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#obamacare HHS Public Affairs Contacts

HHS Public Affairs Contacts

HELPFUL TIPS TO REACH US

If you are a reporter looking for information about the Affordable Care Act and the Health Insurance Marketplaces:

  1. First try the All Topics section on HealthCare.gov, which has comprehensive information about the Health Insurance Marketplace here.
  2. Email our media team here. If you have already contacted CMS’ media relations team, then HHS already has your request, and there is no need to email both agencies. Please be as specific as possible about your request and deadline.

HHS Press Office Information

HHS Press Office: (202) 690-6343
Submit a Media Request
HHS Media Relations Policy

Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA) Press Information

Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA)
Dori Salcido
(202) 205-4347

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA) for Health Care
Jason Young
(202) 690-5852

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA) for Public Health
Tait Sye
(202) 205-1841

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA) for Human Services
Mark Weber
(202) 260-6412

News Division Director
Bill Hall
(202) 690-6344

Digital Communications Division Director
Prudence Goforth
(202) 690-7264

Acting Freedom of Information Act Division (FOIA)
Garfield Daley
(202) 690-7453

Media Services Division Director
Michael Wilker
(202) 260-1315

Speechwriting and Editorial Division Director
Stephen Rabin
(202) 690-7048

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HHS Agency Press Office Information

HHS Operating Divisions 

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HHS Staff Divisions 

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HHS Regions 

BS #obamacare “SUBSIDY” NOT COST CALCULATOR

The Kaiser Family Foundation health insurance cost and savings calculator

The health insurance costs and savings calculator provides only an estimate. Your final premiums and costs may differ from the estimates, perhaps significantly, depending on the coverage you select and a given insurer’s pricing policies. You’ll learn your final costs for specific plans only when you fill out an application in the Health Insurance Marketplace.

Here are a few important things to know:

  • The calculator provides a rough estimate of costs for insurance. It will give you an idea of what someone with circumstances like yours could pay for Marketplace insurance in 2014.
  • The calculator accounts for some of the most important factors that affect plan costs in the Marketplace: where you live, family size and ages, and tobacco use. Individual plans weigh these factors differently to set final prices.
  • The prices are based on a plan in the Silver category. Plans in different categorieswill likely have higher or lower premiums.
  • You won’t be able to get your exact costs for a specific plan until you fill out a Marketplace application and provide details about your income and household. Then you’ll see all of the plans available to you, compare features and prices side-by-side, choose a plan, and enroll.

Subsidy NOT COST Calculator

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#obamacare How can I get lower costs on Marketplace coverage? You Can’t.

How can I get lower costs on Marketplace coverage?

 


When you use the Health Insurance Marketplace you may be able to get lower costs on monthly premiums or out-of-pocket costs, or get free or low-cost coverage.

3 ways to save on health care coverage

You can save money in the Health Insurance Marketplace 3 ways. All of them depend on your income and family size.

  1. You may be able to lower costs on your monthly premiums when you enroll in a private health insurance plan. These plans all cover essential health benefits andpre-existing conditions.
  2. You may qualify for lower out-of-pocket costs for copaymentscoinsurance, anddeductibles.
  3. You or your child may get free or low-cost coverage through Medicaid or theChildren’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Some states will be expanding Medicaid eligibility in 2014, so you may qualify even if you have been turned down for Medicaid in the past.

You can apply any time during open enrollment, which began October 1 and continues through the end of March. You’ll find out what plans and premiums are available to you and see how much you will save. Most people who apply will qualify for lower costs of some kind. Coverage can begin as soon as January 1, 2014.

Get an estimate of your costs and savings

You can get a rough estimate of your potential costs and savings by browsing plans and sample prices in your area or by using the Kaiser Family Foundation calculator.

Questions? Call 1-800-318-2596, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (TTY: 1-855-889-4325)

What if I can’t afford insurance?

When you fill out a Marketplace health insurance application, you’ll find out whether you can get lower costs on your monthly premium or out-of-pocket costs. This may make insurance more affordable than you think.

Depending on your income, you may be able to get free or low-cost coverage through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Medicaid is expanding in many states in 2014, meaning you may qualify in 2014 even if you haven’t qualified in the past. When you apply, the Marketplace will tell you if you qualify under your state’s rules.

In the meantime, you or your child may qualify now for free or low cost health coverage through Medicaid and/or CHIP.

When you apply for coverage, the Marketplace will determine whether coverage is affordable for your income level. If coverage is not considered affordable to you, you will not have to pay the fee that other people who do not have coverage may face.

If you have no insurance, you can use a community health center in your area to get health care.

#obamacare Marketplace Application Checklist

Marketplace Application Checklist

When you apply for coverage in the Health Insurance Marketplace, you’ll need to provide some

information about you and your household, including income, any insurance you currently have, and

some additional items.

Use the checklist below to help you gather what you need to apply for coverage. Open enrollment

starts October 1, 2013 for coverage starting as early as January 1, 2014. Open enrollment ends

March 31, 2014.

