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The measure has the backing of the Senate's top two leaders -- President Pro Tem Tommie Williams, R-Lyons, and Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock -- who have signed on as co-sponsors. "The federal government has excessively abused the authority of state and local governments for some time," Albers said, explaining why he sponsored the proposal. SR 889 has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Pelosi invokes patriotism in tax cut debateBy: CNN's Alison Harding June 24th, 2011 06:00 PM ET Washington (CNN) - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said Friday that history has shown that tax cuts produce deficits, not jobs, and questioned the patriotism of those at the receiving end of generous corporate tax breaks. "All this talk about tax cuts. The – in the Bush years the Republicans said that tax cuts will produce jobs. They didn't. They produced a deficit," Pelosi told CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley. When Crowley responded that two wars also contributed to the deficit, Pelosi...

The California state Senate voted 28-8 Wednesday to exempt itself from the pointless gun-control laws that apply to the rest of the populace. Legislators apparently think they alone are worthy to pack heat on the streets for personal protection, and the masses ought to wait until the police arrive. This is just one of many bills Golden State politicians used this legislative session to set themselves apart from the little people. Attempts to require politicians to provide a full annual disclosure of the benefits received from the public treasury have been rebuffed. Lawmakers rejected a bill that would have prohibited...

BREAK TRANSCRIPT RUSH: "The Obama administration moved swiftly Monday to downplay ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgrade of its U.S. credit outlook, calling the decision a political judgment that should not be taken too seriously." I told you they're scared to death by this. They're scared to death. They think this is Standard & Poor's telling the world that Obama is a disaster. That's what this is. This is purely a rating based on the Obama debt. This is Goolsbee: "I don't think we should make too much out of that. What the S&P is doing is making a political...

Democrats not celebrating health care milestoneBy: Susan Ferrechio 03/23/11 8:05 PM Chief Congressional Correspondent Considering the size and scope of the massive health care reform measure that Democrats pushed through Congress last year in defiance of all political odds, their celebration of the law's first anniversary Wednesday was remarkably subdued. That's because congressional Democrats are still smarting from the voter backlash that followed passage of the bill and that played a role in their loss of the House majority in last November's elections. Democrats on Wednesday were confronted with fresh evidence that the public, one year on, still largely opposes...

Typical Chicago-style politics: The Department of Health and Human Services has found a way to top itself. On Friday, Kathleen Sebelius issued another 126 waivers, bringing the total to 1,040. All told, health care waivers now cover 2.6 million Americans.

Two companies based in the Twin Cities are among the more than 100 health-plan sponsors that have received waivers so far from certain requirements of the federal health care overhaul that Congress passed earlier this year. The restaurant division of Minnetonka-based Carlson and Regis Corp., the Edina-based operator of hair salons around the country, were granted the waivers last month. The federal legislation phases out the use of annual dollar limits on the amount of health plan coverage for essential benefits. But the government says the changes could be exceedingly expensive for a group of health plans that provide coverage...

Health Care for the HomelessReported by: Kelly Groft Last Update: 3/26 11:03 am Reported by: Preston Mitchum Jr. When you think of the homeless what do you see? Mark Schumann knows what you see, and chances are it's not him, 'Most people see homelessness as the man laying on the side walk, but it's a little more complicated than that.' Mark Schumann knows firsthand, 'I know people who wear nicely tailored suits and you would never know they were homeless." In these tough times experts say more and more families are finding themselves just one paycheck away from living on...

House lawmakers over the weekend voted to protect TRICARE and Defense non-appropriated fund health care beneficiaries from unintended consequences of national health reform. The exemption (H.R. 4887) applies to the health care coverage provided by the Defense Department to military service members, retirees and their families. It clarifies the tax code to stipulate that coverage provided by Defense is treated as minimal essential coverage, ensuring that service members and their families will not need to purchase additional coverage to meet new health insurance requirements. The legislation was introduced late Friday by Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed...

