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Inside the Dome for March 15

Adam Bitely — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:26:30 +0000

March 15th, 2010, Washington, DC–From ALG News’ Capitol Hill Correspondent Derek Baker:

In the Senate, parliamentarian Alan Frumin is getting a great deal of attention of late, with literally the fate of the country at stake on how he rules on provisions within the Democrats healthcare reconciliation package. Republicans are expected to show a united front of opposition to ObamaCare and will vote as a block to support every possible point-of-order against the bill.

Banking Committee chairman Dodd is expected to unveil his financial reform bill this afternoon, a package some expect to create concerns on both sides of the aisle. One provision rumored to be included that’s certain to anger conservatives is the creation of the much maligned consumer financial protection agency within the Federal Reserve.

Bottom Line: While there will undoubtedly be a great struggle against the reconciliation bill in the Senate, if it gets to that point, the reality will be that the bulk of ObamaCare will have already passed the House and on its way to Obama’s desk. Defeating reconciliation in the Senate will only alter ObamaCare, not defeat it. Thus, House Dems must be made to realize any deals they make trading their vote for reconciliation provisions may not come to fruition.

In the House, the Budget Committee released a 2,309 page healthcare “fix” package last night intended to serve as the base bill for reconciliation in the Senate. The bill will reportedly be modified substantially during markup in the Budget Committee (today at 3pm) and the Rules Committee (later this week) before coming to a vote on the House floor.

The real battle of ObamaCare rests in the House, where a furious fight is raging in districts across the country. Millions of advertising dollars will be spent in the coming days, particularly within those Democrat member districts who voted against the healthcare bill in the House last year, and in districts where pro-life Dems voted yes last time but are now leaning No.

The “Slaughter Solution” – where the House would “deem” the Senate healthcare bill passed within the rule bill for reconciliation (thus avoiding a direct vote) – is still being discussed by Pelosi as a viable option. Republicans are outraged and view this is just another gross perversion of the democratic process by Pelosi and Hoyer in order to force their will on the American people.

Bottom Line: Pelosi, Hoyer, and literally hundreds of Democrat lawmakers on both sides of the Capitol are woefully underestimating the level of anger and disgust among Americans over their attempts to pass a government-takeover of our healthcare system. With a final vote imminent, now is the time for any American who feels strongly on the subject to let their voice be heard with their member of Congress… and not to forget the actions of their elected representative come November.

At the other end of the Avenue, less than a week after Obama called on Congress to strip out the sweet-heart deals from the healthcare package, the AP is reporting that he’s backed down. Obama’s senior advisor David Alexrod has suggested that only state-specific deals be eliminated now. This would effectively leave intact dozens of deals cut by members, such as Dodd’s $100 million hospital, though the location would now be “determined” by the health secretary.

WH spokesman David Gibbs hit the Sunday talk show circuit and claimed ObamaCare will be signed into law in the next couple weeks. On Fox News Sunday, Gibbs claimed, “We’ll have the votes when the House votes, I think, within the next week. And I think whoever sits here this time next week, you all will be talking about health-care reform not as a presidential proposal, but as something that will soon be the law of the land.”

Bottom Line: The current tactics being employed by Obama to pass ObamaCare – utilizing reconciliation, the “Slaughter Solution”, buying vote with taxpayer funds, and other sordid schemes – can be accurately described as arrogant, brazen, and unabashed. Perhaps the most amazing aspect of all of this is that Obama and the Democrats believe the American people are stupid, and will not realize the perversion of democracy that is taking place. A reckoning is sure to come, and November may just be the beginning.

Inside the Dome for January 14, 2010

Adam Bitely — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:56:31 +0000

From ALG News’ Capitol Hill Correspondent Derek Baker:

In the Senate, intense healthcare overhaul negotiations continue in secret at the White House and across the Capitol complex this week, as Obama and the Democrats ignore C-SPANs request to televise the deliberations. Most pundits agree that for the GOP to have a significant impact on healthcare passage at this point, they need to hammer disgruntled rank-and-file Dems into signing the discharge petition for Rep. Buchanan’s “healthcare sunshine” resolution.

Dems are pushing PhRMA to pony up another $10 billion, breaking the deal brokered back in June with the White House, and Dems are likely to extend the Medicare payroll tax to investment income. Additional funding sources are necessary, since many of the other provisions Dems are pushing to include would add billions to the final package, such as increased subsidies to lower-income individuals and lowering the Cadillac-tax on high-end insurance plans to appease the labor unions.

Incredibly, Dem leaders have even floated the idea of exempting unions altogether from the Cadillac tax – a raw deal for non-union workers that should have senators from Right to Work states screaming at the tops of their lungs. In fact, this single proposal could be enough to derail the government health care bill in its entirety.

It’s also increasingly likely Dems will scuttle the state insurance exchanges in favor of one national exchange, the Health Choices Administration. It would serve as the federal health cop on approving and rationing healthcare packages for Americans.