Social Security Numbers (or document numbers for legal immigrants)

Employer and income information for every member of your

household who needs coverage (for example, from pay stubs or W-2

forms—Wage and Tax Statements)

Policy numbers for any current health insurance plans covering

members of your household

A completed Employer Coverage Tool (see page 2 of this checklist)

for every job-based plan you or someone in your household is eligible

for. (You’ll need to fill out this form even for coverage you’re eligible

for but don’t enroll in.)

Stay up-to-date about the Marketplace. Visit HealthCare.gov/subscribe to get email or text

updates that will help you get ready to apply.Form Approved EMPLOYER COVERAGE TOOL OMB No. 0938-1191

Use this tool to gather answers about any employer health coverage that you’re eligible for (even if it’s from another person’s

job, like a parent or spouse). You’ll need this information even if you don’t accept the employer insurance you’re eligible for.

WriteyournameandSocialSecuritynumberinboxes1and2andasktheemployertofillouttherestoftheform.

Completeonetoolforeachemployerthatoffershealthcoveragethatyou’reeligiblefor.

EMPLOYEE information

The employee needs to fill out this section.

1. Employee name (First, Middle, Last) 2. Social Security Number

– –

 

EMPLOYER information

Ask the employer for this information.

3. Employer name 4. Employer Identification Number (EIN)

5. Employer address (the Marketplace will send notices to this address) 6. Employer phone number

( ) –

7. City 8. State 9. ZIP code

10. Who can we contact about employee health coverage at this job?

11. Phone number (if different from above)

( ) –

12. Email address

13.Istheemployeecurrentlyeligibleforcoverageofferedbythisemployer,orwilltheemployeebeeligibleinthenext3months?

Yes (Go to question 13a.)

13a. If the employee is not eligible today, including as a result of a waiting or probationary period, when is the employee eligible for

coverage? (mm/dd/yyyy) (Go to next question)

No (STOP and return this form to employee)

Tell us about the health plan offered by this employer.

Does the employer offer a health plan that covers an employee’s spouse or dependent?

Yes. Which people? Spouse Dependent(s)

No

(Go to question 14)

14. Does the employer offer a health plan that meets the minimum value standard*?

Yes (Go to question 15) No (STOP and return this form to employee)

15. For the lowest-cost plan that meets the minimum value standard* offered only to the employee (don’t include family plans): If the

employer has wellness programs, provide the premium that the employee would pay if he/she received the maximum discount for any

tobacco cessation programs, and didn’t receive any other discounts based on wellness programs.

a. How much would the employee have to pay in premiums for this plan? $

b. How often? Weekly Every 2 weeks Twice a month Once a month Quarterly Yearly (Go to next question)

If the plan year will end soon and you know that the health plans offered will change, go to question 16. If you don’t know, STOP and return

this form to employee.

16. What change will the employer make for the new plan year?

Employer won’t offer health coverage

Employer will start offering health coverage to employees or change the premium for the lowest-cost plan that meets the minimum

value standard* and is available to the employee only. (Premium should reflect the discount for wellness programs. See question 15.)

a. How much will the employee have to pay in premiums for that plan? $

b. How often? Weekly Every 2 weeks Twice a month Once a month Quarterly Yearly

Date of change (mm/dd/yyyy):

*An employer-sponsored health plan meets the “minimum value standard” if the plan’s share of the total allowed benefit costs covered by the plan is no less than

60 percent of such costs (Section 36B(c)(2)(C)(ii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986).

NEED HELP WITH YOUR APPLICATION? Visit HealthCare.gov or call the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596. Para obtener una

copia de este formulario en Español, llame 1-800-318-2596. If you need help in a language other than English, call 1-800-318-2596 and tell the

customer service representative the language you need. We’ll get you help at no cost to you. TTY users should call 1-855-889-4325.

The D.C. Gun Raid You Won’t Believe with an Ending You Might Not Be Able to Stomach | TheBlaze.com

THE D.C. GUN RAID YOU WON’T BELIEVE WITH AN ENDING YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO STOMACH

Oct. 24, 2013 9:26am Dave Urbanski

 

When more than 30 police officers in full tactical gear descended upon the house of a successful Washington, D.C., businessman with no criminal record last summer, they were looking for “firearms and ammunition … gun cleaning equipment, holsters, bullet holders and ammunition receipts,” The Washington Times reported.

Mark Witaschek. (Image source: The Washington Times)

But what did police find after they shut down the streets for blocks around Mark Witaschek’s Georgetown home, broke down a bathroom door with a battering ram and pulled his 16-year-old son out of the shower naked, pointed guns at the heads of Witaschek and his girlfriend, handcuffed them and then “tossed the place” for two hours?

Very little, according to the Times’ Emily Miller:

“One live round of 12-gauge shotgun ammunition” — actually an inoperable shell that misfired during a hunt years earlier that Witaschek kept as a souvenir.

“One handgun holster” — perfectly legal.

“One expended round of .270 caliber ammunition” — a spent brass casing.

“One box of Knight bullets for reloading,” according to police notation on the warrant. Except, Miller reveals, they aren’t for reloading — they’re for antique-replica, single-shot, muzzle-loading rifles.

And after all that, in the wake of a raid which Witaschek estimates resulted in $10,000 damage to his house, he faces two years in prison for possession of unregistered ammunition, the Times reported.

