Just a Few Reasons Why Obama REALLY Can't Stand Georgia:)

[stephanie henry]

Just a few reasons why the Obama Admin. REALLY doesn't like the posse from Georgia.....

“Calling This a ‘Jobs’ Bill Is Pure Fraud”

Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) issued the following statement regarding the so-called “jobs” bill passed by the House today, which was unveiled mere hours before debate began.

“Those who claim this will encourage job creation clearly don’t understand what goes into a hiring decision in the private sector,” said Congressman Price. “Any company that can't afford to hire today still won't be able to hire if this bill becomes law. Calling this a 'jobs' bill is pure fraud. It's just another round of the same failed economic policies Democrats have been touting for the last year. This bill won’t convince wary employers to suddenly start hiring. It simply hands taxpayer money to businesses which were already going to hire anyway.”

“In another sign that Democrat leaders just don’t understand the private sector, this alleged 'jobs' bill also imposes a net tax increase on the American people. You can't tax Americans back to prosperity. It’s just that simple. If this Congress truly wants to encourage jobs creation, we need to empower individuals and the free-enterprise system empower individuals and the free-enterprise system which has always been the foundation of our economic strength.”

Price Statement on Obama Decision to Jam the American People

Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s remarks on health care reform today.

“Today, the President told America, in terms never so clear, that he simply doesn’t care what the people think,” said Congressman Price. “Over the last year we have seen unprecedented level of public debate about the President’s plan, and the resounding conclusion America has come to is ‘no thank you.’ Yet, the wishes of the American people appear to be no obstacle to the President as he has endorsed the most partisan path possible to achieve his ideological goal. This is an abuse of power and an outrage to representative government which will not soon be forgotten.

“But even more than the broken process, the policies that the President seeks to ram through Congress represent an enormous threat to American patients. Despite his rhetoric, the President’s plan would give Washington bureaucrats control over personal health care decisions. President Obama’s claim that his plan is somehow bipartisan because he’s ‘open to’ a few minor Republican ideas is as cynical as it is absurd. You can’t tweak a disaster like this; you have to start over from scratch. The very foundation of his plan is a non-starter for the American people who overwhelmingly want the Democrats to scrap it and start over with a blank sheet of paper.

“That the President has chosen this path is terribly upsetting. It didn’t have to be this way, as Republicans have common sense ideas all year and demonstrated a genuine desire to positively reform the American health care system. Yet if the President is so intent on jamming the American people, Republicans will stand up to defend them.”

President’s Job-Killing Agenda Continues to Put Americans Out of Work

Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) issued the following statement after it was announced that another 36,000 Americans lost work in February, with underemployment shooting up to 16.8% of the nation.

“Today we received yet another reminder that the President’s agenda is anathema to robust job growth,” said Congressman Price. “A flood of new census workers could not even push jobs out of the losses column, and still more people have been forced into only part-time work. Americans have grown tired of waiting for this administration to get the message. The uncertainty it has spawned is freezing investment and discouraging workforce expansion. Our economic potential cannot be unleashed until the President’s job-killing agenda is no longer hanging over the marketplace.

“The American entrepreneurial spirit cannot be held back forever, and our people will soon enough rise above the economic malaise promoted by the President. Yet, over a year since we were promised immediate job growth, any recovery will come too late for many Americans. To energize our markets and restore confidence for American families we must move in a new direction. Rather than more government solutions, we need to empower people with economic freedom. By promoting the market-based principles we have long cherished we can overcome anything, even this administration’s economic incompetence.”

Republicans Continue to Fight National Energy Tax

Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) issued the following statement in support of Rep. Joe Barton’s (R-TX) Resolution of Disapproval on the EPA’s job-killing scheme to regulate carbon dioxide. This follows a similar effort by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) via H.R. 391.

