White House blocks tech chief from testifying on Obamacare

The Obama administration is refusing to make Todd Park, one of the chief technology officials repairing HealthCare.gov, available for a hearing next Wednesday with House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa.

They say he’s too busy right now fixing the Obamacare enrollment portal.

“Mr. Park is open to testifying at a hearing before your committee and to providing an appropriate pre-hearing briefing for you and your staff,” Donna M. Pignatelli, assistant director for legislative affairs, wrote in a letter to the chairman. “However, because Mr. Park is currently occupied full-time on the critically important work of improving the website for the millions of Americans seeking affordable health insurance options, his testimony needs to be scheduled at a time that is less disruptive to that work.”

(PHOTOS: 10 Sebelius quotes about Obamacare website)

Park is devoting “nearly all of his attention and expertise” to helping CMS, Pignatelli wrote. “Pulling him away from that work even for a short time at this stage would be highly disruptive and would risk slowing the progress that has been made thus far to fix identified issues with the website.”

Park could provide an interesting look inside HealthCare.gov’s problems. He was central to the development of HealthCare.gov as the chief technology officer at HHS. But he left the agency in March 2012 for the White House, where he is the chief technology officer.

(PHOTOS: House hearing on Obamacare website)

The letter from the White House to Issa was dated Nov. 6 — the day before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform announced the hearing.

Issa’s committee released the hearing notice earlier Thursday, saying it was to investigate the “operational challenges in the development of HealthCare.gov” and whether IT best practices were followed.

(Also on POLITICO: Obama: 'I am sorry')

The committee released a witness list that included Park, HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information Technology Frank Baitman, CMS Deputy Chief Information Officer Henry Chao, U.S. Chief Information Officer Steve VanRoekel and David Powner, director of IT management at the Government Accountability Office.

The White House suggested rescheduling for the beginning of December.

Via: Politico

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[VIDEO] Netanyahu: 'This Is a Bad Deal--a Very, Very Bad Deal'

A very unusual statement from the Israel prime minister on the eve of a possible nuclear detail between the U.S. and Iran:

"I met Secretary Kerry right before he leaves to Geneva," said Netanyhau. "I reminded him that he said that no deal is better than a bad deal. That the deal that is being discussed in Geneva right now is a bad deal. It’s a very bad deal. Iran is not required to take apart even one centrifuge. But the international community is relieving sanctions on Iran for the first time after many years. Iran gets everything that it wanted at this stage and it pays nothing. And this is when Iran is under severe pressure. I urge Secretary Kerry not to rush to sign, to wait, to reconsider, to get a good deal. But this is a bad deal--a very, very bad deal. It’s the deal of a century for Iran; it’s a very dangerous and bad deal for peace and the international community."

Via: Weekly Standard

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Dems give White House tight deadline to fix Obamacare

Democratic senators facing voters next year are willing to give the White House time to resolve the glaring problems with Obamacare.

Very little time.

At the pleading of senior White House officials, Senate Democrats are holding off on demands to delay major aspects of the health care law until the Obama administration has the opportunity to fix the website problems that are thwarting enrollment in the program.

Democratic senators facing reelection have a green light to bash the White House and call for certain legislative fixes. But they’ve been urged by senior administration officials not to insist on delaying the controversial law’s core: The mandate for individuals to purchase insurance coverage or face penalties.

(PHOTOS: House hearing on Obamacare website)

Their requests are being heeded — for now.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who attended a tense two-hour meeting with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday over the issue, stressed that senators should give the administration just “a little bit” of breathing room.

Via: Politico

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IRS Sent 343 Refunds Worth $156K to 1 Address--in Shanghai, China

(CNSNews.com) – A new audit-report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) shows that the IRS sent at least 343 potentially fraudulent tax returns in 2011 to the same, single address in Shanghai, China, for a total of $156,533 in tax refunds.