D.C. law requires residents to register every firearm with police, and only registered gun owners can possess ammunition, which includes spent shells and casings. The maximum penalty for violating these laws is a $1,000 fine and a year in jail, the Times noted.

While Witaschek has never had a firearm in Washington, D.C., Miller wrote that he’s being “prosecuted to the full extent of the law.” The trial starts Nov. 4.

More from the Times:

This was the second police search of his home. Exactly one month earlier, Witaschek allowed members of the “Gun Recovery Unit” access to search without a warrant because he thought he had nothing to hide.

After about an hour and a half, the police found one box of Winchester .40 caliber ammunition, one gun-cleaning kit (fully legal) and a Civil War-era Colt antique revolver that Witaschek kept on his office desk. The police seized the Colt even though antique firearms are legal and do not have to be registered.

Witaschek is a gun owner and an avid hunter. However, he stores his firearms at the home of his sister, Sylvia Witaschek, in suburban Arlington, Va.

Two weeks after the June raid, D.C. police investigators went to his sister’s house — unaccompanied by Virginia police and without a warrant — and asked to “view” the firearms, according to a police report. She refused. The next day, the D.C. police returned to her house with the Arlington County police and served her with a criminal subpoena.

The Office of Attorney General of the District of Columbia Irvin Nathan signed an affidavit on Aug. 21, 2012, in support of a warrant to arrest Witaschek. A spokesman for Nathan would not comment on a pending case. […]

In September 2012, the attorney general offered Witaschek a deal to plead guilty to one charge of unlawful possession of ammunition with a penalty of a year of probation, a $500 fine and a contribution to a victims’ fund.

Witaschek turned down the offer. “It’s the principle,” he told me.

via The D.C. Gun Raid You Won’t Believe with an Ending You Might Not Be Able to Stomach | TheBlaze.com.

“President Obama’s people can be quite nasty;TheBlaze.com

Liberal TV host Bob Beckel on Wednesday claimed he was “bludgeoned” by a White House official over the phone after he criticized the Obamacare rollout and suggested the law’s implementation should be delayed for 6 months to a year.

“I said, ‘look, you can’t do this thing — yes it’s true, [Obamacare is] not a website, but it’s a portal to get through to get insurance,’” Beckel said.

Beckel’s claim line up with other media personalities that have made the same type of allegations against the Obama administration.

CNN’s Carol Costello on Wednesday morning said “President Obama’s people can be quite nasty.”

“They don’t like you to say anything bad about their boss, and they’re not afraid to use whatever means they have at hand to stop you from doing that, including threatening your job,” she added.

(H/T: National Review)

via Liberal TV Host Says White House Called and ‘Bludgeoned’ Him After He Criticized Obamacare | Video | TheBlaze.com.

Abortion Practitioners Played Catch With Bodies of Babies Killed in Abortion | LifeNews.com

More fun for #teamwendy “games of toss with aborted babies”

Abortion providers see the bodies of aborted babies daily. They deal with the grief and heartache of seeing women through what is almost always a difficult and painful experience. Sometimes the stress of what they are doing comes out in disturbing ways. According to Father Frank Pavone from Priests for Life:

Former workers in the abortion industry have told us stories about playing games of toss with aborted babies in the hallway. Your mind has to invert what is going on: to make it a game, a joke, something positive. It’s the only way to keep from going crazy — and some of them do.

When I read this, it reminded me of another quote I ran across in a book by Rachel MacNair, who was known for working with Feminists for Life. MacNair’s book, Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress: The Psychological Consequences of Killing, discusses the emotional problems that plague those who kill. It discusses the pressures faced by soldiers in wartime as well as those affecting abortion clinic workers who kill babies on a regular basis. She cites studies that show that alcoholism, suicidal depression, and other emotional problems plague clinic workers and doctors who perform abortions.

One reaction is to act out. A clinic worker told MacNair:

The one thing that sticks out in my mind the most, that really upset me the most, was that he [the abortionist] had done an abortion, he had a fetus wrapped inside of a blue paper. He stuck it inside of a surgical glove and put another glove over it. He was standing in the hall, speaking with myself and two of his assistants. He was tossing the fetus up in the air and catching it. Like it was a rubber ball. I just looked at him and it’s like doctor, please. And he laughed. He says, “Nobody knows what this is.” (1)

Abby Johnson described how clinic workers called the freezer that held the bodies of aborted children “the nursery.” She talks about how clinic workers joked about giving baby-shaped cookies with blood-red icing to the protesters outside. What happens to the soul of a person who becomes this hardened? It is a truly twisted perspective.

1. Rachel M. Macnair, Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress: The Psychological Consequences of Killing. (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002)

LifeNews.com Note: Sarah Terzo is a pro-life liberal who runs ClinicQuotes.com, a web site devoted to exposing the abortion industry. She is a member of the pro-life groups PLAGAL and Secular Pro-Life. This originally appeared at Live Action News.

via Abortion Practitioners Played Catch With Bodies of Babies Killed in Abortion | LifeNews.com.

Thank You Wendy you gave YOUR child the chance at life

OOPS ONE GOT AWAY, don’t worry #TeamWendy will get them next time.

