U.S. Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite (Fl-05) released the following statement today after learning that seniors in her district could face thousands of dollars in additional Medicare costs if the Obama health plan is passed and signed into law:

 

The Wakely Consulting Group, an independent actuary, recently released a report which estimates the financial impact on Medicare Advantage beneficiaries if they were forced to move into the traditional Fee-for-Service benefit plan as a result of the Democrat health care bill.

Real US unemployment rate at 16 pct: Fed official

 

The real US unemployment rate is 16 percent if persons who have dropped out of the labor pool and those working less than they would like are counted, a Federal Reserve official said Wednesday.

"If one considers the people who would like a job but have stopped looking -- so-called discouraged workers -- and those who are working fewer hours than they want, the unemployment rate would move from the official 9.4 percent to 16 percent, said Atlanta Fed chief Dennis Lockhart.

 

He underscored that he was expressing his own views, which did "do not necessarily reflect those of my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee," the policy-setting body of the central bank.

The mushrooming federal debt poses a grave danger to America's prosperity, threatening to plunge our economy and future generations into the abyss of stagnant growth and national decline. But given the reckless way the administration is spending your money, you'd never know that the debt is a cause for concern. Staggering sums of money have been tossed around so casually that the very notion of dishing out "trillions" of dollars is no longer a shock to many in Washington.

 

Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) issued the following statement in response to the Obama administration's decision to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate CIA interrogations of captured terrorists.

 

U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC) took issue with Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) recent comment calling people un-American for attending town hall meetings to voice their opposition to the proposed Obama Care health plan.

 

"Folks who come to town meetings aren't just ‘good' citizens; they're the best of citizens," Inglis said. "People are coming out to make their feelings known and voice their frustration or support. I hope we'll continue have large crowds who want to discuss health care and participate in the debate."

 

Inglis will hold five more health care town hall meetings in the month of August to hear from constituents and explain his 16 reasons for opposing the public option.

 

Republicans believe there are a number of potential areas for common ground to work with President Obama to improve health care for all Americans. Republicans are promoting commonsense reforms that make health care more affordable, reduce the number of uninsured Americans, and increase quality at a price our country can afford -- while making sure that Americans who like their health care coverage can keep it.

  

House Republicans are listening to the American people, talking to doctors and patients, collecting input, and studying and debating ideas. This process has resulted in the broad outline of a health care reform plan that we hope will receive bipartisan support. Our health care reforms are designed to:

 

Iconic Liberal Columnist Nat Hentoff Opposes Democrats' Radical Health Bill

 

I am finally scared of a White House administration

 

Middle-class families and small businesses across America are right to ask, "Where are the jobs?" After all, the Administration promised that its trillion-dollar "stimulus" spending bill would provide a "jolt" to the economy and create jobs immediately. However, more than two million jobs have been lost since the "stimulus" became law, and the unemployment rate has risen far beyond the eight percent promised by the Administration if Congress passed the "stimulus." Now, Washington Democrats are poised to pass legislation that will destroy even more jobs: a costly government takeover of health care that will impose new taxes and Big Government mandates on small businesses and increase their health care costs as well.

I have joined a majority of the House, 245 of 435 members in co-sponsoring the Federal Reserve Transparency Act. It directs the independent Comptroller General to complete, before the end of 2010, an audit of the Federal Reserve System and of the federal reserve banks, followed by a detailed report to Congress.

 

The war wreckage littered the road to Kabul, and some of it was strikingly fresh - a reminder to U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis of the challenges in Afghanistan.

 

"It's going to be very, very difficult, tough. It's very serious," the Palm Harbor Republican said Wednesday after returning from a trip to the country.

 

In the early morning as Bilirakis arrived there last week, the Taliban had launched eight rockets into Kabul in an apparent attempt at unsettling the capital before the Aug. 20 presidential election.

 

"They create these spectacular events and it scares the heck out of the people," Bilirakis said.

 

Though hailed as one at the time, the Beatles masterpiece Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was not Rock's first "concept" album. Per John Lennon: "It doesn't go anywhere... It works, because we said it worked... Every other song could have been on any other album."

 

Flash forward to the latest cacophony from "spoken word" Grammy winner President Obama and his Lefty Health Club Band's radical "concept" album, A Health Dirge Night; examine a few select tracks; and, recognize the reprised promotional chicanery.

 

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement after the President's town meeting in New Hampshire today where he discussed the Democrats' government-run health care plan as well as improved protections for Americans with pre-existing medical conditions who are seeking health coverage:

 

As Congress begins its August district work period, the House of Representatives continues to debate the health care proposal introduced by the House Democrat Leadership. H.R. 3200 is a massive overhaul of our nation's health care system that will put the federal government in control of the health care of millions of Americans. Even though the House of Representatives will not vote on the reform until September or later, President Obama and Congressional Democrats are trying to force this bill through Congress at breakneck speed, and continue to disregard the large number of Americans opposed to this legislation. In the House, Speaker Pelosi has shut out minority Republicans from having any input.

House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) today issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy lost nearly 247,000 jobs in July, continuing inexcusable job loss:

 

Americans' concerns about the impact of a government takeover of health care continue to grow, according to two new polls out in recent days. After no fewer than five polls released last week showed increasing, if not outright, opposition to government-run health care, this is a troubling trend for Democrats aiming to put bureaucrats in charge of Americans' health care. A quick review of the latest polling shows increasing worries over the President's handling of health care and the impact of the Democrats' plan on the already skyrocketing deficit:

 

With all that's at stake in the health care debate, why is Washington in such a rush?

To ensure Western New Yorkers' voices are heard, I have sought the opinions of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, hospital administrators, seniors, small business owners and working families alike as part of a health care listening tour.

 

In these discussions, the question has not been whether we need to reform the system - we absolutely do - but whether the government can do a better job of managing your health care than you and your doctor can.

 

One of the more notable promises from the campaign trail by President Obama back in 2008 was his promise not to raise taxes by one single dime on anyone making less than $250,000 a year. Cap-and-trade and expiring tax cuts aside, it's taken only six months for the President to publicly consider reneging on his campaign pledge.

As the Wall Street Journal points out:

 

In light of President Obama's recent appointment of John Holdren as Director of Science and Technology Policy, the White House's top science advisor, Congressman Trent Franks (R - AZ) today released the following statement:

 

"President Obama's selection for this post confirms what many in the pro-life community have warned all along -- not only is President Obama pro-abortion, but he is, by far, the single most pro-abortion President in our nation's history. Not only has he filled his administration with those who favor abortion, but he has seemingly gone out of his way to recruit the most radical abortion proponents imaginable, as he has once again done in appointing Mr. Holdren as his science advisor.

 

"The biggest problems that we're facing right now have to do with George Bush trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at all. And that's what I intend to reverse when I'm president of the United States." -- Sen. Barack Obama, March 31, 2008

 

To say President Obama failed to follow through on this promise is an understatement. By appointing a virtual army of "czars" -- each wholly unaccountable to Congress yet tasked with spearheading major policy efforts for the White House -- in his first six months, the president has embarked on an end-run around the legislative branch of historic proportions.