The same report also shows that 655 potentially fraudulent tax refunds totaling $220,489 were sent to the same address in Kaunas, Lithuania. Other potentially fraudulent refunds, 580 of them, were sent to the same address in Orlando, Fla.; 355 to the same address in Lakewood, Colo; and another 291 to another single address in Orlando, Fla.

In total, those potentially fraudulent refunds totaled $2,715,391.

On a related note, the TIGTA report, which analyzed Tax Year 2011 tax returns, showed that at least 3,145 persons applied for potentially fraudulent Individual Tax Identification Numbers from the same address at five different locations in the United States: one in Santa Ana, Calif; one in Salinas, Calif.; one in Mountlake Terrace, Wash.; one in Milwaukee, Wisc.; and one in Sanford, N.C.

Moreover, the top five countries (not counting the USA)  the IRS sent tax refunds to, to addresses that were potentially fraudulent were Bulgaria, 701 tax returns; Lithuania, 676 returns; Ireland, 657 returns; China 443 returns; and Canada, 337 tax returns.

Via: CNS News

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Obama Apologizes For Obamacare

By: Chuck Todd (NBC News)

President Obama said Thursday that he is "sorry" that some Americans are losing their current health insurance plans as a result of the Affordable Care Act, despite his promise that no one would have to give up a health plan they liked.

"I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me," he told NBC News in an exclusive interview at the White House.

"We've got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and we are going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this."

Obama’s comments come 10 days after NBC News’ Lisa Myers reported that the administration has known since the summer of 2010 that millions of Americans could lose their insurance under the law.  Obama has made repeated assurances that “if you like your health plan, you will be able to keep your health plan” with Obamacare.

Consumers who buy insurance on their own — about  five percent of the population — are at risk of being forced off their current policies because their plans have changed and don’t meet the new standards of the Affordable Care Act.

Obama’s statement has been called into question as millions of Americans have gotten cancellation notices, effectively forcing them to enroll in a new plan either with their current insurer or through the government exchanges, in many cases at a higher rate.

Via: NBC News

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[VIDEO] Cancer Patient Has His Insurance Cancelled Because of Obamacare, New Plan So Expensive He’s Going To Pay Mandate Fine And Let “Nature Take Its Course”…

Even worse, he voted for Obama.

Via: Weasel Zippers

[VIDEO] Speaker Boehner puts the Truth-O-Meter on Obama’s statements about Obamacare…

Pretty good video put out by Speaker Boehner’s office on Obama’s lies:

Via: The Right Scoop

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State Sues: Fed Rule against Felon Hiring Ban Endangers Public

At least one state has gone to court to fight the Obama administration’s preposterous new regulation limiting employers’ rights to ban hiring felons because it discriminates against minorities.

It’s been an ongoing battle between a number of companies and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that enforces the nation’s workplace discrimination, for years. Under Obama the agency has dedicated extensive resources to go after businesses that check criminal background records to screen job applicants. In 2012 the EEOC officially adopted guidelines that limit employers’ ability to exclude felons from jobs.

The agency has also sued companies for using the checks, claiming in federal complaints that they disproportionately exclude blacks and other minorities from hire. That violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, according to the Obama administration, which has pushed hard to deter companies from using criminal background checks to screen job applicants. Of interesting note is that the EEOC conducts criminal background checks as a condition of employment and credit background checks for most of its positions. For some reason, it’s not discriminatory against minorities when the agency does it.

This week Texas fought back, suing the EEOC in federal court claiming that the guidelines against banning the hiring of felons endangers the pubic and encroaches on state sovereignty. The lawsuit says: “The State of Texas and its constituent agencies have the sovereign right to impose categorical bans on the hiring of criminals, and the EEOC has no authority to say otherwise.” Texas also asserts that the EEOC’s policy warning to investigate employers that use felony convictions as “an absolute bar to employment” conflicts with state law that prevents agencies from hiring felons.