“The Democrats’ plan to impose a national energy tax in Congress has collapsed under the weight of public scrutiny,” said Congressman Price. “Now the Obama administration is trying to sneak this job-killing scheme through the back door with oppressive bureaucratic dictates. Unfortunately, this administration has shown little regard when its partisan agenda conflicts with the will of the American people. The EPA’s unilateral decision to regulate carbon dioxide would impose a de facto national energy tax on every sector of the economy and push our struggling job-creators off a cliff. This decision goes against all common sense, especially considering the many recent revelations of errors and obfuscation in the allegedly ‘settled science’ of global warming. A national energy tax is a surefire way to make the U.S. uncompetitive in the global economy. The American people don’t want it, and the Obama administration shouldn’t try to impose it by fiat.”

Price Applauds Blue Dog Goal of Balanced Budget

Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) issued the following statement after Blue Dog Democrats introduced a balanced budget amendment.

“It’s wonderful to hear my colleagues in the Blue Dog coalition talk about fiscal responsibility,” said Congressman Price. “But talk is cheap. Last year, the Republican Study Committee offered a balanced budget on the House floor. Not a single Blue Dog voted for it. Neither did any other Democrat. Luckily, Democrats will get another chance to actually vote for fiscal responsibility when the RSC once again offers a balanced budget proposal later this year. With their newfound commitment to a balanced budget, I am eager to see all 54 of the Blue Dog Democrats vote for the RSC balanced budget.”

Yet another jobs bill that won't create jobs

Washington, Mar 4 -

U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland today joined fellow House Republicans in opposing a futile jobs bill that will cost $15 billion.

“The Democratic Congress can continue to pass spending measures and slap the label ‘jobs bill’ on them, but that’s not going to create new, long-term employment for Americans looking desperately for work,” Westmoreland said. “Tomorrow, the government will release data that we lost about 100,000 more jobs in February. That’s the ‘success’ that the Democrats’ agenda has brought us thus far. This $15 billion pales in comparison to the $860 billion passed last year. I’m at a loss as to why we need to spend another $15 billion when the. Democrats claim their stimulus bill worked just fine.”

The HIRE Act suspends payroll taxes for employers that hire new workers who have been unemployed for at least 60 days and a $1,000 tax credit for retaining employees.

“I support tax cuts for small businesses, our country’s major engine of jobs growth,” Westmoreland said. “But this bill is just more deficit spending piled on top of deficit spending. This tax credit was tried by President Carter back in the 1970s, and it did nothing to relieve the malaise.

“There’s a reason it didn’t work. I’m not convinced that employers are going to take on a $30,000-a-year permanent expense in order to get a $1,000, one-time credit. For most small employers, that math won’t work.

“If we’re going to have long-term economic growth and job creation, we have to remove the uncertainty that U.S. employers face. They aren’t hoping for a small tax credit that might allow them to expand; they’re worried about huge tax increases, higher energy costs and health insurance mandates that will prevent them from keeping the employees that they have now. The Democrats continue to push those job-killing measures.”

WEEK IN REVIEW: 3/1 TO 3/5

March 5, 2010

Contact: Derick Corbett

Week in Review: 3/1 TO 3/5

Budget and Taxes Update:

I joined my Republican colleagues from the Committee on Ways and Means to send a Views and Estimates letter, which conveys our perspective on legislative proposals that have budgetary impact, to the House Budget Committee. As required annually, the full Committee sends a letter to the Budget Committee, but the Republican letter provides an opportunity for our alternative views to be expressed. The Republican Views and Estimates letter addresses our view that millions of Americans and employers face increased taxes because of expanded Federal assistance programs and proposed climate change legislation, Social Security and Medicare spending are unsustainable, and tax code simplification and expanded trade could enhance our economic growth and prosperity.