Amid all this deal-making, the clock is ticking on producing a package before SOTU. Reid has stated his goal is to get the final package to CBO by early next week for a final cost estimate.

Bottom Line: As several GOP leaders noted this week, ObamaCare can still be stopped. Just enough information is leaking out of closed-door meetings to convince more Americans this will irreparably harm healthcare delivery in America. Look for the Obama-union boss deal on the so-called “Cadillac tax” to become a major issue that could spell end game.

In the House, Chairman Barney Frank, apparently not satisfied with only a 10% unemployment rate and flat consumer lending, is aggressively pursuing federal pay mandates on the financial services industry. Frank has scheduled a hearing next week to explore ways for the federal government to cap executive compensation in the industry.

He openly mocks the industry’s claim that pay caps would harm their ability to recruit and keep top talent. Oddly enough, he hasn’t required the CEOs of Fannie and Freddie to attend the hearing and they won’t be subject to the caps (Politico has reported that the government agreed to pay $6 million packages to both CEOs).

Bottom Line: Heavy-handed, unconstitutional actions such as these by liberals underscore the fact that they despise capitalism. Federal intervention and mandates imposed on the private sector always serve to increase consumer costs, impair performance and lower quality. Frank seems to prefer the Russian economic model over the American free enterprise system.

Inside the Dome for January 5, 2010

Adam Bitely — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:24:59 +0000

From ALG News’ Capitol Hill Correspondent Derek Baker:

In the Senate, while Reid and Co. begin their secret “non-conference” negotiations with the House, several GOP Senators are taking steps to block the anti-capitalist Consumer Financial Protection Agency from moving on their side.

Bottom Line: Chairman Dodd is proceeding with the bill’s markup, but gathering the necessary 60 votes to overcome a GOP filibuster is now less likely. This is great news for America, since along with ObamaCare and cap-and-trade, the financial regulatory bill is one of the top three economy killers the Dems are pushing.

In the House, Pelosi and other House and Senate leaders announced they will skip the traditional conference procedure of reconciling the two differing health bills, instead opting for their favored secret negotiations beyond the public eye. Republicans are obviously outraged, but some notable Democrats are as well. Rep. Grijalva, as co-chair of the Progressive Caucus, stated, “I am disappointed that there will be no formal conference process…I and other progressives saw a conference as a means to improve the bill and have a real debate, and now with this behind-the-scenes approach, we’re concerned even more.”

Bottom Line: There are no surprises here. We’ve said all along that Pelosi and her liberal cohorts will continue their pattern of secrecy, corruption, and contempt for the American people. Some liberal rank-and-file members are talking revolt, saying they won’t just swallow what the Senate passed. It’s an interesting — though unlikely — scenario.

At the other end of the Avenue, BO is feeling the heat for his Administration’s failure to stop the Christmas Day terrorist from boarding the plane and his tepid initial response to the almost fatal incident. He has summoned his top security advisors to the White House for a download on the security failure.

Bottom Line: Unfortunately, incidents such as this may be on the rise, as terrorists abroad see a hesitant and perhaps weak U.S. president and are looking for opportunities to test his resolve.

Inside the Dome for January 4, 2010

Adam Bitely — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:31:03 +0000

From ALG News’ Capitol Hill Correspondent Derek Baker:

Happy New Year and welcome back!

In the Senate, Sen. DeMint continues to have a hold on Obama’s TSA chief Erroll Southers, despite attacks from Sen. McCaskill and numerous other liberal cohorts. DeMint and other conservatives are wary of Southers penchant for unions and have asked him to promise to oppose granting collective-bargaining rights to TSA employees.

Bottom Line: While liberals scream at DeMint and point to the foiled Christmas day terror attack as reason to expedite Southers confirmation, they willfully ignore the peril of granting powerful labor unions sway over the TSA actions at a time such as this.

In the House, Waxman has started the new year with a bang, reportedly trash talking about how he’s going to ask Obama if Democrats are “interested in protecting the profits of the drug companies or protecting seniors” – which is a swipe at BO’s Pharma deal several months ago.

Meanwhile, RSC Chairman Tom Price and other House leaders continue to remind their colleagues not to relent on exposing the Democrats’ socialist agenda and fighting against ObamaCare.

Bottom Line: While some Republicans are looking to the courts after healthcare final passage to have it repealed on constitutional grounds, right-thinking conservatives will focus all their energy on defeating ObamaCare now before it has a chance to become law.

At the other end of the Avenue, Obama has a renewed interest in terrorism lately, and perhaps is realizing now that Bush’s efforts to protect the United States and her neighbors around the world from terrorists wasn’t such as easy job after all.

Bottom Line: While BO is feeling increased pressure to respond to credible and increasing terror threats, serious terrorism analysts are wondering if is he reconsidering his decision to bring GITMO detainees to U.S. soil? He should. Top Republicans say they do not want to be in a position of saying “I told you so” a year from now on this issue.