CBO: Obamacare individual mandate delay would save $35 billion

The House bill to delay Obamacare’s individual mandate would save $35 billion dollars, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis.

After the Obama administration revealed it would not enforce the employer mandate — a requirement that large companies provide their employees health insurance — until January 2015, the House quickly passed a measure that would not only codify that delay, but put off the individual mandate by one year as well.

The CBO found that just a one-year delay of the individual mandate would save $35 billion over ten years. But the basic cost structure of the Affordable Care Act would remain intact.

“I never thought I’d see the day when the White House, this president, came down on the side of big business, but left the American people out in the cold as far as this health care mandate is concerned,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said.

Cantor’s message carried over even to some in the President’s own party. The “Fairness for American Families Act” is one of many Republican-dominated efforts to delay certain aspects of Obamacare, but this time it received bipartisan support:  22 House Democrats bucked their own party and voted for the bill, which President Obama vowed to veto.

The White House charged that the House legislation “would raise health insurance premiums and increase the number of uninsured Americans.”

Keeping the individual mandate the law of the land is vital to the success of Obamacare exchanges. High participation in the exchanges, especially by the young and the healthy, is necessary to keep premiums low.

Not enforcing the employer mandate while still requiring individuals to purchase health insurance would have increased participation in Obamacare exchanges, piling on an additional $3 billion in subsidies, according to the CBO. Presumably this cost would be nullified by the House bill to delay the individual mandate.

Via: Daily Caller

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Business Owners May Face $100-Per-Day Penalty Under ObamaCare

Small business owners who thought they were off the hook for ObamaCare regulations until 2015 may be in for an expensive wake-up call next month.

Beginning Oct. 1, any business with at least one employee and $500,000 in annual revenue must notify all employees by letter about the Affordable Care Act’s health-care exchanges, or face up to a $100-per-day fine. The requirement applies to any business regulated under the Fair Labor Standards Act, regardless of size. Going forward, letters are to be distributed to any new hires within 14 days of their starting date, according to the Department of Labor.

Earlier this summer, the employer mandate, which states that every business with at least 50 or more full-time employees must offer workers acceptable coverage or face a $2,000 penalty per-worker, per-year, was pushed back until 2015. But the Oct. 1 employee-notification deadline stands. Keith McMurdy, partner at FOX Rothschild LLP, says the $100 per-day fine has been “unfortunately overlooked” by many small businesses, and the dollar amount on the penalty comes from the general per-day penalty under the ACA.

“The PPACA has a general $100-a-day penalty for non-compliance. Since this requirement is in the FLSA there are also penalties there. So the general consensus is that some penalty applies and probably the general provision,” McMurdy tells FOXBusiness.com.

Joeseph Dutra, president and CEO of Kimmie Candy Co., has 30 employees and brings in more than $500,000 in revenue annually, which means he has to notify workers of the exchanges by Oct. 1. He had no idea.

Via: Fox Business

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[VIDEO] Obama: Congressional Debates On Syria Will Take A Couple Weeks

During a special interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace, President Obama acknowledged that Congressional debates will take a couple weeks, and that the American people have not been persuaded by the administrations arguments on Syria.

CHRIS WALLACE: But it’s going to take a couple of weeks?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: I do believe it’s going to take some time. Chris, you guys have polls, you do head counts. Right now, the American people are not persuaded. Right now, Members of Congress who are just getting back still have questions. So we’re going to have time to have a good deliberation in congress. We will pursue this diplomatic track. I fervently hope this can be resolved in a nonmilitary way. But I think it is important for us not to let the pedal off the metal when it comes to making sure they understand we mean what we say about international ban on chemical weapons.

Via: WFB

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Vice President Biden Awards $10 Million Grant To The Port Of Baltimore

OBAMA "SHIPS" BIDEN OUT OF WASHINGTON

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Vice presidential visit. Joe Biden comes to the Port of Baltimore with a $10 million check.

Alex DeMetrick reports it’s just the latest investment in a port positioning itself for the future.

The dockside applause may not have been heard by longshoremen unloading one of the largest container ships ever to call at the Port of Baltimore.

“And all indications are they’re going to get larger,” said Jim White, the port’s executive director.

Millions have already been spent on cranes massive enough to serve the mega-ships coming with the expansion of the Panama Canal.

Biden announced the federal government will now spend another $10 million on a port that is already ahead of most others when it comes to handling super-sized vessel.

“The Port of Baltimore is going to continue to send ships out over the horizon, but it’s not just Baltimore. The rest of the country has got to catch up with you. The rest of the East Coast has got to catch up with you because the opportunities are immense,” said Vice President Joe Biden.

Much of the money will be spent underwater, widening and straightening the shipping channel into the port.

