the government? Tough. (Section 9015). That amount will rise to a 3.8% tax if reconciliation passes. It will also apply to investment income, estates, and trusts. You think you know how to spend the money you earned better than the government? Like you need to ask. (Section 1402). 20. If you go for cosmetic surgery, you will pay an additional 5% tax on the cost of the procedure. Think you know how to spend that money you earned better than the government? Tough. (Section 9017). ***** Just an interesting article from Investor's Business Daily by David Hogberg.   Found it eye opening, and wanted to share. Long Live the Republic!

MUST READ: Reconciliation - Your Guide to the Game

Found this courtesy of FOXNEWS.com,  there is still a lot to be done.   Here is how it will play out:

The House might be finished with reconciliation (for now), but the bill is still FAR from passing. Get ready to add some new words to your Congressional glossary.

The singular question of the moment: Harry Reid has the 50 votes he needs for final passage of reconciliation legislation, but can he and his deputies get through the reconciliation game unscathed? Not one word can be changed with the bill, or it must return to the House for another vote (we call this “ping pong”).

If history is any guide, this bill will hit a trap, get changed, and then will immediately be sent back to the House. Only ONE reconciliation bill has ever made it through this process CLEAN, that is, with no changes: the 2001 Bush tax cut package.

Indeed, former Senate Parliamentarian Bob Dove called reconciliation “a game,” and the winner is the side who knows the most about the rules.

It’s a game with Olympic aides on the Budget Committee.

The entire process was created by the Budget Act of 1974; revisions and additions were made over the years; there are additional restrictions created by this fiscal year’s Budget Resolution Democrats created. The resolution opened the possibility of using reconciliation on both health care and the student loan overhaul.

Reconciliation was originally intended for politically difficult deficit reduction measures – i.e., spending cuts &/or tax hikes. Short-handed, people refer to reconciliation measures as having to deal with dollars.

Reconciliation has been used 22 times since it was created, a majority of that time by Republicans.

All of this is reason for the very difficult rules process, outlined more below, so as to curb abuse of the process. Most specifically, the Byrd rule, named for the senator, was created in 1985 to try to keep senators from cramming a bunch of policy by that has no budgetary impact. The Byrd rule, quite simply, says the substance of any provisions in a reconciliation bill must be substantially weighted to THE BUDGET, and not to POLICY. (more below)

Here’s a guide on what to expect:

PRE-GAME ACTION

Both Democrats and Republicans have spent hours over the past few weeks with Senate Parliamentarian Alan Frumin and his small staff of lawyers. Remember, Frumin and his staff are experts on Senate rules, NOT the subject matter at hand, so Democrats & Republicans literally go before Frumin and argue their case – why they think something should not be ruled out of order (Democrats); why they think something should be stricken from the bill (Republicans). Frumin is the judge & jury.

Democrats have attempted, to this point, to scrub the bill of any challenges, but remember – Frumin can only give advice. He does NOT counsel or recommend changes.

So, as Bob Dove said, Democrats have to be experts in playing the game, asking the right questions.

THE PLAYERS

*MEMBERS

Aside from the GOP & Dem leadership teams, these are the people to watch.

• For Democrats: the manager of their bill will be Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-ND (you’ll hear him most; he has huge power in this); other key players: Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-MT, and Health, Education, Labor, & Pension Cmte Chairman Tom Harkin, D-IA (he is THE lead on student loans).

• For Republicans: the lead, or manager, is Budget Cmte top Republican Judd Gregg, R-NH(you’ll hear him most); Baucus & Harkin counterparts, respectively: Chuck Grassley, R-IA, and Mike Enzi, R-WY.

• Wild card Dems: watch liberals Bernie Sanders, I-VT, Jeff Merkeley, D-OR, and Sherrod Brown, D-OH; as well as, endangered 2010 Dems, like Blanche Lincoln, D-AR.

• Wild card GOPers: watch the docs – Tom Coburn, R-OK, John Barrasso, R-WY; watch conservative climber Jim DeMint, R-SC, as well as John McCain, R-AZ – both outspoken critics of the bill.

*THE PARLIAMENTARIAN

Alan Frumin

A nonpartisan Senate aide; a lawyer.

Got his start as a precedents writer in the House.

Remember, Frumin is like a judge --- VERY aware of setting precedent with his decisions.

Age 63; a registered Independent.

**The Parliamentarian is selected by the Majority Leader, but most often, there is no change.**

1977 – Frumin became assistant Parliamentarian.

1987 – Sen. Majority Leader Robert Byrd, D-WV, installed Frumin as Parliamentarian, before Bob Dove took over when Republicans took the chamber.

2001 --- Sen. Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-MS, fired Dove and re-installed Frumin.

Technically, the Parliamentarian’s rulings are NOT BINDING --- he merely offers advice – but over time this has evolved to more of a final arbiter-type role. That said, the top officer in the chamber, called “the Presiding Officer,” CAN overrule the Parliamentarian. In this case, that officer COULD be Vice President Joe Biden. (The VP is, technically, the President of the Senate, though he rarely occupied that role. Not since fmr Sen.-turned VP Hubert Humphrey has the Presiding Officer overruled the Parliamentarian.)

