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1. ObamaCare's Exchanges will actually RAISE premiums, not lower them. The Administration claim that Exchanges will lower premiums ignores the fact that ObamaCare's new bene...]]> Wed, 16 May 2012 11:00:00 EST During National Women's Health Week, the Administration is making an attempt to promote ObamaCare's effects on women's health. However, one of the biggest effects the law will have on women’s health is its massive expansion of the highly flawed Medicaid program. As of 2007, nearly 70 percent of the Medicaid population -- ranging from women of child-bearing age to elderly seniors receiving long-term care -- were female. That's a total of more than 41 million women receiving Medicaid benefits.

...]]> Tue, 15 May 2012 10:30:00 EST From a Joint Economic Committee Republican staff study:

As economic policies in the 50 states continue to diverge, so too do their economic destinies. Many states that model their policymaking on European-style social democracies -- with high tax rates, heavy regulation, large bureaucracies, and generous welfare systems -- are finding themselves in fiscal situations resembling those of the struggling Eurozone. 

The principle of federali...]]> Tue, 15 May 2012 10:00:00 EST Right now, the world is wondering if European leaders have the political will to save their economies from fiscal collapse. Defaulting on their debts would trigger a domino effect that threatens the continued existence of the European Union itself. Yet the entrenched interests of labor unions and government pensioners steadfastly refuse to accept cutbacks—even if it means taking their nations' economies down with them.

Could a similar scenario play out in the U.S.? That possibility is raised by a new study to be released Tuesday by the Republican staff of the Joint Economic Co...]]> Tue, 15 May 2012 10:00:00 EST Writing in the New York Times this morning, Richard Thaler attempts to debunk "slippery-slope" arguments claiming ObamaCare's unprecedented individual mandate, if found constitutional, would result in "broccoli mandates" and similar edicts from the federal government. He concludes: "We would be better off as a society if we could collectively agree to ignore all slippery-slope arguments that aren't accompanied by evidence that said slope exists. If you are oppose...]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 05:10:00 EST online card wishing "Happy Mother's Day from" ObamaCare. But for millions of female seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, the Mother’s Day "present" ObamaCare will deliver them is the loss of their health plan.

A study released last fall found that thanks to ObamaCare, Medicare Advantage enrollment will be cut in half by 2017 -- and Medic...]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 EST Recently, it was an honor to welcome former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to South Carolina for the Empower Education Reform Summit (click story about how medical loss ratio rebates will turn into a “game changer” for the President’s unpopular health care law.  However, this leak to a reporter yielding a favorable story misses several key points:

1. As we reported last month, a Kaiser Family Foundation study found that re...]]> Fri, 11 May 2012 03:30:00 EST Yesterday the President gave another campaign-style speech in New York, complete with a five point "to-do list" for Congress to tackle yet this year. (Of course, there are dozens of jobs bills being blocked by Democrats in the Senate, but that's a different story.) The more pressing issue is why President Obama hasn't tackled what he put on his OWN to-do list -- namely, cutting health insurance premiums by $2,500 per family Thu, 10 May 2012 11:00:00 EST Speaking on the floor a little bit ago, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) claimed that "very effective negative branding" has contributed to the American people's dislike of ObamaCare:

We’ve got to stand up and make it clear to people why this [law] is good.  A lot of Americans have not heard enough about how this legislation works for them, works for the country, will improve our system….I think the Administration has a much better story to tell about it than has ...]]> Wed, 09 May 2012 03:00:00 EST report from e21, nonpartisan economic think tank, reveals the true costs of the Export-Import Bank’s taxpayer subsidized loans could amount to more than $200 million in 2012 alone.

The current accounting method used by Ex-Im is based on the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (FCRA) does not accurately reflect the true taxpayer burden. As the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) stated earlier this year: Wed, 09 May 2012 12:30:00 EST The liberal advocacy group Families USA is out today with a new report claiming that 3.2 million small businesses are eligible for the new health insurance tax credit created by ObamaCare. However, prior studies and claims -- including reports from the Administration itself -- demonstrate that Families USA's "conclusions" vastly overstate ObamaCare's benefits for small businesses, while understating its drawbacks. Here's what you need to know about the study, and the issue:

<...]]> Wed, 09 May 2012 11:30:00 EST Among the many ways they tried to sell their unpopular health care law, Democrats claimed the measure would be a job creator. At the White House health summit in February 2010, Speaker Pelosi claimed that Obamacare would create "4 million jobs --400,000 jobs almost immediately." One of those supposed job-creating initiatives was the Health Care Innovation Challenge; when announced last November, HHS officials claimed it would "broaden the workforce." Politico che...]]> Wed, 09 May 2012 11:30:00 EST This morning the Treasury’s Inspector General for Tax Administration testified before two Ways and Means subcommittees about the prevalence of identity theft and fraud within the tax system. Although the IRS identified 1.1 million incidents of identity theft affecting the tax system in 2011 alone, the Inspector General’s testimony found that even this level of fraud was merely the tip of the iceberg:

However, the IRS does not know how many identity thieves are filing fraudulent tax return...]]> Tue, 08 May 2012 01:30:00 EST Congress is back today after another week-long constituent work period. However, news on health care continued; if you were out over the break, here's what you need to know to get caught up to speed:

Why You WILL Lose Your Current Coverage:  The House Ways and Means Committee released a report analyzing how 71 of the nation's largest companies would save over $422 billion within a decade by dropping health coverage and dumping their workers on to ObamaCare's Exchanges. Some observers Mon, 07 May 2012 12:30:00 EST When people ask me if I’m pro-business or pro-labor, I say I’m neither: I’m pro-freedom.

Freedom, protected by the Constitution and the rule of law, works for everyone. It allows everyone -- left or right, young or old, rich or poor -- to make their own choices according to their own values.<...]]> Sat, 05 May 2012 01:30:00 EST The House Ways and Means Committee is out this morning with a report analyzing one of the many reasons why Obamacare’s costs could skyrocket.  According to the study:

• 71 of the nation’s largest employers could save over $28 billion in 2014 alone, and $422.4 billion over a decade, by deciding to drop health insurance coverage for their 10.2 million employees and dependents and paying the $2,000 per-employee penalty instead. 
   
•  The average savin...]]> Tue, 01 May 2012 11:30:00 EST