Government estimates up to 69% of all employer health plans will cease to exist

August 16th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Calling a proposed Labor Department Obamacare rule, “the smoking gun showing that the Obama Administration lied when they claimed that people would be able to keep their health insurance and doctor’s choice,” Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson urged Labor Secretary Hilda Solis to rescind the rule in comments submitted to the Department of Labor today.

The interim rule sets the requirements for current health insurance plans to be grandfathered in under the law. Within the interim rule, Secretary Solis affirmatively declares that, “These interim final regulations will likely influence plan sponsors’ decisions to relinquish grandfather status.”

ALG President Bill Wilson’s comments reminded Labor Secretary Hilda Solis of President Obama’s rhetoric during the debate over passage of the law where he said, “if you like your health plan you can keep it,” promising that nothing in the health reform law would force businesses or consumers to change health plans or change their doctor.

In his submitted comments, ALG’s Wilson asks the Secretary, “how are people supposed to ‘keep it’ if ‘it’, i.e., their pre-existing plan, no longer exists?”

Solis admits in the Interim Rule that by the end of 2013 up to 69% of all employer health plans will lose their grandfathered status under the law.

Arguing that the decision on whether a health plan should be grandfathered under the law should be viewed expansively by the government to ensure that most Americans are allowed to keep the health insurance and see the doctor of their choice, Wilson urged Solis to rescind the Interim Final Rule, and to only include the statutory requirements found in the health care law as criteria for determining whether a health plan should be grandfathered.

Wilson concluded stating, “This Interim Rule is the smoking gun showing that the Obama Administration lied when they claimed that people would be able to keep their health insurance and doctor’s choice under the law.”

The comment period for the Interim rule ends today, and will be followed by a review of comments prior to issuance of final regulations.

Attachments:

Comments Submitted on ObamaCare Regulation, Americans for Limited Government, August 16th, 2010.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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August 12th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement praising the state of Texas for challenging the Obama Administration’s moratorium on deepwater off-shore oil drilling:

“The state of Texas is leading the charge against the Obama Administration’s arbitrary decision to suspend deepwater off-shore oil drilling. After District Court Judge Martin Feldman enjoined the enforcement of the original moratorium as arbitrary and capricious, Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar simply resubmitted almost the same exact moratorium with a few minor changes. No where along the way has the Interior Department consulted with affected states, as it is required to do under Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, including Texas.

“Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott deserves the praise of all Americans for refusing to stand by idly as the Obama Administration uses the Gulf oil spill as a pretext to restrict American energy production, and cost the oil industry jobs. The moratorium stands to cost Texas some $622 million in GDP, and $22 million in tax revenue, and puts as many as 190,000 jobs at risk should the moratorium continue indefinitely.

“Texas has also challenged the Environmental Protection Agency’s arbitrary finding that carbon dioxide, a biological gas necessary for the existence of life, is somehow a dangerous and harmful pollutant. The EPA’s endangerment finding itself endangers the future of the U.S. economy, which relies on carbon energy consumption to fuel transportation, heating, and other essentials, and Texas’ fight must be joined by other states.

“States must continue to push back against the overreach of the Obama Administration in federal court, whether against the off-shore drilling moratorium, the EPA endangerment finding, the individual mandate under ObamaCare, or the latest mandatory state participation in the $10 billion education fund.

“This isn’t merely a matter of overregulation by government. This is about a consistent pattern by the Obama Administration to usurp and destroy the states as legitimate institutions enjoying the consent of the governed. Texas Governor Rick Perry and Attorney General Greg Abbott are leading the charge to make certain that states will remain relevant in our federal system of government, and not run roughshod over. These usurpations will only continue unless the states reassert their sovereignty and remain determined to fight to protect the rights of their citizens.”

Attachments:

Brief Filed by State of Texas Against Off-shore Drilling Moratorium, August 11th, 2010.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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August 10th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today condemned the House of Representatives for “voting for another $26.1 billion bailout for bankrupt states like New York and California, which simply refuse to cut any spending despite a lack of revenue.”

“The House has once again voted to forestall the day of reckoning for bankrupt states, which really do need to cut spending. While Americans struggle to balance their family budgets, government has become the only sector of the economy that has not faced cuts during this recession,” Wilson said, noting that “since Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid took over Congress in 2007 when the recession began, the federal government has added $4.3 trillion to the $13.3 trillion national debt.”

“The states already got $145 billion in the $862 billion ‘stimulus,’” Wilson added, saying that the bailout would disproportionately favor those states that spent the most money: “Out of the estimated 3.3 million public school teachers nationwide, teachers unions were expecting 160,000 layoffs this year — just 4.8 percent of all teachers. 38.1 percent of those layoffs are centered in just three states: 9,000 in New Jersey, 16,000 in New York and 36,000 in California.”