Environmental Protection Agency:

On March 2, 2010, I co-sponsored House Joint Resolution 77, along with 89 other Members of the House of Representatives. This measure would express Congress’ disapproval of a rule submitted by the EPA that classifies carbon dioxide as a dangerous pollutant harmful to human health and allows it to be regulated under the Clean Air Act. Think about what the EPA is really saying here. It is saying that carbon dioxide, a gas that every human on the planet expels from our bodies thousands of times a day and prompts plants to grow, is really a poison that is harmful to our health. Sounds ludicrous to you? It certainly does to me. This is just one more way that the Obama Administration is trying to control the daily lives of Americans through needless bureaucratic regulation. To read an in depth discussion of H.J.Res. 77 by House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Joe Barton (R-TX), please visit: http://joebarton.house.gov/NewsRoom.aspx?FormMode=Detail&ID=562.

Water Update:

I would like to draw your attention to an upcoming water awareness initiative in Washington, D.C.: “Fix a Leak Week” March 15-21. Trillions of gallons of water fall on each one of our nation’s states each year, yet our aquifers are being pumped dry and our citizens are often subject to stringent water restrictions. Why? One of the reasons is because the technology used to distribute the water to our agriculture is both outdated and aging. Another reason why we are faced with critically low water levels is because older cities are losing approximately 20 percent, on average, of the water carried through their pipes each day. New York City loses 36 million gallons per day to leaks in the Delaware Aqueduct, while Philadelphia loses 85 million gallons per day to leaks in city pipes. The city of Boston is not far behind that number in terms of daily water loss. According to engineering experts, household leaks can result in the loss of more than 1 trillion gallons of water a year nationwide.

Some have estimated that by 2016, over half of our nation’s pipes will be in very poor condition, if not completely unusable. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that it is now going to cost us several trillion dollars to repair and improve our nation’s water infrastructure in the future. We clearly need to do a better job with our conservation efforts, and fixing leaky pipes is one easy way to do that. We should also promote water audits to more systematically identify such problems.

Since 2001, I have been calling on my colleagues in Congress to pass my bill, H.R. 135, the “Twenty-First Century Water Commission,” to help us begin the process of addressing our nation’s increasing water resources management and infrastructure problems. There is no reason why we should allow another drop of water to run to the sea unused even once, or spend millions and millions of dollars to treat our water only to see it leak out of a pipe and immediately run out to the street before it ever reaches a plant or a faucet. H.R. 135 would tackle these issues head on. To read more about “Fix a Leak Week,” please visit: http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/water_efficiency/fix_a_leak.html. To read the text of my legislation, please click here.

Foreign Affairs and Military News:

This week, I was proud to co-sponsor H.R. 4649, the “Iran Human Rights Sanctions Act.” This bill directs President Barack Obama to impose financial sanctions on any person determined to be complicit in human rights abuses committed against Iranian citizens. As has been reported so widely in the media, hundreds of peaceful protesters have been arrested, incarcerated, and some even sentenced to death for participating in post-election protests last year and earlier this year in Iran. According to the New York Times, one protester has been sentenced to death for engaging in anti-government demonstrations on a Shiite holy day and another for throwing rocks during a rally last December. We cannot stand by while a basic human right, like the right to peacefully assemble and protest, is stripped from the citizens of Iran by an increasingly dictatorial government. To view the text of this legislation, please click here.

On March 2, I joined my colleagues in the House to support passage of H.Res. 812, of which I am a proud co-sponsor. This bill recognizes the significant contributions of the Military Working Dog (MWD) Program to the U.S. Armed Forces. The Military Working Dog Program helps improve the quality of safety for our military men and women by providing dogs that have been trained to help them detect Weapons of Mass Destruction before they are detonated. The individuals that have put the time and effort into making this program viable have saved countless numbers of our nation’s soldiers and made it possible for our service men and women to return home safely to their families once they have completed their mission overseas. To view the text of this legislation, please click here.

Congressman Broun

Washington, Mar 2 -

U.S. Representative Paul Broun, M.D. (GA-10) released the following statement after President Barack Obama announced his intentions to incorporate only four minor Republican ideas into the 2,000-plus page health care bill:

“I don’t know if we should be insulted or humored at the President’s feeble attempts to incorporate Republican ideas into his latest health care proposal. Snooki, from the Jersey Shore, has more substance than President Obama’s offer.

