March 31st, 2010, Washington, DC–From ALG News’ Capitol Hill Correspondent Derek Baker:

In the Senate, Sen. Schumer, speaking right from the White House healthcare playbook, predicted that those Democrat members who voted No against ObamaCare will be hurt come Election Day. Schumer stated, “I predict that by November those who voted for healthcare will find it an asset and those who voted against it will find it a liability.” Two recent polls, conducted by Gallop and the Washington Post, still show a majority of Americans oppose Obama’s new healthcare law.

In recent days, many Fortune 500 companies – including such industry leaders as AT&T, John Deere, Caterpillar, Verizon, and 3M – have announced that ObamaCare will cost them billions of dollars in the years ahead, and several have begun reporting charges (losses) against their earnings. AT&T reported it will take a $1 billion charge against earnings due to provisions in ObamaCare.

Also, in a not-so-surprising bit of news, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will reportedly announce today that she will serve out the remaining two years of her term, breaking her pledge to step down following her failed run for governor of Texas.

Bottom Line: The problem for Schumer and other Democrats who continue to sing the party line of prosperity and free insurance for all is that voters will soon realize the rhetoric doesn’t match reality. The significant “benefits” of ObamaCare will take years to implement (and conservatives argue will not appear as advertised), but the bulk of the tax increases and federal regulations begin this year. Thus, the real short and long-term effect of ObamaCare will be to stifle job creation… and undermine Obama’s “number one priority” of improving the economy. Read the rest of this entry »

March 30th, 2010, Washington, DC–From ALG News’ Capitol Hill Correspondent Derek Baker:

In the Senate, it appears the comity of the Senate has not been irreparably harmed by the unprecedented use of reconciliation to pass ObamaCare, as was suggested or expected. For most of the past year, Sen. Reid and other Democrats vowed they would not utilize the reconciliation process to move ObamaCare, so when they made an about-face and broke their promise, Republicans were up in arms and warned it would eviscerate any remaining bipartisanship in the Senate. Now that ObamaCare and its reconciliation companion bill has passed, several moderate GOP senators have softened their position.

In a report by the The Hill today, Sen. Snowe and Graham have both signaled their willingness to work with their Democrat counterparts on upcoming legislation, such as climate change and immigration reform. Sen. Gregg stated that the rulings of parliamentarian Alan Frumin were “fair” during reconciliation, and Sen. Corker has actually been critical of his GOP colleagues for not engaging with Dems earlier on financial services regulatory reform.

Bottom Line: It is often said that politics is the art of compromise, and there’s something to be said for compromising in the face of defeat. However, principles and core convictions should never be compromised. Given what Obama, Reid, and Pelosi have done to the Constitution over the course of the last year, conservatives warn that much compromise with the Dems of this Congress is a dangerous gambit… for the country and their own careers. Read the rest of this entry »

March 18th, 2010, Washington, DC–From ALG News’ Capitol Hill Correspondent Derek Baker:

In the House, various Hill aides and news sources are reporting that Pelosi will unveil the much anticipated reconciliation legislation today, potentially at an afternoon press conference, with a CBO scored expected as early as tomorrow.

In keeping with Pelosi’s promise to publically post the bill 72 hours before the vote, this would setup the House Rules Committee to meet and report the rule for the reconciliation bill (i.e. – ObamaCare Part II; i.e. – government takeover of healthcare “fix” package) this Saturday, and the floor vote to occur on Sunday. The Slaughter Solution is expected to be employed, meaning a vote on the rule will effectively be a vote on passing the Senate ObamaCare bill. GOP Leader Boehner called the Slaughter Solution “a fingernail in the eye of the American people.”

Boehner and House Republicans also plan to force a vote today on a resolution by Rep. Parker Griffith (who switched from Dem to GOP in December in disgust over the healthcare bill) that would require a “clean, up-or-down vote” on the Senate-passed bill. The text of the resolution would be offered on the previous question (or PQ, basically the motion to proceed in the House) to the rule that allows the House to vote on suspension bills the remainder of the week. While the Republican effort will undoubtedly fail, it will put House Dems on record for rejecting the chance to have a clean vote on the Senate-passed healthcare bill, which is what many Dems argued for all along.

Bottom Line: With Pelosi reportedly still needing over a dozen votes to reach 216, watch for an already intense atmosphere on Capitol Hill to turn nasty (Stupak says it already has). If holdout Democrats wanted to support ObamaCare, it would have already passed, so strong-arm tactics and outrageous promises are sure to be the norm in the next few leading up to the vote of the decade, and perhaps the century. Read the rest of this entry »