Wilson called on state governors and legislatures to reject the funds saying, “It is time to say, ‘thanks, but no thanks’ to endless federal bailouts that only put off the day when necessary cuts to state budgets must occur.” For Fiscal Year 2011, CNN reports that states face $180 billion in shortfalls.

Wilson said that “stimulus” already was distorting the budget process of several states, pointing to a Los Angeles Times report: “Many states had already counted on the extra federal aid in their spending calculations — raising the possibility of new budget crunches if the measure failed.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had pulled members of Congress away from the August recess for a special session to vote on the legislation, included $16.1 billion for state Medicaid funding, and $10 billion for public teachers spending.

The final vote in the House was 247 – 161.

Wilson called the $10 billion teachers funding “a vote to pad the public sector unions’ political coffers with at least $40 million to union bosses.”

“Members of the House members have been warned that the American people are simply sick of these endless bailouts. They do not want to pay to balance the budgets of states they do not even live in to save unsustainable government employees that will only have to be cut next year as the economy and revenues fail to recover,” Wilson explained.

Wilson also blasted members for limiting the use of the Section 956 foreign income tax credits for profits generated overseas.

“Nancy Pelosi’s House has voted to guarantee higher unemployment and to reduce future capital investment in the U.S. by eliminating the foreign income tax credit. Now jobs and business capital will simply be shifted overseas,” Wilson said.

“Phony small business groups have estimated that this tax increase will raise $37 billion in revenue from $149 billion in profits generated overseas, but they are wrong. That capital flow will not be repatriated into the economy, costing the economy $149 billion annually without generating any significant revenue,” Wilson explained, adding, “For that reason, this bill will only add to the debt.”

Wilson concluded, “The House has voted to side with bankrupt states and greedy public teachers unions, and to reject the concerns of taxpayers, who are being saddled with a mountain of debt that cannot possibly be paid.”

Attachments:

“House to End Recess Early to Bail Out Bankrupt States,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, August 5th, 2010.

“The Return of the States Bailout,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, August 2nd, 2010.

“The Reverse Smoot-Hawley Act,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, August 4th, 2010.

“Special Research Report from Americans for Limited Government on the Report, ‘Unfair Advantage,’” Americans for Limited Government, August 2010.

“Radical Left-Wing Non-Profits Aligned with Sen. Levin Falsely Posture as Small Business Advocates,” by Kevin Mooney, August 3rd, 2010.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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August 10th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today warned governors of the fifty states that the $10 billion in state education spending included in legislation signed into law “is for all intents and purposes mandatory under the federal statute.”

Wilson pointed to Section 101(8) of H.R. 1586 which states that if a governor fails to apply for funding within 30 days, “the Secretary shall provide for funds allocated to that State to be distributed to another entity or other entities in the State … for support of elementary and secondary education, under such terms and conditions as the Secretary may establish.”

“This is completely unconstitutional, as it coerces states to accept the terms and conditions that come with the money. The federal government has no power to compel states to spend money on a mandatory basis, but that is exactly what this law does,” Wilson declared.

“The federal government is forcing states to keep funding through FY 2011, and through FY 2013 solely for the state of Texas, at pre-recession levels despite the obvious need for cuts at the state and local levels of government, and telling governors that if they do not apply for the funding, then the federal government will force them to accept it,” Wilson explained.

Wilson said Section 101(8) explained the statement issued by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s press secretary yesterday that “the Governor will apply for the education funding passed by the House today in order to ensure it is managed and distributed to local school districts by the State of New Jersey, and not the federal government.”

The statement continued, “Guaranteeing New Jersey is in control of these education dollars will ensure that these funds are used by all school districts to help restore some of the federal stimulus funds lost in this year’s difficult budget.”

Wilson said that Governor Christie’s position was “understandable since the federal government would otherwise come in and distribute the funds one way or another,” but added, “it forces New Jersey and other states to keep this level of pre-recession funding through FY 2011 when revenue will not likely recover next year.”

Governor Christie’s press secretary statement criticized the legislation for that exact reason, saying, “Governor Chris Christie believes that using this type of non-recurring funding for operating expenses is ill advised because it will disappear after one year”.

According to Katherine Cesinger, Deputy Press Secretary of Texas Governor Rick Perry, Texas has to provide the funding through FY 2013: “[H.R. 1586] mandates that the governor guarantee the Legislature will provide a certain level of state funding through 2013, a funding scheme prohibited by the Texas Constitution. It will be at least June 1, 2011, before the legislature passes and the Comptroller certifies the 2012-2013 budget.”

Yesterday, Governor Perry issued a statement saying, “We’ll continue to work with state leaders, including the attorney general, to fight this injustice.”

Wilson praised Perry’s vow to fight the bill: “Governor Perry deserves the thanks of all Texans for standing up to the federal government’s invasive meddling in state budgetary matters. Budget determinations are granted to the legislative and executive branches of Texas under its sovereign constitution, not to Barack Obama.”