729_SG_Wendy-20130503204659230653-620x349

 

Before she donned her hot pink sneakers and became a voice for abortion supporters across the nation, Wendy Davis was a single mother at age 19.

Being a single mother raised by a single mother, the odds were stacked against her.

However, she worked hard to provide for her child, attended college and eventually graduated from Harvard Law School.

Today Wendy is a proven, successful lawmaker in the Texas State Senate.

Wendy’s life serves as an example to women across the country facing an unplanned pregnancy and the possibility of single motherhood. Through her story we are reminded that, even in times of uncertainty and challenge, women can raise children and be wonderful examples of success.

Join thousands of prolife Americans in thanking Wendy Davis for not only choosing life for her child, but for overcoming difficult challenges to be a successful woman and mother.

This letter of support will be made available to Senator Davis for her consideration and encouragement.

Please add your name!

Dear Senator Davis,

As an American who believes that all life is valuable and should be protected, I thank you for having the courage to bear and raise your own child when social pressure and personal circumstances were against you.

Your actions thirty years ago remind us that courage, hard work, and grace can overcome challenges, for both mother and child.

Today, I commit myself to helping the thousands of women across this nation who face unplanned pregnancies. Through the work of life-affirming pregnancy centers, community organizations and local churches, I will support these women in their time of need.

I will encourage women in crisis pregnancies to follow the example you set when you gave your child the chance at life.

Thank you, Senator, for demonstrating true courage and strength.

Sincerely,

via Thank Wendy Davis | Thank You Wendy.

IRAQ VET’S SPONGEBOB GRAVESTONE

LET THEM HAVE IT! DAM YOU!


CINCINNATI (AP) — Officials at a cemetery that removed a slain Iraq war veteran’s towering SpongeBob SquarePants headstone from her final resting place after they deemed it inappropriate for their traditional grounds were planning to meet with the soldier’s family to explore possible solutions.

The headstone of Kimberly Walker, 28, was made in the likeness of her favorite cartoon character and erected at Spring Grove Cemetery on Oct. 10, almost eight months after she was found slain in a Colorado hotel room.

Despite getting the cemetery’s prior approval of the headstone’s design – a smiling SpongeBob in an Army uniform, with Walker’s name and rank – her family said Monday that cemetery staff called them the day after it was installed to say it would have to come down.

The 7-foot headstone, along with a near-exact duplicate erected for Walker’s living twin sister, have been removed and will not be allowed back up, cemetery President Gary Freytag said Monday.

“We’ve decided that they aren’t appropriate for our historic cemetery and they can’t be displayed here,” Freytag said, adding that the employee who approved the headstones made an inexplicable error in judgment, given the cemetery’s traditional, stately appearance.

He acknowledged that the cemetery is at fault and that staff members would be meeting with Walker’s family on Tuesday to try to find a solution, which could include a more traditional gravestone bearing small likeness of the character.

Freytag also said Spring Grove is prepared to reimburse the family for each headstone, which cost a combined $26,000, and pay for new ones.

“I feel terrible that it got to this point but I’m hoping we can come out at the other end of the tunnel with a solution,” he said.

Cemetery officials plan to meet with Walker’s family on Tuesday.

Walker was an Army corporal assigned to the 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion and served two year-long tours Iraq in 2006 and 2010 as a petroleum supply specialist, her family said.

Walker was found dead in a hotel room in Colorado Springs in February on Valentine’s Day, strangled and beaten to death. Her boyfriend, an Army sergeant stationed nearby, was arrested and charged with her killing.

Walker’s twin sister, Kara Walker, said the family is beyond distraught. A lot of thought went into choosing the gravestones which she said were chosen because her sister loved SpongeBob, even outfitting her entire bedroom with the cartoon character’s decorations.

“It is frustrating that you entrust a cemetery to have your best interest at heart and accommodate you and your family at a hard time … and because they don’t like it they’re going to take it down,” said Kara Walker, 29, an information technician for the U.S. Navy stationed in Naples, Italy.

“My sister served our country and most people try to accommodate veterans and try to take care of them,” said Walker, who is visiting her family. “For them not to accommodate and respect what my sister sacrificed, not only for my family, but for everyone else in this country, really bothers me.”

She said the only way the cemetery can make it up to the family, which she said pre-paid for six plots for $29,000, is to put the headstones back.

“They already brought enough grief and pain to the family,” she said. “We want what we paid for and what I know my sister would have wanted.”

News from The Associated Press.

Posted in ASS WAGON, crime, News| Tagged , |

Senator Cruz returns to Texas welcome after shutdown battle

By Jim Forsyth

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) – Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, a favorite of the conservative Tea Party movement, returned home to a rousing welcome in Texas on Saturday after his attempt to derail Obamacare with a shutdown of the federal government led to sharp criticism of his tactics as reckless and futile.

“After two months in Washington, it’s great to be back in America,” Cruz joked in speaking to a crowd of about 750 people in a packed downtown San Antonio hotel ballroom.

Cruz was greeted with an eight-minute standing ovation in an appearance organized by the Texas Federation of Republican Women. People in attendance, many of them wearing red to show their support for keeping Texas a conservative-leaning state, lined up to greet him.