“If state agencies choose to comply with the EEOC’s interpretation, they not only violate state law, but also must rewrite their hiring policies at taxpayer expense,” according to Texas’s lawsuit. “And these state entities also must begin evaluating and hiring felons to serve in law enforcement, teach in local elementary schools, nurse veterans and the disabled, counsel juvenile detainees, and coach Little League. This would expose the entire state—including, in particular, its most vulnerable citizens—to a class of individuals who have a proven track record of disobeying the law. And it could expose state entities to liability for employee misconduct.”

Via: Judicial Watch

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Kerry slams Israel’s West Bank policies, warns of 3rd Intifada

US Secretary of State John Kerry launched an unusually bitter public attack on Israeli policies in the West Bank Thursday, warning that if current peace talks fail, Israel could see a third intifada and growing international isolation, and that calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions would increase. Kerry made the comments during a joint interview with Israel’s Channel 2 and the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation.

“The alternative to getting back to the talks is the potential of chaos,” Kerry said. “I mean does Israel want a third Intifada?” he asked. “Israel says, ‘Oh we feel safe today, we have the wall. We’re not in a day to day conflict’,” said Kerry. “I’ve got news for you. Today’s status quo will not be tomorrow’s…” Israel’s neighbors, he warned, will “begin to push in a different way.”

The secretary went on: “If we do not resolve the issues between Palestinians and Israelis, if we do not find a way to find peace, there will be an increasing isolation of Israel, there will be an increasing campaign of delegitimization of Israel that’s been taking place on an international basis.”

Via: Jerusalem Times

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Carl Schramm: How ObamaCare Rips Off the 'Young Healthies'

When ObamaCare is under attack, its defenders retreat to several well-worn claims. Among them is a provision that compels insurance companies to allow parents to keep their "children" ages of 21 to 26 on their family policies.

Yet this part of the Affordable Care Act was not engineered in response to any noticeable interest group. Instead, political considerations are responsible for the provision—which is an unnecessary and a deceptive ripoff of the "young healthies."

The first consideration is that young adults facing chronic unemployment—thanks to government policies that have retarded economic growth—commonly return to their parents' home. Understanding that this is what the economic "new normal" looks like, the Obama administration sought to avoid a potential political storm by providing a benefit normally connected to holding a job for one of its most reliable support groups.

Second, government's actuaries are well aware that this much-touted benefit basically costs nothing. Actuarial and other research suggests that the average male sees a physician six times between the ages of 21 and 35. The parental coverage provision seemed like a "freebie" for the administration's universal coverage sales pitch.

Third, ObamaCare's financing won't work unless "young healthies" (or their parents) pay through the nose for coverage under parental plans or via the individual mandate. The 18-26 age group is the lowest user of care, the least costly to cover and the most profitable of all health-insurance coverage. Yet the group faces extraordinarily high ObamaCare rates.

A Manhattan Institute analysis of Health and Human Services numbers notes that a 27-year-old male will pay 99% higher premiums under ObamaCare than he would under previously prevailing market rates. One reason is that the law now limits insurers to charging the sickest seniors no more than three times the amount they charge their youngest customers. Given that 64-year-olds use on average six times as much health care as 19-year-olds, the Affordable Care Act forces young people to pay considerably more than the cost of their own care.

Via: WSJ

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Amnesty Activists Storm GOP Headquarters

A protest erupted at the Washington state Republican Party Headquarters in Bellevue Thursday.

According to reports, approximately 100 women in favor of immigration reform showed up at the offices, with about 40 protesters forcing their way inside the building.

The demonstration was part of what activists said would be multiple acts of civil disobedience across the U.S. Their purpose in gathering at the GOP offices was to bring attention to an immigration reform bill House Republicans have been reluctant to support.

When the crowd refused to disperse upon requests from the owner, authorities began rounding up demonstrators and placing them under arrest.

The activists involved came from all walks of life. According to reports, even Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn’s wife was present for the impromptu rally.

The issue of immigration was on Barack Obama’s agenda Thursday, too, as he met with Arizona Sen. John McCain to discuss a path forward on that and other topics. Both men support the overhaul bill currently waiting for action in the House.