“Instead of listening to the American people, the President has once again demonstrated his arrogance and ignorance about what the nation expects from its leaders. This is “The Situation,” Mr. President: the American people do not want unconstitutional mandates and job-killing tax increases. They are concerned with the costs of premiums, the quality of their health care and ensuring their children and grandchildren are not left with the bill. If you want to govern with the consent of the governed, you need to scrap this government take-over plan and embrace more of our commonsense solutions that protect the vital patient/doctor relationship and decrease the costs of premiums without adding to the national debt.”

Broun's Balanced Budget Amendment

For most of our nation’s history, deficits were only temporary in nature, brought on by wars or other emergencies, and the accumulated national debt was reduced once the crises passed.

Our nation’s debt recently passed $12 trillion, having more than doubled in less than a decade. Last year’s $700 billion bailout and the $787 billion "stimulus" bill have added record amounts to our obligations with no end in sight. The unfortunate reality is that our unsustainable debt imposes significant costs on you every day and will only continue to get worse if Congress doesn't rein in out-of-control spending.

We must act to constitutionally protect future generations of Americans from excessive federal debt. Today, forty-nine states have balanced budget requirements, most of which are written into their constitutions. It is time that Congress abides by the same restrictions that states have placed on themselves.

My Balanced Budget Amendment would:

1. Other bills require a majority, or in some cases 3/5 to raise taxes or the debt ceiling. My bill requires a 2/3 majority vote to raise revenue and allow an excess of outlays over receipts.

2. Other bills do not have spending constraints. This bill limits spending growth of the entire budget to no more than population growth plus inflation.

3. Other bills allow waivers during declaration of war OR military conflict. This bill allows only for waivers during actual Declarations of War. Such waivers, since they would only be during actual war, need only a regular majority.

4. Other bills do not account for what happens when estimates are wrong. In other words, they can cook the books by saying they’ll have more tax revenues than they will. This bill forces the NEXT fiscal year to account for any imbalance in the previous year’s estimates by placing that amount in the spending column for that year.

5. This bill requires all excess revenue at the end of a fiscal year to be returned to the American taxpayer

Below are the specifics on my plan to cure the current health care financing crisis in America. At the bottom of the page is a pdf of my health care alternative in case you want to read the bill.

The OPTION Act

The Offering Patients True and Individualized Options Now Act

1. Make the Purchase of Health Care More Affordable to More People

o Drastically expand the individual market available for individual purchasing

o Increase pooling options

o Lower the overarching cost of health care for everyone through the tax system

2. Make All Health Care Related Expenses Totally Tax Deductible for Everyone

o Extend the income tax deduction on health care premiums to all individuals

o Allow for individuals to take tax deductions for health care related expenses they incur including all health care expenses currently allowed to be purchased with Health Savings Account (HSA) funds

o Individuals who have employer health care plans but still incur costs on medical expenses, deductibles, premiums, pharmaceuticals (prescribed, over the counter, etc.), or any medical related expenses would qualify

o Allow Medicare recipients to deduct their Medicare supplemental insurance premiums for tax purposes (typically AARP supplemental, but others qualify as well

3. Significantly Expand Health Savings Accounts Contributions and Eligibility

o Increase the maximum contribution level for tax deductible deposits into HSAs

o Allow for Medicare recipients to continue to contribute money into their HSAs even after they reach Medicare eligibility (currently forbidden)

o Allow any additional money in an HSA at the time of the account holder’s passing to be inherited by the beneficiaries of the account holder’s estate.

o HSA contributions would continue to rollover year to year and be compounded.

o Interest earned from HSA’s would be tax deferrable.