According to Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, the terms of the bill force states to reallocate money away from other parts of the state budget directly to education: “The Bill as passed the Senate will force Mississippi to rewrite its current year (FY11) budget. Preliminary estimates of the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration show that we will now have to spend between $50-100 million of state funds — funds that must be taken away from public safety, human services, mental health and other state priorities and given to education — in order for an additional $98 million of federal funds to be granted to education.”

Governor Barbour continued, “There is no justification for the federal government hijacking state budgets, but that is exactly what Congress has done.”

Wilson urged states to fight the measure, concluding, “This bill gives the federal government the power to administer state budgets and force unsustainable levels of funding on the states, a flagrant violation of the Tenth Amendment and state sovereignty. If states fail to push back against this usurpation, it will just be the first of many new federal mandates imposed on states by the Obama regime.”

Attachments:

“ALG Condemns House for Approving $26.1 Billion States Bailout, Urges States to Reject Funds,” August 10th, 2010.

“States Should Reject $26.1 Billion Bailout,” by ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano, August 10th, 2010.

“House to End Recess Early to Bail Out Bankrupt States,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, August 5th, 2010.

“The Return of the States Bailout,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, August 2nd, 2010.

“The Reverse Smoot-Hawley Act,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, August 4th, 2010.

“Special Research Report from Americans for Limited Government on the Report, ‘Unfair Advantage,’” Americans for Limited Government, August 2010.

“Radical Left-Wing Non-Profits Aligned with Sen. Levin Falsely Posture as Small Business Advocates,” by Kevin Mooney, August 3rd, 2010.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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August 6th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement criticizing the new unemployment numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

“Judging by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest figures, showing steady 9.5 percent unemployment and 16.5 percent underemployment, plus the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ finding of only 2.4 percent estimated economic growth, America is in a weak recovery that is slowing down. We are risking a double-dip recession, and now is the time for pro-growth policies incentivizing private sector job creation, permanent tax relief, and a reduction of the burden posed by excessive government spending.

“Einstein said the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Unfortunately, on Tuesday, Nancy Pelosi will be having the House vote on another $26.1 billion bailout of bankrupt states like New York and California. Democrats call it jobs ‘stimulus,’ but the only thing they are stimulating is more debt and higher taxes, crowding out the prospects for a robust private sector recovery.

“Barack Obama needs to stop making excuses a year and a half into his Administration for the fragile economic recovery. Stop telling the American people he inherited a mess. Leaders are judged by how they address crises. The question is, has he made it better, or worse?

“With today’s latest figures, in the least it is clear that things are not getting any better, and that they will continue to get worse as government just keeps spending money we don’t have.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Bill would also raise taxes on U.S. businesses that operate overseas, and helps public teachers unions raise another $40 million to donate to Democrats.

August 4th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today condemned the Senate for voting to proceed to “legislation that promises to spend $26.1 billion to balance bankrupt state budgets like New York and California, and eliminate the foreign income tax credit that helps U.S. businesses to compete abroad and bring capital back home.”

The bill included $16.1 billion for state Medicaid spending, and $10 billion for public teachers funding, which Wilson said will help fund political spending by public teachers unions with “a minimum $40 million.”

“Harry Reid’s Senate today voted to increase unemployment and reduce future capital investment into the U.S. to pay teachers union bosses in a few key states,” Wilson said, noting that the bill will limit the use of the Section 956 foreign income tax credits for profits generated overseas, “money which now will simply not be repatriated into the economy.”

The cloture vote on the legislation was 61 to 38, with Republican Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe joining all 59 Senate Democrats.

“The American people will be harangued over the next few weeks about what a wonderful thing the Senate has done when, in reality, we have drastically increased the burden on American workers, taxpayers, and businesses,” Wilson added.

“Out of the estimated 3.3 million public school teachers nationwide, teachers unions were expecting 160,000 layoffs this year — just 4.8 percent of all teachers. 38.1 percent of those layoffs are centered in just three states: 9,000 in New Jersey, 16,000 in New York and 36,000 in California,” Wilson noted.

“If you take those 160,000 teachers, and assumed only half are unionized — which is very conservative — with contributions to state and local unions averaging $300 per teacher, and another $162 per teacher to the National Education Association or $190 per teacher to the American Federation of Teachers, and the Senate just voted to give $40 million to the public teachers unions’ political coffers, which will be mobilized into campaign ads, direct mail, phone banks, you name it, all to elect Democrats,” Wilson concluded.

Attachments:

“The Reverse Smoot-Hawley Act,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, August 4th, 2010.

“Special Research Report from Americans for Limited Government on the Report, ‘Unfair Advantage,’” Americans for Limited Government, August 2010.

