September 10th, 2010, Washington, DC–From ALG News’ Capitol Hill Correspondent Derek Baker: 
In the Senate, Members will reconvene on Monday, September 13th, and plan to be in session for four weeks before adjourning for the elections. The small business bill is expected to be one of the first items on the floor, and there are still two competing amendments that would alter the 1099 reporting requirements contained in ObamaCare. Sen. Bill Nelson’s amendment would scale back the 1099 requirement to apply to businesses with 26 or more employees on transactions of $5,000 or more. Opponents point out it would still apply to over 415,000 businesses and 93 million workers. Sen. Mike Johanns has an amendment that fully repeals the 1099 reporting requirement, thus favored by Republicans and a host of business organizations, such as NFIB and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. A vote to invoke cloture on the Johanns amendment is expected on Tuesday.
Retiring Sen. George Voinovich has announced he will break with his Republican colleagues to support the small business package. Republicans had been blocking the measure in an effort to win concessions from Reid, including the opportunity to offer more conservative amendments. Voinovich said he wouldn’t support their efforts any longer, adding the Republican amendments “didn’t have anything to do with the bill anyway and were really about “messaging.” Voinovich continued, “We don’t have time for messaging… this country is really hurting.”
Bottom Line: Voinovich’s vote makes 60, so the small business bill will pass by the end of the week, then pass the House, and Obama will get his wish. If I were a betting man, I’d say Obama preferred having the bill languish in the Senate at the hands of Republicans so he could blame them for hurting the economy. Now he’ll be held accountable for all his promises about how the legislation will help the economy…and his track record isn’t so good on promises of this sort.
In the House, an increasing number of Democrat members are in favor of allowing all the Bush tax cuts to be extended, rather than allow tax rate increases on those in higher income brackets as Obama has proposed. Media sources are reporting a smattering of House Democrats have publicly stated their opposition to tax increases on any income bracket, including Reps. Bobby Bright, Gerry Connolly, Jim Himes, and Ron Klein. Bright stated recently that he opposes ending the tax cuts since “a vast majority of my constituents…don’t believe in tax increases on anybody at this point in time.”
There is also much speculation that the legislative fight over extending current tax rates or increasing them will be put off until a November lame-duck session, and many believe a deal is in the works to temporarily extend the current rates on higher-income earners for one or two years.
Bottom Line: After months of dogged determination, Republicans finally have momentum on extending the current tax rates and forestalling a massive tax increase – and even have numerous Democrats agreeing with their position. And now there’s talk that they are going to prematurely cave and settle for only a two-year extension? This is precisely why conservatives are wary of a Republican majority in the House. Be forewarned, the momentum Republicans have now can change in an instant.
At the other end of the Avenue, Obama’s Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has sent a sharply worded letter to health insurers in response to recent reports that insurers would hike rates due to onerous regulations in ObamaCare. Sebelius stated in the letter that, “There will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases,” signaling that the Obama Administration is willing to take punitive measures against private insurers for exercising their First Amendment rights to express their concerns with the new law. The letter from Sebelius continued, “Simply stated, we will not stand idly by as insurers blame their premium hikes and increased profits on the requirement that they provide consumers with basic protections” and went on to threaten those insurers “with a record of unjustified rate increases” that they will be “excluded from health insurance exchanges” in 2014.
Meanwhile, Obama’s $50 billion infrastructure proposal continues to get pounded by Democrats, Republicans, and the press. The Financial Times published an article yesterday stating in part, “So toxic has any hint of new public spending become that the White House, which was careful to ensure that Mr. Obama’s proposals were self-funding, has essentially banned any use of the word “stimulus.” Mr. Bennet apparently did not receive the memo. ‘We must make a hard choice to significantly reduce the deficit,’ said Mr. Bennet in a statement on Wednesday evening.” The article goes on to state “Not only did it attract the instantaneous derision of Republicans but it was also deflated by the Democratic candidates it was designed to help.”
Meanwhile, Obama will hold a live press conference this morning, his second in some 15 months. Obama is certain to face difficult questions on a range of issues not limited to the economy, and the Quran burning issue is bound to come up as well.
Bottom Line: The threatening, Gestapo-like letter from the HHS Secretary seems overly aggressive and desperate even for the Obama Administration. Such are the ways of the man that has repeatedly decried the increasingly partisan tone of politics of Washington and vowed to change it.
Some were uncomfortable with calling Obama’s policy prescriptions and style “socialist” during the campaign and just after he was elected. Now not a few are prone to believe it was too soft. The U.S. Constitution and specifically the First Amendment is still in effect… and are worth reading in these dark days.
The Lights Go Out On 200 More U.S. Jobs
The last Edison bulb factory in the U.S. is closing.
Cartoon: Fool Me Four Times
Another “stimulus”?!
New HomePath program is reason to put Fannie Mae out of its misery
Fannie attempts to clear out foreclosed properties with as little as 3 percent down. Sound familiar?
TimesCheck.com: NYT Declines to Poll Exclusively in Rep. Rangel’s District to Determine Support Among Likely Voters
Meanwhile, readers are told the Rangel retains the upper hand in his primary battle.
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