CALIFORNIA YANKEE

Congressman Kevin McCarthy slams Obama's 'anti-taxpayer policies' in weekly GOP address

In this week's Republican Address, Congressman Kevin McCarthy takes on the Obama/Democrats' "anti-taxpayer policies":

From TARP and permanent bailouts, to the cap-and-trade national energy tax, the government takeover of healthcare, and huge increases in the national debt – and now still more demands for more spending to change the financial regulations, we have run out of money.  And yet this Administration and Congressional Democrats want to spend even more.

Watch the video of Congressman McCarthy's remarks:

 You can read the full transcript of Congressman McCarthy's address below:

Hi, I’m Congressman Kevin McCarthy. I have the great honor of representing California’s 22nd Congressional District.  I also serve as the House Republican Chief Deputy Whip. I’d like to start by wishing all those families celebrating Easter and Passover a year of peace and prosperity in this holiday season.

I need not remind you that this is a time of great economic anxiety for almost everyone.  Americans are rightfully asking ‘where are the jobs?’  ‘Why is Washington raising taxes in times of recession?’ ‘Doesn’t anyone care about us?’  ‘Is anyone actually listening?’ 

I know what you’re thinking. Enough is enough. Stop the spending. Stop the waste. Stop the broken promises. 

Republicans agree.

Major employers are already being squeezed because of the tax increases and cost hikes thanks to the new health care law signed by President Obama.  The new law is just the latest in a series of anti-taxpayer policies coming out of Washington that is making it harder for Americans to save, invest, and hire, but it is by no means the last.

As a former small business owner – a deli here in Bakersfield – I know that there is risk involved in turning a new idea into a successful business.  There is no reward without some risk.  My small business – like many small businesses – was started on credit.  At this time of high unemployment, when we need to focus on jobs, we should not be expanding government spending, government commitments, and government promises that crowd out the small businessman and businesswoman.  That’s not good for jobs.  That’s not good for anyone.  

From TARP and permanent bailouts, to the cap-and-trade national energy tax, the government takeover of healthcare, and huge increases in the national debt – and now still more demands for more spending to change the financial regulations, we have run out of money.  And yet this Administration and Congressional Democrats want to spend even more.  

So on behalf of the hardworking taxpayers of my district, I have one question for Washington: who is going to pay for all your new spending?  

Last fall, when the controversial TARP program was on track to expire, Republicans voted to terminate the program and ensure that any unused funds were used to pay down our crushing national debt. Democrats instead forced through an extension so that they could use it as a ‘slush fund’ for more wasteful Washington spending.

Now, President Obama wants Congress to pass job-killing legislation that would guarantee permanent bailouts for Wall Street. Under his plan, unelected Washington bureaucrats would be granted virtually unlimited power to pick winners and losers – and hardworking American taxpayers would pick up the tab for the reckless decisions made by irresponsible bankers.

What’s worse, this legislation fails to address the root causes of the economic crisis and housing meltdown – the lack of accountability in Washington and on Wall Street.  

Republicans have proposed a plan to protect taxpayers, end the permanent bailout and get rid of TARP.  Our plan would address the causes of the financial crisis and institute accountability while adopting a new approach to the markets that will no longer include using the taxpayer as Wall Street’s financial lifeline.

Because more Washington bureaucrats, more federal agencies and more blue-ribbon commissions are not the answer. And putting taxpayers on the hook for more bailouts will not revive our struggling economy – it will only compound the pain for struggling small businesses and for families who played by the rules, lived within their means and acted responsibly.

Earlier I asked whether anyone was listening. I’m Kevin McCarthy, a member of the House Republican Conference, and we’re listening. And if you want to put an end to these big government bailouts, the reckless wasteful spending and the mountain of debt, we hope you’re listening, too.

For more info:  Mitch McConnell lays out the case for Obamacare repeal and replace  ♦  Democrats fail to listen to America and pass Obamacare  ♦  Sen. Scott Brown delivers Weekly GOP Address on Obamacare  ♦ Dems schedule unpopular Obamacare vote for dead of night  ♦  Obama and Reid say one thing do another - Obamacare transparency edition  ♦  More Obama say one thing do another - Obamacare edition  ♦  Opposition panics Obama and Democrats  ♦  Democrats agree to raise taxes and cut Medicare to fund health care reform  ♦  Democrats' rush and spend approach to health care reform

Mitch McConnell lays out the case for Obamacare repeal and replace

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell makes the case for repeal and replace of the Democrats' ObamaCare legislation in his latest Republican Weekly address (March 27, 2010):

We can do better. We can expand access to people with preexisting conditions. We can keep people from being kicked off their plans. We can lower costs and premiums. We can do all of these things without undermining the things we do best and without raising taxes that kill jobs in a bad economy.