“Radical Left-Wing Non-Profits Aligned with Sen. Levin Falsely Posture as Small Business Advocates,” by Kevin Mooney, August 3rd, 2010.

“The Return of the States Bailout,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, August 2nd, 2010.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Bill would raise taxes on U.S. businesses that operate overseas to pay for $10 billion bailout for state public teachers unions and $16.1 billion for state Medicaid funding.

July 30th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today praised House Republican Leader John Boehner and Representative David Camp for forcing House Democrats “to remove just one of the countless flaws in the ObamaCare abomination that would have forced businesses to file 1099 forms for every expenditure that exceeds $600.”

“House Republican Leader John Boehner, Representative David Camp, and the entire House Republican Conference led by Chairman Mike Pence deserve the thanks of the American people for forcing House Democrats to take the first step at repealing ObamaCare,” Wilson said.

House Republicans yesterday filed a Motion-to-Recommit (MTR) on HR 5893. The MTR would have eliminated this small business reporting requirement that is set to start in 2012.

Imposed by ObamaCare, the requirement which effectively forces small businesses to file a 1099 form with the IRS for every expenditure for goods or services of $600 or more. Corporations would also have to file information returns when they receive $600 or more in exchange for services or other determinable gains.

House Democrats responded by pulling HR 5893 from the floor, and submitting it as HR 5982 with the Republican provision included. The provision specifically repeals section 9006 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The provision was expected to raise $16 billion in revenue to pay for ObamaCare, but according to the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) National Taxpayer Advocate, it would have cost small businesses more than the Treasury would have gained as a result.

“Nancy Pelosi and her caucus are admitting they never read ObamaCare. They are admitting they had no idea or did not care how bad it would be for small business despite being warned. And ultimately they are admitting there is no way to pay for ObamaCare even with the multiple tax hikes they plan,” Wilson concluded.

Attachments:

“A New ObamaCare horror story,” By Rick Manning, April 29th, 2010.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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July 28th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement in response to reports of ongoing plea bargain negotiations by the professional staff of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct with Representative Charlie Rangel’s lawyer:

“It is not sufficient for Representative Rangel to simply plead guilty to very serious charges, but be allowed to keep his seat. Any deal that does not result in him resigning will forever be tainted with the appearance of a ‘good ol’ boy’ cover-up. Charlie Rangel is a career politician who since the ethics probe began has contributed money to the campaigns of at least 119 members of Congress, including members of the ethics committee.

“Whether or not members give Rangel’s donations back, they will be stained if he is allowed to keep his seat. Charlie Rangel should resign or be expelled.”

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Says to “Make Good” on Call for Rangel to Resign by “Holding Accountable the House Speaker that Protected Him”

July 27th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today called on Idaho Representative Walter Minnick to oppose the re-election of Nancy Pelosi to the top post of House Speaker for what Wilson called “Pelosi’s continued cover up of Charlie Rangel’s repeated violations of the law.”

“It is Nancy Pelosi who put Rangel in his position. It is Pelosi who has defended him for more than a year. It is Pelosi who has imposed the radical agenda on the American people. If Representative Minnick is being honest he would pledge to vote for someone other than the person who has caused all this mess,” Wilson said.

“It is up to Representative Minnick to make good on his politically opportune call for Rangel to resign by holding accountable the House Speaker that has protected him,” Wilson added.

Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY) has been charged by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct after it concluded its months-long investigation, according to the Hill. The Committee is expected to release its full findings on Thursday.

Previously, Pelosi has defended Rangel, saying that “he did not knowingly violate the rules,” as reported by the New York Times.

The imminent trial against Rangel has resulted in Congressman Minnick in calling for Rangel to resign, as reported by the IdahoReporter.com. Wilson said “the timing of Minnick’s call so close to the trial rings hollow. Pelosi has been slowing down the resolution of the Rangel scandals for months, and anyone truly committed to seeing justice in this case ought to find that reprehensible.”

Wilson cited several transgressions that he said “Nancy Pelosi has been protecting Rangel from”:

1) failure to report over $1 million in outside income and $3 million in business transactions as required by the House,

2) failure to disclose at least $650,000 in assets he had previously failed to list on his House financial disclosure forms,

3) failure to disclose to the IRS or on his financial disclosure forms $75,000 in rental income for a beach villa in the Dominican Republic,

4) violation of state laws by claiming three primary residences and broke municipal laws by maintaining four rent-controlled apartments,

5) violation of House rules by using congressional letterhead to solicit donations for an education center bearing his name at City College of New York, and

6) delinquency in paying his property taxes on two New Jersey parcels and failure to report the sale of a $1.3 million brownstone.

Said Wilson, “Representative Minnick cannot have it both ways. If he believes Rangel should resign in light of the overwhelming evidence that is being presented by the ethics committee, then he should oppose Nancy Pelosi for House Speaker who has protected him this whole time.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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