The speech and another talk earlier in the day at a panel in Austin marked Cruz’s first public appearance in his home state of Texas since his part in the showdown in Washington over the rollout of Obamacare that resulted in a 16-day shutdown of the federal government that ended on Thursday.

A related stalemate over the debt limit threatened to lead to a default on U.S. government debt until the Senate on Wednesday voted 81-18 to end the crisis and the House of Representatives followed with a vote of 285-144 to approve the plan, allowing government to open without defunding Obamacare.

Cruz in his speech in San Antonio blasted Senate Republican leaders for “failing to stand with House Republicans against the train wreck that is Obamacare.”

He declined to criticize any Republicans by name.

While he said the agreement to end the shutdown and extend the debt ceiling was a “lousy deal for the American people,” Cruz said the battle he and other Republicans waged will end up helping his party.

Cruz became a lightning rod for criticism from Democrats and even from key Republicans when he staged a 21-hour filibuster-style talk on the floor of the Senate last month, as part of his attempt to defund the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The Texas senator, who has been in office for 10 months since his election last year, received scathing criticism from Democrats, the White House and even some of his fellow Republicans in the Senate during the shutdown and the debate leading up to it.

Senator John McCain from Arizona, a former presidential candidate, and Representative Peter King from New York have been two of the most vocal Republican opponents of Cruz’s tactics, with McCain calling Cruz and his allies “wacko birds.”

Cruz also took a hit in the polls. A Gallup poll released on October 10 found he had gained significant name recognition, but the percentage of Americans with an unfavorable view of him has jumped to 36 percent from 18 percent in June.

But the welcome Cruz received in Texas demonstrated his popularity among many Republican activists has grown.

In an interview with Reuters after his speech, Cruz said there is “a lot to be encouraged about” after the battle in Washington.

“We saw what can happen when the American people unite, when the American people stand up,” he said. “What the American people want is economic growth and job creation. They are crying out for something that fixes all the enormous damage that Obamacare is causing.”

(Additional reporting by Kevin Murphy in Kansas City, Missouri; Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Eric Walsh)

Restrict our freedoms to “sooth” the phobia of a few?

The Texas Penal Code makes it illegal to display “a firearm or other deadly weapon in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm.”

what the hell does that mean? alarm who? “people leaving the store “expressed concern,”” and ‘men had the rifles “on their laps and in hand.””

in their hand how? as they set it down by the table? there are tons of stories about LIB’S “alarmed” by the site of a gun that isn’t a “gun” a drawing a pic on a t shirt a hand gun that’s really a hand of a 6yo even a POP TART

why should we have laws that restrict our freedoms to “sooth” the phobia of a few?
Look Mr.,Miss. Lib in your average week you are next to , in proximity of 100’s of “arms” just like spiders, snakes, and other dangerous things that can wound or kill.

you are more likely to die in your bathroom than get shot especially by a Law Abiding Citizen. Make no mistake the law abiding is what we are talking about in every gun law debate. criminals by definition do not fallow LAWS.

plans for Mao’s birthday: 70 million dead

the lefts fav bff from the way past is mao he killed  because of his glorious revolution 70 million people, can you say  Liberal Death Culture. here’s what China should do take the $2.5 billion  divide it by the  70 million dead  35.714285714285714285714285714286 per person killed by MAO say you’re sorry and set them FREE to live their own lives. BTW  China’s “Great Leap Forward”, sounds an awful lot like the obama/left slogan how many will they KILL here ?

The late leader’s legacy is often associated in the West with events such as China’s Great Leap Forward, when tens of millions died through famine, as well as the Cultural Revolution.

http://news.sky.com/story/1155699/outrage-over-chinas-plans-for-maos-birthday

via Outrage over China’s plans for Mao’s birthday.

(treachery, treason, knavery, dishonest, ASSWAGON) McConnell: No More Shutdowns Over Obamacare

 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made it clear on Thursday that repealing Obamacare would never be used by Republicans again to bring the federal government to a halt.

“One of my favorite old Kentucky sayings is there’s no education in the second kick of a mule,” McConnell told The Hill. “The first kick of a mule was when we shut the government down in the mid-1990s — and the second kick was over the last 16 days.”

“There will not be a government shutdown,” the Kentucky Republican added.

Urgent: Should the House Have Agreed to Debt Deal? Vote Here 

The Obamacare strategy was pushed by several young congressional Republicans backed by the tea party — including freshman Sen. Ted Cruz, who spoke against the healthcare plan for more than 21 hours on the Senate floor last month — which led to a 16-day partial shutdown of the government and jeopardized the nation’s borrowing authority.

“I think we have fully now acquainted our new members with what a losing strategy that is,” McConnell told The Hill. 

The federal government reopened 
on Thursday after a battle-scarred Congress approved a bipartisan measure to end the shutdown and avert the possibility of an economy-jarring default on U.S. obligations.

President Barack Obama signed the measure early Thursday after the House and Senate passed it late Wednesday.

The legislation funds the government through Jan. 15 and extends the nation’s debt ceiling through Feb. 7. It ended a brawl with Republicans who tried to use the must-pass legislation to mount a last-ditch effort to derail the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and demand concessions on the budget.