The American people know that. That’s why they’ve been clamoring for a different approach, and that’s why Republicans are committed to repealing this bill and replacing it with common-sense solutions that achieve the good things that folks on both sides want to achieve without all the nasty consequences we’re already beginning to see.

 Watch the video of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's remarks:

You can read the full transcript of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's address below:

Hello. I’m Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Earlier this week, the President signed a massive health spending bill that’s been described as historic. Well, Democrats in Washington may measure history by how expensive and intrusive the bill is. But, most people outside Washington see things differently.

In one of the most divisive legislative debates in modern history, Democrats decided to go the partisan route and blatantly ignore the will of the people. Americans opposed this legislation, and, now they’re clamoring to see it repealed and replaced.

Democratic leaders and White House officials may be celebrating their victory this week, but most of the rest of the country is not.

Most people aren’t interested in celebrating a bill that makes their lives more complicated, takes more out of their paychecks and puts decisions they’re used to making themselves into the hands of federal bureaucrats.

Most people aren’t celebrating the fact that their insurance premiums will go up. Seniors aren’t popping champagne corks at more than a half a trillion dollars in Medicare cuts. And, job creators, already struggling in a down economy, aren’t doing any cartwheels over all the mandates and new taxes they’ll have to shoulder as a result of this bill.

We’re already seeing the economic fallout.

Just two days after this bill became law, the John Deere Co. said it will spend an extra $150 million this year alone just to comply with the new law. Illinois-based Caterpillar Corp. said it expects to take a $100-million hit. 

This is bad news for workers, and it's terrible news for the broader economy. As the President himself put it during a visit to Caterpillar last year: ‘You can measure America’s bottom line by looking at Caterpillar’s bottom line.’ That was the president a year ago.

The timing couldn’t be worse. At a moment when millions of Americans are looking for work, Democrats in Washington just voted to spend $2.6 trillion on a healthcare bill that will make it even harder to create private-sector jobs. The IRS sure gets a boost, though. An estimated 16,500 new workers will be needed there to enforce a brand new insurance mandate that the bill imposes on employers.

And then there are all the unintended consequences that will inevitably result from a 2,800-page bill that sets up dozens of federal boards and a thicket of new rules and regulations -- regulations that we know won’t withstand their first contact with reality.

In fact, we’re already seeing it. Just one day after the president signed this bill into law, we got word that one of its celebrated early features -- a ban on discriminating against children with pre-existing conditions -- won’t immediately protect children after all.

Another promise, requiring insurance companies to let young adults stay on their parents’ plans up to age 26, turned out to be similarly ineffective. In other words, Democrats in Congress just voted to take over one-sixth of our economy, and two of the biggest selling points they used to push it over the finish line already need fixing. Here’s a question: If they can’t get these two things right, how can we expect them to properly manage the rest of it?

When the White House was questioned about the glitches in the bill, they said the secretary of Human Services was on the case. They said she’d issue a new regulation to correct the problem. But this is precisely what Americans are afraid of.

This bill hadn’t even been law for 24 hours, and already they’re proposing regulations to cover over mistakes and errors. And we haven’t even seen the last of it.

I’m sure that soon enough, every American will be reminded of the wisdom of that old observation that ‘government is best which governs least.’

Look, nobody is satisfied with the healthcare system as it is. We’ve got serious problems that need to be addressed. Costs are out of control. Too many people are being squeezed out of the market. But, the fact of the matter is, this healthcare bill doesn’t solve any of those problems. It uses them as an excuse to undermine the things we do best -- the wide array of choices, the constant innovations in technology and treatments, and the high quality of care that people all around the world admire about the American healthcare system.

Sadly, all of those things will suffer as a result of the bill the president signed this week.