Via: CBS Baltimore

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Senate delays Syria test vote

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is delaying a Senate test vote to authorize the use of force against the Syrian regime.

Reid said Monday evening that he would not take a procedural step that would have officially begun the Senate’s debate and set up a test vote on Wednesday. He added that he consulted with the president, fellow Democrats and the Republican leadership before slowing the timeline for the vote.

The shift came as major news networks aired interviews with President Barack Obama, who told NBC’s Savannah Guthrie that a Russian proposal to shift Syria’s chemical weapons cache to international control is a “potentially positive development."

Via: NBC News

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Opposition to Syrian Airstrikes Surges

Over just the past week, the share of Americans who oppose U.S. airstrikes in Syria has surged 15 points, from 48% to 63%, as many who were undecided about the issue have turned against military action. By contrast, the share of Americans who support airstrikes remains virtually unchanged: Just 28% favor U.S. military airstrikes against Syria in response to reports that its government used chemical weapons.

The new survey by the Pew Research Center and USA TODAY, conducted Sept. 4-8, 2013 among 1,506 adults nationwide, finds that this growing opposition to Syrian airstrikes is intense: 45% say they oppose airstrikes very strongly. That is roughly three-times the percentage (16%) that strongly favors airstrikes.

Republicans, in particular, have turned against Syrian airstrikes. A week ago, Republicans were divided about evenly: 35% favored and 40% opposed military airstrikes in response to the government’s alleged use of chemical weapons. Today, Republicans oppose airstrikes by an overwhelming 70% to 21% margin, with 51% saying they are strongly opposed.

Via: Pew Research

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The ObamaCare Bomb Is About to Explode …

WASHINGTON TIMES EDITORIAL - A mere three weeks remain before the Obamacare exchanges open for business. The likely result will be the closing doors on Main Street, as shopkeepers and entrepreneurs shut down, unable to make ends meet. It’s clear that the wounded economy can’t cope with the exploding costs ahead.

Ohio announced that premiums would rise in the individual market by an average of 88 percent next year. Premiums will rise 72 percent in Indiana, 125 percent in Wisconsin. Even California, with its relatively robust individual market, is bracing for increases of 66 percent.

The Obamacare train wreck bearing down on us is about far more than higher costs. A study by University of Chicago economist Casey B. Mulligan documents the perverse Obamacare incentives that encourage Americans to become much less productive. He estimates that the legislation acts as a payroll tax increase for about half the working, non-elderly population earning an average weekly wage. Obamacare will turn those who work hard into losers, declaring part-timers the winners.

A typical family of four with an income of up to $94,200 will get a generous subsidy for health insurance if the head of the house drops out of full-time work and becomes a part-timer. It’s an implicit payroll tax increase of almost 5 percent. The net result is a reduction in productivity throughout the economy.

Imposing a large new tax will persuade many that long hours are for suckers. Many will decide that it isn’t worth the effort and drop out of the work force. Why work full-time to see the money taxed away? Better to work fewer hours and keep the same after-tax income.

Obamacare imposes additional pressure on bosses to move employees to part-time status to avoid large penalties by the IRS. Businesses and some public-sector employers have begun slashing their employees’ hours already.

Via: Washington Times

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[VIDEO] TED CRUZ MAKES THE CASE AGAINST ATTACKING SYRIA

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) appeared on ABC’s “This Week” to make the case against military action in Syria.  He began by citing two major arguments against President Obama’s proposed intervention: “One, because I think the Administration is proceeding with the wrong objective; and two, because they have no viable plan for success.”

Cruz said the proposed attack would not have the objective of “defending U.S. national security,” protecting American lives, or defending our allies.  Instead, it has been explicitly framed as a military intervention to defend “amorphous international norms,” which Cruz does not see as a proper role for the U.S. military.

He suggested some other ways the United States could express disapproval of Assad’s gruesome tactics, such as threatening to cut U.S. aid to Iraq unless the Iraqis stop allowing Iranian supply flights to pass through their airspace en route to Syria.  Cruz also advised forcing a U.N. Security Council vote to condemn the Assad regime, in the full knowledge that Russia and China would veto the motion, and respond with various measures to punish and isolate those nations for standing with the Syrian dictator.  Itdoes seem foolish to allow Russia to effectively veto U.N. condemnation of Syria with the mere threat of a veto.

Via: Human Events

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Senior Democratic Whip says Congressional Black Caucus does not support Obama on Syria

Congressional Black Caucus members hesitate to support President Obama's call for a military strike on Syria because of their constituents ongoing disappointment with his economic policies with respect to the African American community, according to a senior House Democratic Whip.