The White House directed all agencies to reopen promptly and in an orderly fashion. More than 350,000 furloughed federal employees across the country were expected to return to work on Thursday.

Standard & Poor’s estimated the shutdown has taken $24 billion out of the economy, and the Fitch credit rating agency warned on Tuesday that it was reviewing its AAA rating on U.S. government debt for a possible downgrade.

McConnell told The Hill that the fight to stop the healthcare law would not take place in January, either, even though he and many other Republicans “hate, detest, and despise Obamacare.”

Noting that some Democrats would like to repeal the 2.3 percent medical-device tax that is used to finance the healthcare law, McConnell said Republicans are out of luck on ending or altering Obamacare before 2017 “unless Democrats get so shaky about parts of it.

Urgent: Should the House Have Agreed to Debt Deal? Vote Here 

“They may, depending upon the amount of heat they get from their constituents because of rising premiums, because of job loss, because of the chaos of the exchanges, they may be open to changes,” he said.

“But full-scale repeal is obviously something that’s not going to be achievable until I’m the majority leader of the Senate and we have a new president,” McConnell said.

In several exclusive interviews with Newsmax in recent weeks, McConnell related the “math problem” Republicans face in the Senate in trying to repeal Obamacare.

The GOP holds 46 seats in the upper chamber, versus 52 for Democrats. The Senate also has two independents, and they caucus with the Democrats.

“We demonstrated once again that every single Republican is in favor of defunding Obamacare,” he told Newsmax after senators backed a measure to temporarily fund the government that Obama later rejected. “We had a solid party-line vote. Our difficulty, of course, in achieving that has to do with simple mathematics.”

Meanwhile, McConnell told The Hill that he took over the negotiations leading to the final agreement after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and the White House rejected the latest offer from House Republicans.

“By the time I came in [Wednesday], it was clear to me that it was up to me to get us out of the government shutdown and make sure we didn’t default,” he told The Hill.

He said he related the party’s untenable position to fellow Republican senators privately via football analogies, looking toward being in a better position to seek cuts in spending and entitlement programs next year.

“So I met with my members. I said, ‘Look, I think we all know I have a weak hand here,'” McConnell told The Hill. “I’m on my own two-yard line. The offensive line is a little shaky, and what best I think we can do is get off a punt here to try to get into a better field position.”

But his requirements for the deal were that it not raise taxes nor jeopardize the spending cuts imposed through sequestration.

“We didn’t raise taxes and we didn’t bust the caps, but we’ll be back at it in January and February, which is why I call it a punt, with better field position to fight again another day,” McConnell told The Hill.

McConnell: No More Shutdowns Over Obamacare.

agency downgrades US credit rating

Chinese agency downgrades US credit rating
A teller counts US dollars and Chinese 100-yuan notes at a bank in Hefei, east China's Anhui province on January 16, 2011

A teller counts US dollars and Chinese 100-yuan notes at a bank in Hefei, east China’s Anhui province on January 16, 2011

AFP – A Chinese ratings agency downgraded its US sovereign credit rating Thursday despite Washington’s resolution of the debt ceiling deadlock, warning that fundamentals for a potential default remained “unchanged”.

Dagong lowered its ratings for US local and foreign currency credit from A to A-, maintaining a negative outlook, the agency said in a statement.

The announcement came after the US Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed a bill that extends the nation’s borrowing authority and ends a two-week government shutdown.

“The fundamental situation that the debt growth rate significantly outpaces that of fiscal income and gross domestic product remains unchanged,” Dagong said in the statement, adding Washington’s solvency was vulnerable as old debts were still repaid through raising new debts.

“Hence the government is still approaching the verge of default crisis, a situation that cannot be substantially alleviated in the foreseeable future,” it said.

Dagong made headlines in August 2011 when it lowered its main rating for US sovereign debt after Congress passed an earlier bill to raise Washington’s debt ceiling.

The agency, which is far less prominent than long-established Western competitors including Moody’s, Fitch and Standard and Poor’s, has been working to further raise its profile.

China’s official news agency Xinhua said Thursday in a bylined commentary that US politicians had held the rest of the world hostage in the crisis.

But Beijing welcomed the agreement, saying it will contribute to global economic stability.

http://www.france24.com/en/20131017-chinese-agency-downgrades-us-credit-rating

Posted in Barack Obama, Government, News, Obama| Tagged , |

Voting no 0 Democrats and 144 Republicans.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday night passed a bill to reopen the government and avoid a potential national default, bringing a certain end to the 16-day partial government shutdown.

ALABAMA

Democrats — Sewell, Y.

Republicans — Aderholt, N; Bachus, Y; Brooks, N; Roby, N; Rogers, N.

ALASKA

Republicans — Young, Y.

ARIZONA

Democrats — Barber, Y; Grijalva, Y; Kirkpatrick, Y; Pastor, Y; Sinema, Y.

Republicans — Franks, N; Gosar, N; Salmon, N; Schweikert, N.

ARKANSAS

Republicans — Cotton, Y; Crawford, Y; Griffin, Y; Womack, Y.