We can do better. We can expand access to people with preexisting conditions. We can keep people from being kicked off their plans. We can lower costs and premiums. We can do all of these things without undermining the things we do best and without raising taxes that kill jobs in a bad economy.

The American people know that. That’s why they’ve been clamoring for a different approach, and that’s why Republicans are committed to repealing this bill and replacing it with common-sense solutions that achieve the good things that folks on both sides want to achieve without all the nasty consequences we’re already beginning to see.

Repeal and replace. That’s what Americans really want, and that’s something people far beyond Washington, D.C., will actually want to celebrate. Thanks for listening. 

Democrats lose ground, now eleven votes shy of passing Obamacare

CNN reports five more House Democrats said Tuesday that they will vote against the Democrats' Senate Obamacare bill. According to CNN, the Democrats are 11 votes shy of passing Obamacare.

Friday, we reported that the Democrats were within four votes of passing Obamacare. Monday we were told that the Democrats picked up four votes. Was that just propaganda to make it appear that passage of the unpopular Obamacare bill was, like a Hillary Presidency, inevitable?

CNN's analysis shows that opposition in the House to the Senate Obamacare bill has reached 205 members:

• A total of 27 House Democrats, including nine who supported the House plan in November, have indicated that they would join a unified Republican caucus in opposing the Senate plan, which passed in that chamber December 24 with the minimum required 60 votes.

• Of the 39 Democrats who voted against the House plan in November, 17 have indicated that they will vote against the Senate plan as written, 11 remain uncommitted, and nine did not return repeated calls for comment.

The CNN numbers explain why the House Democrats leaders scheme to avoid a direct vote on the Senate bill with procedural shenanigans like the unconstitutional Slaughter gambit.

Democrats just four votes shy of passing Obamacare

In the setup to the following interview with New York Democrat Congressman Anthony Weiner, Megyn Kelly reveals that the Fox News political team now calculates that Democrats are just "four votes shy" of being able to pass their Obamacare bill through the House. 

Drop the government takeover of health care, start over, and work together on real reforms

We need to drop this whole scheme of federally controlled health care, start over, and work together on real reforms at the state level that will contain costs and wont leave America trillions of dollars deeper in debt. -- Senator Scott Brown

In this week's Republican Address, newly-elected Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts explains that the Democrats running Washington have their Obamacare priorities all wrong:

• Americans told me that they want their President and Congress to focus on creating jobs and reviving Americas economy. Instead, for more than a year now, we have seen a bitter, destructive, and endless drive to completely transform Americas health care system.

• Somehow, the greater the public opposition to the health care bill, the more determined they seem to force it on us anyway. Their attitude shows Washington at its very worst the presumption that they know best, and they're going to get their way whether the American people like it or not.

• I haven't been here very long, but, I can tell you this much already: Nothing has distracted the attention and energy of the nations capital more than this disastrous detour. And, the surest way to return to the peoples business is to listen to the people themselves: We need to drop this whole scheme of federally controlled health care, start over, and work together on real reforms at the state level that will contain costs and wont leave America trillions of dollars deeper in debt.

Watch the video of Senator Brown's address:

Brown’s victory in the January special election for the late Edward Kennedy's Senate seat provided Republicans with the 41st vote that enables the GOP to maintain a filibuster against unpopular Democrat legislation, like the Obamacare bill.

Coalition of business groups challenge the President's Obamacare push

The Employers for a Healthy Economy coalition opposes the President's Obamacare push with a new ad campaign urging Congress to begin listening to the American people and start over to get health care reform right.

The coalition says the Democrats' Obamacare legislation will not improve health care, and in fact, it will only make health care more expensive for small business, large business and individuals.

Watch the ad:

If the Senate bill is passed into law with Obama’s reconciliation adjustments, the following dangerous policies will become law:

• You cannot keep the plan you have. All health insurance plans will be subject to numerous new mandates, requirements, regulations, and bureaucratic oversight, which will force the plans to raise prices and change or eliminate plan offerings.

• Your health care costs will increase. The bill will do very little to control costs, while simultaneously taxing the health industry -- taxes consumers will pay -- and forcing Americans to purchase more expensive health insurance.

• Your taxes will increase. There will be a massive new payroll tax, a new tax on investments and 401(k)s, a new tax on “Cadillac” health benefits, new taxes on medical devices and prescription drugs, new taxes on all health insurance policies, and increased taxes in the form of cost-shifting through lower payments to hospitals and doctors.