**Former Sen. Parliamentarian Bob Dove has confirmed this power of the Veep.**

Budget Committee Ranking Republican Judd Gregg, R-NH, says Frumin is a “stand-up guy””; no bias; “totally fair.”

**LAST YEAR’S PROBLEM W/ FRUMIN:Last year, Republicans were enraged when Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, introduced an amendment to health care that would have created a “public option.” Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK, insisted that the Senate clerks read the 767-page amendment. Sanders then moved to withdraw the amendment. Republicans objected, saying unanimous consent is required to withdraw an amendment. Alan Frumin ruled in the Democrats’ favor. Coburn and Mitch McConnell, at the time, were furious.

2-PART GAME

*THE DEBATE

• 20 hours of debate equally divided: 10 hours Dems, 10 hours Repubs.

• You will see NO votes on amendments this time around, though it is allowed.

• You will hear debate on the bill, on all amendments, on motions and appeals.

*VOTE-A-RAMA

• This is the frenzied period immediately following the 20 hours of debate; it involves 2 minutes of debate (1 Dem; 1 GOP) followed by a 10-minute vote.

• This voting literally goes on for as long as members are standing to put forward amendments, points of order, etc.

• The longest Vote-a-rama that Budget Cmte experts could recall? The 2004 budget resolution creating reconciliation for a jobs & tax bill took 2 ½ days.

*FORCING A FINAL VOTE?

• Normally, Vote-a-rama comes to a natural end. The chair asks if anyone wishes to be recognized, and literally, no one stands.

• BUT – this time around, it is unclear if Republicans will attempt to offer unlimited amendments (basically – filibustering by amendment). Former Sen Parliamentarian Bob Dove said recently that Republicans can offer “as many amendments as they can write.”

• Democrats have said they could find NO precedent for unlimited amendments, so they have decided that at some point, the Presiding Officer (possibly Biden) will shut the process down, if they find that Republicans are simply being dilatory with their amendments (e.g., an amendment changes a previous amendment by a dollar).

• Dick Durbin, D-IL, on Face the Nation 3/21/10:

**“Republicans are going to try to use reconciliation, which was supposed to be a more direct process, to offer amendments to a breaking point. I certainly think that we’re ready to tackle that if that’s what they want to do.”

**“We’re going to deal with honest amendments on substance that meet the test of the Senate rules, but there’s going to come a point when the American people and the people in the Senate say ‘This really isn’t about substance. It’s all about politics. Now, let’s make a final decision, up or down vote.”

THE RULES OF THE GAME --- scalpels and axes

This is THE toughest part of the game, navigating the rules. There are traps everywhere.

There are points of order (basically, these are motions that try to either get pieces of the bill removed or to kill the entire bill --- think of these as either scalpels or axes) and amendments.

Republicans will literally go line by line thru the bill, says Sen. Gregg, and “any sentence where policy is more significant than the budgetary effect, I will raise a motion that it’s “Byrdable.”

AMENDMENTS

Members can offer amendments on any topic that touches the jurisdictions of the committees involved with this reconciliation bill: the Finance Committee and the Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee. That’s a HUGE corral in which to operate – taxes, labor issues (like “card check”), immigration, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, etc.

These can be wicked-tough political votes.

BUT – it’s not THAT simple. The amendments are, like the entire bill, subject to points of order (see below) and MUST NOT create a deficit. Chairman Kent Conrad will have WIDE LATITUDE here in deciding whether or not something could create a deficit. Republicans will try to have a CBO price tag (a “score”) on their amendments to help their cause, but that will be a heavy lift for CBO.

POINTS OF ORDER

**There are 19, in total, created by the Budget Act, and there are still others that apply to any legislation in the Senate.**

1. THE “BYRD RULE”

You will hear this a lot: that something is “Byrdable.” This is probably the most important and often-used point of order.

Byrd, in the 1985 debate on COBRA (a reconciliation bill), created what’s now called “the Byrd rule” ---- the senator explained at the time that the basic purposes of his amendment to COBRA (amendment passed 96-0) were to protect the effectiveness of the reconciliation process by excluding extraneous matter and to preserve the deliberative character of the Senate by excluding from this fast-track procedure measures not central to deficit reduction.

The Byrd rule provides a point of order against anything that is far more weighted toward creating policy, rather than having a budgetary affect. (In Senate speak, the budget affect cannot be “merely incidental” to the policy.)

There is also a Byrd rule challenge when a provision, like possibly the Cadillac tax (see #2), contains recommendations relative to Social Security.

And a Byrd rule point of order lies against any provision that does not produce a change in revenue or outlays.

This is a SCALPEL point of order --- if the Parliamentarian finds in favor of Republicans, that is to say a Byrd rule point of order lies against the bill (Senate-speak), then that provision is dropped from the bill. It’s not devastating, but because there’s a change, the bill MUST go back to the House.