CALIFORNIA

Democrats — Bass, Y; Becerra, Y; Bera, Y; Brownley, Y; Capps, Y; Cardenas, Y; Chu, Y; Costa, Y; Davis, Y; Eshoo, Y; Farr, Y; Garamendi, Y; Hahn, Y; Honda, Y; Huffman, Y; Lee, Y; Lofgren, Y; Lowenthal, Y; Matsui, Y; McNerney, Y; Miller, George, Y; Napolitano, Y; Negrete McLeod, Y; Pelosi, Y; Peters, Y; Roybal-Allard, Y; Ruiz, Y; Sanchez, Linda T., Y; Sanchez, Loretta, Y; Schiff, Y; Sherman, Y; Speier, Y; Swalwell, Y; Takano, Y; Thompson, Y; Vargas, Y; Waters, Y; Waxman, Y.

Republicans — Calvert, Y; Campbell, N; Cook, Y; Denham, N; Hunter, N; Issa, Y; LaMalfa, N; McCarthy, Y; McClintock, N; McKeon, Y; Miller, Gary, Y; Nunes, Y; Rohrabacher, N; Royce, N; Valadao, Y.

COLORADO

Democrats — DeGette, Y; Perlmutter, Y; Polis, Y.

Republicans — Coffman, Y; Gardner, Y; Lamborn, N; Tipton, Y.

CONNECTICUT

Democrats — Courtney, Y; DeLauro, Y; Esty, Y; Himes, Y; Larson, Y.

DELAWARE

Democrats — Carney, Y.

FLORIDA

Democrats — Brown, Y; Castor, Y; Deutch, Y; Frankel, Y; Garcia, Y; Grayson, Y; Hastings, Y; Murphy, Y; Wasserman Schultz, Y; Wilson, Y.

Republicans — Bilirakis, Y; Buchanan, Y; Crenshaw, Y; DeSantis, N; Diaz-Balart, Y; Mica, N; Miller, N; Nugent, N; Posey, N; Radel, N; Rooney, N; Ros-Lehtinen, Y; Ross, N; Southerland, N; Webster, Y; Yoho, N; Young, X.

GEORGIA

Democrats — Barrow, Y; Bishop, Y; Johnson, Y; Lewis, Y; Scott, David, Y.

Republicans — Broun, N; Collins, N; Gingrey, N; Graves, N; Kingston, N; Price, N; Scott, Austin, N; Westmoreland, N; Woodall, N.

HAWAII

Democrats — Gabbard, Y; Hanabusa, Y.

IDAHO

Republicans — Labrador, N; Simpson, Y.

ILLINOIS

Democrats — Bustos, Y; Davis, Danny, Y; Duckworth, Y; Enyart, Y; Foster, Y; Gutierrez, Y; Kelly, Y; Lipinski, Y; Quigley, Y; Rush, X; Schakowsky, Y; Schneider, Y.

Republicans — Davis, Rodney, Y; Hultgren, N; Kinzinger, Y; Roskam, Y; Schock, Y; Shimkus, Y.

INDIANA

Democrats — Carson, Y; Visclosky, Y.

Republicans — Brooks, Y; Bucshon, N; Messer, N; Rokita, N; Stutzman, N; Walorski, N; Young, Y.

IOWA

Democrats — Braley, Y; Loebsack, Y.

Republicans — King, N; Latham, Y.

KANSAS

Republicans — Huelskamp, N; Jenkins, Y; Pompeo, N; Yoder, N.

KENTUCKY

Democrats — Yarmuth, Y.

Republicans — Barr, N; Guthrie, Y; Massie, N; Rogers, Y; Whitfield, Y.

LOUISIANA

Democrats — Richmond, Y.

Republicans — Boustany, Y; Cassidy, N; Fleming, N; Scalise, N.

MAINE

Democrats — Michaud, Y; Pingree, Y.

MARYLAND

Democrats — Cummings, Y; Delaney, Y; Edwards, Y; Hoyer, Y; Ruppersberger, Y; Sarbanes, Y; Van Hollen, Y.

Republicans — Harris, N.

MASSACHUSETTS

Democrats — Capuano, Y; Keating, Y; Kennedy, Y; Lynch, Y; McGovern, Y; Neal, Y; Tierney, Y; Tsongas, Y.

MICHIGAN

Democrats — Conyers, Y; Dingell, Y; Kildee, Y; Levin, Y; Peters, Y.

Republicans — Amash, N; Benishek, Y; Bentivolio, N; Camp, Y; Huizenga, N; Miller, N; Rogers, Y; Upton, Y; Walberg, N.

MINNESOTA

Democrats — Ellison, Y; McCollum, Y; Nolan, Y; Peterson, Y; Walz, Y.

Republicans — Bachmann, N; Kline, Y; Paulsen, Y.

MISSISSIPPI

Democrats — Thompson, Y.

Republicans — Harper, Y; Nunnelee, N; Palazzo, N.

MISSOURI

Democrats — Clay, Y; Cleaver, Y.

Republicans — Graves, N; Hartzler, N; Long, N; Luetkemeyer, N; Smith, N; Wagner, N.