• The debt, the deficit, and federal spending will increase. Despite a number of accounting gimmicks, like starting the taxation before the program spending begins, and double-counting $500 billion in Medicare cuts, the bill’s true cost will be trillions of dollars. The bill creates new entitlements that will increase forever, much like Social Security and Medicare.

• Medicare will be cut by $500 billion. The Congressional Budget Office clearly stated: “20 percent of Part A providers would become unprofitable” and stop seeing Medicare patients.

• Jobs will be lost, or never created. The bill creates a huge incentive not to hire low-wage workers and not to grow a business beyond 50 employees. Employers who hire a low-wage worker, even if they offer great health insurance, could be fined $3000 per year.

America wants Obama and Congressional Democrats to scrap their government health care takeover

In today's Weekly Republican Address, Michigan's Congressman Dave Camp makes the following points:

• In order to have a productive bipartisan conversation on health care, Democrats must first listen to the American people and scrap their massive government takeover of health care. We must go into the summit with a clean slate focused on making health care affordable. That is what Americans are asking for, and that is what Republicans will continue to work for.
• Democrats are continuing to work behind closed doors, putting the finishing touches on yet another massive health care bill Americans can’t afford and don’t want.
• Democrats have admitted they are working on an undemocratic plan to jam this bill through Congress and subvert the will of the American people. 
• Democrats themselves are describing this latest maneuver as a "trick."
• Republicans have listened to the American people and offered reforms that lower health care premiums for families and small businesses.
• Our bill ensures nobody will be denied coverage on the basis of a pre-existing condition. It gives states the tools to implement their own innovative reforms. And we put an end to the junk lawsuits that are forcing doctors to practice defensive medicine and drive up the cost of health insurance for all Americans.
• Republicans get the job done without cutting Medicare, without raising taxes, and without piling more debt on our kids and grandkids.
• Americans' health care is way too important to risk on a rushed backroom deal that puts federal bureaucrats in charge of your personal health care decisions.

Watch the video Camp’s Address:

Full transcript of Congressman Camp’s Address:

Hello, I’m Congressman Dave Camp from Michigan, and I serve as the lead Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee.

This is a time of economic uncertainty. Tens of millions of Americans are either looking for work or have just given up entirely. They’re looking to Washington for solutions. But instead it seems Washington keeps adding to their problems.  

That’s why Americans are demanding that President Obama and the Democrats in control of Congress scrap their misguided plan of a government takeover of health care. They don’t want a 2,000-page bill that threatens jobs and drives up health premiums; they already have enough challenges to deal with in their daily lives. 

They want Washington to start over with a step-by-step approach to health care reform that begins with reducing costs and ensures they can keep their current plan if they like it. 

For those families and small businesses looking for a sign that Washington is ready to wake up and find common sense on this issue, next week’s White House health care summit may not be it.

In fact, right now, Democrats are continuing to work behind closed doors, putting the finishing touches on yet another massive health care bill Americans can’t afford and don’t want.

If it is like Democrats’ other health care bills, this one will drive up premiums, destroy jobs, raise taxes, slash Medicare benefits, and add to our already-skyrocketing debt.  

But this won’t be just another bill written in secret and signed off on by special interests. Democrats have admitted they are working on an undemocratic plan to jam this bill through Congress and subvert the will of the American people. 

Democrats themselves are describing this latest maneuver as a ‘trick.’ If the starting point for this summit is more of the same backroom deals and partisan bills, then this meeting will likely be a charade.

From the beginning, Republicans have listened to the American people and offered reforms that lower health care premiums for families and small businesses.
 
The bill I and House Republicans proposed last fall implements common sense solutions focused on lowering costs. Our bill ensures nobody will be denied coverage on the basis of a pre-existing condition.

It gives states the tools to implement their own innovative reforms. And we put an end to the junk lawsuits that are forcing doctors to practice defensive medicine and drive up the cost of health insurance for all Americans.
 
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office projects that the Republican health care bill would actually lower health insurance premiums across the board by up to 10 percent – about $2,000 per year. The Democrat bills do just the opposite – they increase the cost of health care.
 