"There are a few who are supportive of having a targeted strike, and there are many more members who are indifferent, and then there are others who are outright against against the strike," Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., told WTLC AM's Amos Brown on Wednesday when asked to describe the mood of the CBC.

"I'm not convinced that military action in the manner sought by the administration is in America's best interest," the CBC member also said, explaining that he would prefer that regional allies put pressure on Syrian dictator Bashar Assad's regime.

Carson attributed Obama's difficulty in rallying CBC votes to frustration with his domestic agenda as it pertains to the black community.

"You know the congressional black caucus has pushed over the past several years for targeted dollars going to the African American community going to summer jobs programs; targeted dollars from the federal government in terms of helping to empower small businesses, women-owned businesses, and minority-owned business; targeted dollars that will help bolster our economy; targeted dollars that will help improve the health of our public school systems," Carson said.

The sentiment is not a new one. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., admitted that the CBC was "getting tired" of Obama's failure to deliver economic benefits for the black community.

"The unemployment is unconscionable," she said during a CBC town hall in Detroit in 2011. "We don't know what the strategy is. We don't know why on this trip that he's in the United States now, he's not in any black community. We don't know that."

Waters eventually praised the jobs proposal Obama outlined in September of 2011 — "as a matter of fact we can see our hand print all over this proposal," she said — but the stimulus package never passed into law.

"And so, we're still fighting that fight while we're facing spending millions more dollars in drone attacks and even boots on the ground — we've not gotten there yet, but it's a proposition that causes a lot of emotion, as you can imagine," Carson continued.

Via: Washington Examiner

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UPDATED: Lengthy Senate report details EPA FOIA abuses

Environmental Protection Agency officials have from the beginning of President Obama's tenure in the Oval Office "pursued a path of obfuscation, operating in the shadows, and out of the sunlight," according to a Senate report.

The report by Republican members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee provides a detailed description of violations of the Freedom of Information Act and other federal laws and regulations meant to encourage transparency and accountability in the government.

"The agency established an alias identity to hide the actions of the former administrator; has purposefully been unresponsive to FOIA request, oftentimes redacting information the public has a right to know; and mismanaged its electronic records system such that federal records have been jeopardized," the report said.

"Moreover, EPA’s leadership abandoned the historic model of a specialized public servant who seeks to fairly administer the law and has instead embraced a number of controversial tactics to advance a secretive agenda," the report said.

In addition to multiple abuses of the FOIA, the Senate report claims EPA officials have sought to cover up such activities when challenged by congressional oversight officials.

"As Congress has raised questions about EPA’s lack of transparency, the agency has steadfastly ignored its constitutional obligation to subject itself to congressional oversight, apparently in an effort to prevent the public from knowing what is going on behind closed doors," the report said.

The "alias identity" referred to by the report was the official government email account for "Richard Windsor" that was used by former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

Jackson is scheduled to testify Tuesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is investigating the misuse of government email accounts by Jackson in conducting official business, as well as use of personal email accounts by her and other federal executives.

Via: Washington Examiner

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California: Subdue, Contain, Deplete

California’s teachers’ unions are at a crossroads over how to handle their “charter school problem.” Roughly 15 percent of the state’s nearly 1,100 charter schools are unionized, but the effort to organize the independent public schools remains costly, time-consuming, and fraught with uncertainty. The schools themselves are popular with parents and many legislators. Though Governor Jerry Brown is a big fan of charters, he’s also friendly with the unions, and nobody knows for certain what he’ll sign or veto next. Perhaps the best that charter opponents could hope for at this point is to constrain charter schools’ growth at the margins by imposing new regulatory burdens.

To that end, Assembly Bill 917 may be part of the unions’ long-awaited solution. Gardena Democrat Steven Bradford’s bill would amend the state’s education code to require that at least half of unionized teachersand nonteaching staff at a school considering conversion to charter status sign a petition in order to make the switch. Existing law requires only that 50 percent of teachers or parents sign a petition, either for a new charter or a charter conversion. The California Charter Schools Association endorsed the new bill, claiming it would give “greater flexibility to charter school petitioners.” Yet one of the bill’s prime movers is the Service Employees International Union, whose affiliates represent non-teaching school employees—bus drivers, kitchen staff, janitors, and so forth. The SEIU’s support for AB 917 suggests an objective other than “flexibility” for charters.

Bradford’s bill is hardly the first union-backed measure aimed at constraining charter growth, and others have been far more hostile. In 2011, the California Teachers Association sponsored AB 1172, which would have let a chartering authority—usually the local school district—deny a charter petition if officials made a “written factual finding that the charter school would have a negative fiscal impact on the school district.” But the bill, vague on what “negative fiscal impact” meant, died in committee. Existing law offers plenty of well-defined reasons to deny a petition already.

Via: California Political Review

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