MONTANA

Republicans — Daines, Y.

NEBRASKA

Republicans — Fortenberry, Y; Smith, Y; Terry, Y.

NEVADA

Democrats — Horsford, Y; Titus, Y.

Republicans — Amodei, N; Heck, Y.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Democrats — Kuster, Y; Shea-Porter, Y.

NEW JERSEY

Democrats — Andrews, Y; Holt, Y; Pallone, Y; Pascrell, Y; Payne, Y; Sires, Y.

Republicans — Frelinghuysen, Y; Garrett, N; Lance, Y; LoBiondo, Y; Runyan, Y; Smith, Y.

NEW MEXICO

Democrats — Lujan Grisham, Y; Lujan, Ben Ray, Y.

Republicans — Pearce, N.

NEW YORK

Democrats — Bishop, Y; Clarke, Y; Crowley, Y; Engel, Y; Higgins, Y; Israel, Y; Jeffries, Y; Lowey, Y; Maffei, Y; Maloney, Carolyn, Y; Maloney, Sean, Y; McCarthy, X; Meeks, Y; Meng, Y; Nadler, Y; Owens, Y; Rangel, Y; Serrano, Y; Slaughter, Y; Tonko, Y; Velazquez, Y.

Republicans — Collins, N; Gibson, Y; Grimm, Y; Hanna, Y; King, Y; Reed, N.

NORTH CAROLINA

Democrats — Butterfield, Y; McIntyre, Y; Price, Y; Watt, Y.

Republicans — Coble, Y; Ellmers, N; Foxx, N; Holding, N; Hudson, N; Jones, N; McHenry, Y; Meadows, N; Pittenger, Y.

NORTH DAKOTA

Republicans — Cramer, Y.

OHIO

Democrats — Beatty, Y; Fudge, Y; Kaptur, Y; Ryan, Y.

Republicans — Boehner, Y; Chabot, N; Gibbs, N; Johnson, N; Jordan, N; Joyce, Y; Latta, N; Renacci, N; Stivers, Y; Tiberi, Y; Turner, N; Wenstrup, N.

OKLAHOMA

Republicans — Bridenstine, N; Cole, Y; Lankford, N; Lucas, N; Mullin, N.

OREGON

Democrats — Blumenauer, Y; Bonamici, Y; DeFazio, Y; Schrader, Y.

Republicans — Walden, N.

PENNSYLVANIA

Democrats — Brady, Y; Cartwright, Y; Doyle, Y; Fattah, Y; Schwartz, Y.

Republicans — Barletta, Y; Dent, Y; Fitzpatrick, Y; Gerlach, Y; Kelly, Y; Marino, N; Meehan, Y; Murphy, Y; Perry, N; Pitts, N; Rothfus, N; Shuster, Y; Thompson, Y.

RHODE ISLAND

Democrats — Cicilline, Y; Langevin, Y.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Democrats — Clyburn, Y.

Republicans — Duncan, N; Gowdy, N; Mulvaney, N; Rice, N; Sanford, N; Wilson, N.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Republicans — Noem, N.

TENNESSEE

Democrats — Cohen, Y; Cooper, Y.

Republicans — Black, N; Blackburn, N; DesJarlais, N; Duncan, N; Fincher, N; Fleischmann, N; Roe, N.

TEXAS

Democrats — Castro, Y; Cuellar, Y; Doggett, Y; Gallego, Y; Green, Al, Y; Green, Gene, Y; Hinojosa, Y; Jackson Lee, Y; Johnson, E. B., Y; O’Rourke, Y; Veasey, Y; Vela, Y.

Republicans — Barton, N; Brady, N; Burgess, N; Carter, N; Conaway, N; Culberson, N; Farenthold, N; Flores, N; Gohmert, N; Granger, N; Hall, N; Hensarling, N; Johnson, Sam, N; Marchant, N; McCaul, N; Neugebauer, N; Olson, N; Poe, N; Sessions, N; Smith, N; Stockman, N; Thornberry, N; Weber, N; Williams, N.

UTAH

Democrats — Matheson, Y.

Republicans — Bishop, N; Chaffetz, N; Stewart, N.

VERMONT

Democrats — Welch, Y.

VIRGINIA

Democrats — Connolly, Y; Moran, Y; Scott, Y.

Republicans — Cantor, Y; Forbes, N; Goodlatte, N; Griffith, N; Hurt, N; Rigell, Y; Wittman, Y; Wolf, Y.

WASHINGTON

Democrats — DelBene, Y; Heck, Y; Kilmer, Y; Larsen, Y; McDermott, Y; Smith, Y.

Republicans — Hastings, Y; Herrera Beutler, Y; McMorris Rodgers, Y; Reichert, Y.

WEST VIRGINIA

Democrats — Rahall, Y.

Republicans — Capito, Y; McKinley, Y.

WISCONSIN

Democrats — Kind, Y; Moore, Y; Pocan, Y.

Republicans — Duffy, N; Petri, N; Ribble, Y; Ryan, N; Sensenbrenner, N.

WYOMING

Republicans — Lummis, N.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/10/16/u-s-house-passes-budget-debt-limit-deal-shutdown-is-officially-over/

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