Just as important, Republicans get the job done without cutting Medicare, without raising taxes, and without piling more debt on our kids and grandkids. All the details of our plan are available at healthcare.gop.gov. 

Republicans remain ready to discuss these ideas with President Obama and move forward in a bipartisan way to lower health care costs.  

But Americans' health care is way too important to risk on a rushed backroom deal that puts federal bureaucrats in charge of your personal health care decisions. 
 
Instead of hurting small businesses by forcing them to pay new taxes and meet new regulations, our focus should be on lowering their health care costs so that they can expand and hire more workers. 

So in order to have a productive bipartisan conversation on health care, Democrats must first listen to the American people and scrap their massive government takeover of health care. We must go into the summit with a clean slate focused on making healthcare affordable.

That is what Americans are asking for, and that is what Republicans will continue to work for. Thanks for listening.   

Obama's stimulus: the 'epic fail' of 2009

As the Democrats continue to insist how important it is to enactment their Obamacare boondoggle, we should pause and consider the result of the last legislation they claimed was so important -- President Obama's so-called stimulus.

Watch the following video reminder:

Team Obama used scare tactics in getting the Democrat-controlled Congress to give him the massive $800 billion spending bill dressed up as a stimulus.

They told us that without Obama's bailout the unemployment rate would reach 9%, but if Congress passed his boondoggle, unemployment would peak at 8%.

The unemployment rate scare tactic was contained in Obama's "The Job Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan." How did those predictions turn out? At Innocent Bystanders, Geoff, has plotted actual unemployment rates on Obama's prediction chart.

Geoff's annotated chart confirms the failure of Obama's stimulus.

Nelson caves, Reid introduces 400 page amendment to Obamacare bill

The lone Democratic holdout, Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson, has agreed to support Obamacare -- one of the crown jewels of Obamaism.

According to Ed Morrissey, Nelson's capitulation is a "complete cave on abortion." The abortion language contained in the new Obamacare amendment is essentially the same language as it was a few weeks ago. One wonders what price Nelson's received for agreeing to support Obamacare.

Now that the Democrats have the 60 votes they need to quash Republican-led filibusters against Obamacare, Reid has introduced his 400 page amendment this morning. You can read the huge amendment here [pdf].

To accomplish the six votes necessary to rush the unpopular Obamacare bill through the Senate by Christmas, Reid finds it necessary to vote on it in the dead of the night. It does not matter to the Democrats that they promised the bill would be available for 72 hours before a vote. Nor does it bother the Democrats that the we are still waiting to see the CBO's cost  estimate for this bill.

Obamaism: Worse than socialism.

Dems schedule unpopular Obamacare vote for dead of night

The Senate version of the Democrats' so-called health care reform is so unpopular,  Nevada's Harry Reid finds it necessary to vote on it at 1:00 a.m.

David M. Herszenhorn reports the Democrats must conduct six votes to pass their Obamacare -- one of the crown jewels of Obamaism:

• 1 a.m. MONDAY – To end debate on “a manager’s package” that includes all the latest changes to the bill. 60 votes required.
• 7 a.m. TUESDAY – To approve the manager’s package. Simple majority required. 
• Also TUESDAY – To end debate on Mr. Reid’s original health care proposal, as amended by the manager’s package. 60 votes required.
• 1 p.m. WEDNESDAY – To approve Mr. Reid’s original proposal. Simple majority required. 
• Also WEDNESDAY – To end debate on the finalized health care legislation. 60 votes required. 
• 7 p.m. THURSDAY, Christmas Eve (or anytime after the prior vote if all senators agree) – To approve the final bill. Simple majority required. 

The legislation the Democrats are rushing through the Senate has yet to be revealed, so vote the Democrats scheduled for the middle of the night will come less than 40 hours after it is made available -- well short of the 72 hours Democrats promised the bill would be available before any vote:

The Senator mentioned, I note, having in mind the managers' amendment, which he has not seen and, frankly, this Senator has not seen either. I have some ideas what is in it, but I have not seen it myself. I think as a practical matter this will be available for 72 hours, as the Senator suggests. Why do I say that? I say that because it is my expectation that Senator Reid's managers' amendment will be filed very quickly, maybe in a day or two [emphasis added]. (Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Congressional Record, S.13289, 12/16/09)

What are the Democrats trying to hide?