Posted on 3/23/2010, 10:16:43 AM by SmokingJoe
For better or worse (mostly worse), The Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act is now law. After 14 months of bitter, divisive and partisan debate, Democratic leaders in Congress scraped together barely enough votes to pass the president's health-care bill.-/-
But anyone who believes that we're done arguing about health-care reform just hasn't been paying attention. The battle now shifts to other venues.
The Senate: The only reason that many House Democrats voted for the bill was that they simultaneously passed another bill that amended the main bill. (Yes, it's confusing: House leaders made it that way on purpose to give their vulnerable members political cover.)
That bill now goes to the Senate, where Democrats will use a parliamentary tactic called reconciliation to avoid a Republican filibuster. But reconciliation entails its own arcane parliamentary requirements -- which may prove a bigger hurdle than the Republicans.
In fact, even as the House vote was taking place, Senate Republicans were pointing out that the bill reduced the deficit by using an increase in Social Security tax revenue -- something explicitly prohibited under reconciliation rules.
Other provisions are expected to run afoul of the "Byrd rule," which bars any provision that does not directly affect the budget. Democratic leaders, such as Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, have acknowledged that large portions of the bill may not survive parliamentary challenges.
This will surely disappoint House Democrats who voted for a bill they profoundly disliked based on assurances that it would be "fixed" in the Senate. They'll be even less happy to learn that, if the Senate alters even a single word of the House bill -- and it will -- the bill will have to go back to the House for still another vote.
Yes, House Democrats will have to do it all again.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Page 50/section 152: The bill will provide insurance to all non-U.S. residents, even if they are here illegally.
** Page 58 and 59: The government will have real-time access to an individual's bank account and will have the authority to make electronic fund transfers from those accounts.
** Page 65/section 164: The plan will be subsidized (by the government) for all union members, union retirees and for community organizations (such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now - ACORN).
** Page 203/line 14-15: The tax imposed under this section will not be treated as a tax. (How could anybody in their right mind come up with that?)
** Page 241 and 253: Doctors will all be paid the same regardless of specialty, and the government will set all doctors' fees.
** Page 272.! section 1145: Cancer hospital will ration care according to the patient's age.
** Page 317 and 321: The government will impose a prohibition on hospital expansion; however, communities may petition for an exception.
** Page 425, line 4-12: The government mandates advance-care planning consultations. Those on Social Security will be required to attend an "end-of-life planning" seminar every five years. (Death counceling.)
** Page 429, line 13-25: The government will specify which doctors can write an end-of-life order.
" It is specifically stated that this bill will not apply to members of Congress. Members of Congress are already exempt from the Social Security system, and have a well-funded private plan that covers their retirement needs. If they were on our Social Security plan, I believe they would find a very quick 'fix' to make the plan financially sound for their future."
Obama plans to enact a national sales tax to pay for his grand socialized medicine. Just like Europe’s VAT tax. One or two per cent tacked onto whatever you buy. Funny the dems haven’t mentioned this.
This bill will just have to die. There is no question about that.
....and of course the familiar ‘once an entitlement is passed it is impossible to end it’. Cut off funding, close down the new government offices/bureaucrats (death panels), and it’s nice and quiet till we can repeal it in full.
They act like you can’t change something once you give it to people - yet they cut medicare constantly!
There isn’t a country in Europe with a one or two percent sales tax. It is 25 percent ere in Sweden. As a result, everything costs 2, 3, 4, and many times 5 times as much. EVERYTHING from coat hangers to matches to napkins to shoes to you name it.
Exactly right.
We are fighting pure evil. Every means has to be used to stop this monstrosity.
A VAT tax goes beyond just tacking on 1-2% against purchases. It also adds taxes at every stage of a product’s manufacture.
Even if the VAT in the US begins at 2%, it won’t stay there long. In Europe the VAT now ranges from 15% in Cyprus to 25% in Sweden. Given that it is a “hidden” tax it is easy for the government to increase.
The VAT will allow the government to raise significant tax revenue from millions of poor and middle class people who currently pay little or no income tax. Despite all of the soak the rich rhetoric, and plans to raise marginal tax rates on the wealthy, with the top 5% of earners already providing over 50% of federal tax revenues, the only way the Democrats can fund huge new entitlement spending is to levy much higher taxes on the middle and lower classes. VAT allows them to avoid the political pain of raising rates and eliminating exemptions on millions of low income wage earners. They can appear to be champions of the poor and middle class while soaking them with hidden taxes.
It is likely the imposition of the VAT has been part of the grand plan all along. From an economic perspective the VAT is good because it encourages savings versus consumption. It also is more democratic in that all citizens pay. The bad aspect is the ease with which government can increase the levy without it being apparent to taxpayers. Leftists will be able to berate the private sector for raising prices when the inflationary pressure is the result of rising “hidden” taxes levied by government.
If the HOuse changed one word of the bill that Obama is going to sign today from the Senate version, i.e. adding the student loan provision—how can the President sign the bill-it is NOT the same as the Senate Bill.
The reconciliation bill is bogus.
Once the President signs the bill passed Sunday night, that’s the operative law. There is NO incentive to reconcile anything.
But if even ONE word is different, there is another Constitutional reason to oppose the bill.
....one of the first things to block.....DEATH PANELS
The HOuse passed 2 bills simultaneously. From the article:
“The only reason that many House Democrats voted for the bill was that they simultaneously passed another bill that amended the main bill. (Yes, it’s confusing: House leaders made it that way on purpose to give their vulnerable members political cover.)”
That bill now goes to the Senate, where Democrats will use a parliamentary tactic called reconciliation to avoid a Republican filibuster. But reconciliation entails its own arcane parliamentary requirements — which may prove a bigger hurdle than the Republicans.
In fact, even as the House vote was taking place, Senate Republicans were pointing out that the bill reduced the deficit by using an increase in Social Security tax revenue — something explicitly prohibited under reconciliation rules.” http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/obamacare_the_new_battles_ahead_PqxocBw9NSbIpLyUlw9nrM#ixzz0izuJkmpO
Yes, we are fighting pure evil. Look at this pic that was linked from Drudge Report.
With a little photoshop you could extend her teeth as fangs and it would be a correct representation. Such an evil woman, Pelosi.
Sorry about the link. I copied the link location from Drudge and it got a 404 error. But the images is still top dead center on Drudge.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