o Companies would be allowed/encouraged to purchase catastrophic insurance for their employees as a companion for matching employee contributions (or a certain percentage of employee contributions) into an HSA

o HSA savings would automatically be eligible to rollover into Medicare Savings Accounts (MSA) (discussed under point 4)

o Individuals with HSAs would be allowed to donate their own personal HSA contributions to charity, which would also be a qualifying tax deduction

4. Repeal and Reform the Barriers That Currently Exist for Physicians to Donate Charity and Pro Bono Care

o Allow physicians a tax credit for providing charity medical care, with annual credits upwards of $8,000

o Repeal the barriers for physicians to volunteer at clinics.

o Eligible charity care consists of both volunteering in clinics as well as pro bono work performed in a private practice

5. Reform Medicare from being a Government Administered Health Care Program to a Market-Based Voucher System

o Instead of Medicare being a government-run insurance provider, Medicare would instead issue vouchers to each participant in the program at the beginning of the year, at a specific amount equal to 110% of the current per beneficiary allotment of Medicare per county, for two purposes:

a. Used to buy private insurance

o Contribution of additional funds into an MSA (which would compound and rollover year to year and become part of estate on passing). MSA would have the same tax benefits and be under the same regulations as HSAs

6. Allow for Individuals to Keep their Health Insurance Indefinitely if they Choose once they Leave their Jobs

o Expands the portability of health insurance plans for individuals

7. Encourages Better Transparency in Health Care Pricing

o Nothing in this legislation will preclude a medical provider or an insurance company from publicly disclosing their prices, which will allow for greater transparency in the health care market.

8. Review and Reform Current EMTALA Regulations

o Allows a medical professional with certified, basic medical knowledge (such as a PA, RN, EMT, etc.) to triage patients coming into an Emergency Department (ED) and decide if their ailment is truly “emergent”, by the current EMC standard.

a. If a treatment is deemed to not be emergent then a technician, with redundant approval, would be able to direct the patient to a more suitable treatment place, such as a clinic, an urgent care facility or simply to their regular physician.

b. Ideally, this component would be part of a large scale education and resource allocation program, to help serve underserved populations by utilizing the hospitals, clinics and doctors in various areas.

9. Eliminates the Barriers to Shop Across State Lines for Health Insurance

o Using the Constitutional Authority vested in the Commerce Clause, individuals would be allowed to shop across state lines for individual health insurance.

10. Expand Pooling Options to Allow Any Qualified Entity to Create an Insurance Pool and Negotiate Health Insurance Plans on Behalf of any Participating Member

o This provision takes existing Association Health Plan Language (as of yet not law) and expands it to allow for the inclusion of not just associations, but any entity (Rotary Clubs, Neighborhood Associations, etc.) who meet basic qualifications such as having a Constitution, conducting regular meetings and having a tax identification number on file with a state’s Secretary of State’s office, to negotiate on behalf of their participating membership health care plans and rates

The JOBS Act of 2009, H.R. 4100
Jumpstarting Our Business Sector

As unemployment numbers continue to rise above 10% and the federal “stimulus” shows little signs of actually being able to fix our economy, Congressman Paul Broun has introduced H.R. 4100, the JOBS (Jumpstarting Our Business Sector) Act of 2009, to provide relief to small businesses so they can create jobs, while also rescinding and recouping all unspent tax dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The JOBS Act would enact a few very simple steps that would help small businesses hire more people, and save tax dollars from a failed plan:

1. Two Year Moratorium on All Capital Gains Taxes
2. Two Year Moratorium on All Dividends Taxes
3. Two Year Reduction on Payroll Tax Rate from 6.2% to 3.1%
4. Two Year Reduction on Self-Employed People Tax Rate from 15.3% to 7.65%
5. Two Year Reduction on Corporate Tax Rate from 35% to 25%
6. Two Year Reduction on the Two Lowest Income Tax Brackets to 5% and 10%
7. Rescission and Recoupment of All Unspent “Stimulus” Dollars