Via: Western Journalism

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CHRISTIE: BIG WIN, BIG PLANS?

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie won reelection handily on Tuesday, defeating the largely token opposition of Democratic state Senator Barbara Buono.  With nearly all the votes counted, Christie had taken 60% to Buono’s 38%.  The results were in line with polls throughout the campaign showing Christie besting his rival by as much as 28 points, marking the first time since 1988 that a Republican had taken more than 50% of the vote in a statewide election in New Jersey.

Christie’s victory was total. CNN’s exit poll showed him winning a large majority of men (63%) and beating his female challenger among women voters by 15 points (57-42).  Christie took at least 54% of the vote in every age category and at least 55% in every income category except those making under $30K per year, in which Buono beat him by 2 points (49-47).  He won two-thirds of independents, an outright majority of Latinos (51%), took 21% of the African-American vote, and even commanded 30% of registered Democrats.

In his victory speech – given from a podium set in the middle of the audience and often times spoken directly into the camera – Christie staked his victory on competence.  He said people are tired of the bickering and fighting between the parties, and are looking for a leader who can bring the parties together to get things done.

Via: Human Events

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The Mounting Troubles for Vermont’s Obamacare Exchange

On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by John McClaughry to discuss the Vermont Obamacare exchange, why the Governor pulled the “safety valve,” and what is next for the state’s troubled exchange.

We’re brought to you by Stephen Clouse and Associates and The Heritage Foundation’s Morning Bell. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at bjackson[at]coffeeandmarkets.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Via: Red State

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Reid says Republican criticisms of Obamacare are simply ‘jokes’

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday said Republican complaints about President Obama’s unpopular health-care law are not valid criticisms, but rather “jokes.”

n a speech on the Senate floor Thursday, the Nevada Democrat didn’t address any of the GOP’s specific complaints about the law. But he playfully suggested that Republicans, in order to save time, just “number their one through 50 criticisms of Obamacare” and yell out a number when they want to reference a specific complaint.

“We’ve heard things so many times, we would immediately laugh because basically they’re jokes,” Reid said.

He continued: “It’s too bad that the Republican leader and many of his colleagues want to keep fighting an old fight. Four years ago we passed the health reform bill, four years ago. The president signed it, the Supreme Court upheld it. It is the law of the land.”

Addressing the problems with the rocky roll out, Reid acknowledged: “Of course, we want to make it better, and certainly with what’s going on with the rollout of the web site, we need to do that. I wish our Republican colleagues would stop trying to scare people out of participating in this program.”

Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, said from the floor on Thursday: “Let’s work together to undo the harm of Obamacare and start over with real, bipartisan, cost-saving reforms…reforms that will actually allow Americans to keep the health plans they like.”

The Kentuckian said: “It’s way past time for Democrats to end this blame game. Instead, they need to start acknowledging the consequences of their law, and actually do something about the mess they created.”

Via: Daily Caller

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Cruz Tells Obama to Leave Texas

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz wants President Barack Obama to know that he should “take his broken promises tour elsewhere,” according to a statement his office released Wednesday, just hours before Obama is supposed to speak in the Lone Star State.

“President Obama’s trip to Texas brings nothing with it but broken promises,” the freshman Republican senator said in the statement. “He promised that Americans could keep their health care plans. We were told premiums would go down, that jobs would be created. And we now know these are all false promises.”

Cruz’s comments come as the president visits Dallas to promote the Affordable Care Act as well as speak at a fundraiser.

QUIZ: Do you know Ted Cruz?)

“[I]n spite of all Texas has done to resist the biggest entitlement program of this generation, Obamacare is reducing health care options, increasing costs and hurting jobs,” the statement said. “It has no place in Texas and must be repealed.”

“President Obama should take his broken promises tour elsewhere so Texans can continue focusing on the solutions that have allowed our state to become and remain the nation’s economic and job creation powerhouse,” Cruz added.

Via: Politico

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