2. SOCIAL SECURITY AFFECT – A “310(g)” POINT OF ODER

Republicans have said they have found at least one instance that violates this point of order: the excise, or “Cadillac tax”.

This section of the Budget Act (310g) says no reconciliation bill may make recommendations to Social Security.

The “Cadillac tax”, according to Republicans, places a tax on high-cost insurance policies, which will then lead companies to buy cheaper policies, thereby resulting in increased salaries, which has an affect on Social Security revenues.

**This is a “trickle down” affect on Social Security.**

Democrats say they infuse the Social Security trust fund w/ more money. It is held harmless, so no point of order should lie against it. Republicans say that fact bears no point in the ruling.

**This should be a rough ruling for Frumin.**

This is an AXE point of order– if Frumin rules in favor of Rs, the bill is, essentially, torpedoed. It is sent back to committee (the Senate Finance Committee in this case), and the reconciliation protections are stripped from the bill.

3. GERMANENESS

Sounds stuffy, but it’s a big deal. Requires that all amendments deal with the subject matter of the 2 committees outlined previously (Finance & HELP).

4. ALLOCATIONS

This is simply any provision that exceeds the budget of the committees involved. This should NOT come up this time.

POINTS OF ORDER #5 THRU #19 ----- these points of order are not as likely to arise.

**BUDGET POINT OF ORDER**

This is another type of point of order that could affect any bill the Senate considers, so it is not counted among the 19 that are specifically delineated under reconciliation rules of the road.

Example: CADILLAC TAX ---- Reconciliation is supposed to have a 5-year budget window, but President Obama and Democrats have, to appease the unions, pushed the effective date for this excise tax to 2018. That’s OUTSIDE the budget window. So, you have the original Senate health care bill that starts the Cadillac tax in 2013. It assumes that $10 billion will be coming in for all these years: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017. Democrats are trying to pass a reconciliation bill that then changes the start date to 2018; so for 2013 to 2017, you suddenly have a REVENUE LOSS.

WAIVING THE POINT OF ORDER: Should Alan Frumin find in favor of Republicans, Democrats have a chance to “move to waive the ruling”, but this take 60 votes – and Republicans have already said, in a letter to Harry Reid, they will stand united against votes to waive. So Reid is expected to LOSE every vote to waive.

WAIVING THE RULING OF THE CHAIR: Republicans can move to “waive the ruling of the chair,” if it’s not in their favor, but they, too, will need 60 votes – something they, in no way, have.

DELAYING TACTICS

There are very few available to the Minority, as reconciliation FORBIDS a filibuster.

BUT – in the past, members of the Minority have demanded a “live quorum call” – this merely instructs the Senate Sergeant at Arms (currently: Terrance Gainer) to compel all members to appear in the chamber. This STOPS debate, and it does not count against the 20-hours of debate time.

Repeal the Bill

I have to ask a favor, please direct any friends that you may have to my blog for this link:

http://www.teapartypatriots.org/repealthebill/

It may or may not help, anything is worth trying.

Long live the Republic!

Schlafly: Health Care Vote Set to Expose the Myth of the 'Pro-Life Democrat' - Yahoo! News

Schlafly: Health Care Vote Set to Expose the Myth of the 'Pro-Life Democrat' - Yahoo! News

I found myself wondering about this very issue. Just how long would this executive order last? Long enough for Universal Healthcare to become a law at least, maybe longer. I hope I am wrong.

To say I am disgusted would be an understatement.

Horrible Day

Not a law yet, but Universal Healthcare is one step closer.   Hope all of you who voted these people in were hoping for the dream of the USSA.   Also found out that our Msgr. at church is leaving to lead another Parrish, not happy.  To be honest do not feel like saying much.   I will get back on my feet later, have to go to sea and do some training.   Salt air and empty horizons tend to do a lot for the soul.   Seeing the stars without the interference of man made light always brings one closer to God.   When I am there I will ask him why he invented Democrats.

Long Live the Republic, Hide Your Guns, they are shifting their focus soon.

Opinion: Pelosi Misleads and Deceives: St. Joseph Would Not Approve - Catholic Online

Opinion: Pelosi Misleads and Deceives: St. Joseph Would Not Approve - Catholic Online

Wonderful article by a close friend of ours. The left will go to no end to get this passed which includes the unconstitutional deem and pass. This weekend is a defining moment for our country and could be the inflection point in out history when future cultures read about the decline of the United States of America. There is still time to protest, call Congress, and support those who oppose the bill.

Remember the 2nd Amendment is the only thing that keeps the government from plunging us into a totalitarian regime. Continue to buy guns and ammunition, do not register to them, the more guns the people have that government cannot easily find collect the better the chance they will not try to do it.

Long live the Republic!

The tree of Liberty needs to be watered from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

Thomas Jefferson 3rd president of US (1743 - 1826)