I know that this article has already been posted but this posting puts a interesting strategic twist on it. The way many have read page 158 of the legislation leads the reader to believe that congressional staff are exempted from bamacare. "(II) CONGRESSIONAL STAFF- The term 'congressional staff' means all full-time and part-time employees employed by the official office of a Member of Congress, whether in Washington, D.C. or outside of Washington, D.C." This mean that each of our Republican Senators and Republican Representatives can claim us as their "congressional staff" which means that we would be exempt from bamacare....

For as long as the political fight took over the past year, the abbreviated review process on the health care legislation currently pending on President Obama’s desk is unquestionably going to result in some surprises — as happens with any piece of mashed-up legislation — both for the congressmen who voted for it and for the American people.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Health plans covered by union contracts would not be subject to the 40 percent tax until 2018 -- a transition period union leaders said is comparable to those offered to other private insurers. The threshold for taxing other plans will be adjusted by 1 percent above the annual rate of inflation, and plans involving large numbers of women or the elderly will get breaks as well, Trumka said................................................

This is a red herring. The solution to the "logjam" was already floated last summer when the Senate was debating the Baucus bill. Union members and their families who receive healthcare benefits paid for by their employers would be exempted from a new tax on healthcare under one option being proposed by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mt), according to a report by the Fox Business Channel’s Peter Barnes. Baucus’s plan would tax health care benefits to raise from $161.9 billion to $418 billion over ten years to fund the nationalized “government provider” of health care benefits President Obama and Democrats want....

TORONTO (Reuters) - The White House is expected to exempt Canada from a provision in the U.S. stimulus package that gives priority to American-made products used in public works projects, CBC News reported on Tuesday. In return Ottawa will offer U.S. companies guaranteed access to procurement contracts awarded by provincial and municipal governments, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported on its website, citing Canadian government sources.

Barack Obama's campaign has made a point about not taking money from big donors, even though it has received six figure bundled contributions from "little, ordinary people" like Goldman Sachs, Lehman Broters, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Execlon, and Microsoft,* and even though Obama broke his pledge to accept Federal campaign financing and the accompanying spending limits. The Obama campaign's fundraising ethics also include illegal and possibly rigged lotteries like "Dinner with Barack;" the "Backstage with Barack" lottery was modified to allow entry without a donation under pressure from Minnesota and possibly other law enforcement agencies. While Barack Obama is at...

[Placed in the public domain, copying and widespread circulation are encouraged] Obama’s Sword of Damocles: October Surprise Won’t Surprise UsLooming Scandal Will “Toricelli” Barack Obama After Democratic National ConventionThe Democratic Party’s superdelegates, even those who have endorsed Barack Obama, need to do some serious reconsideration between now and the convention. Should Obama become the nominee, the Democrats are likely to find themselves in the same situation as they did with Robert Toricelli (D-NJ) in 2002. As described by Wikipedia (more information at the Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A20602-2001May12), In the middle of an increasingly competitive race against Republican Doug Forrester, Torricelli decided...

The News: Sen. Barack Obama's Chicago church has been promoting him -- and criticizing his rival Hillary Clinton -- from the pulpit. • The Issue: Has the church violated federal law that restricts a church's political activity? • What's At Stake: The church's tax-exempt status and its ability to raise money. Mr. Wright, who will be ending his 36-year tenure as the church's senior pastor in June, has previously been criticized for comments deriding President George Bush and lauding Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam. Now Mr. Wright's and his successor's repeated enthusiastic promotion of their famous parishioner may...

LOS ANGELES - President Bush cannot exempt the Navy from environmental laws banning sonar training that opponents argue harms whales, a federal judge ruled Monday. Navy officials did not immediately respond to the ruling by U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper. Mark Matsunaga, spokesman for the Navy's Pacific Fleet, headquartered in Hawaii, said officials needed time to review it before commenting. The president signed a waiver Jan. 15 exempting the Navy and its anti-submarine warfare exercises from a preliminary injunction creating a 12 nautical-mile no-sonar zone off Southern California. The Navy's attorneys argued in court last week that he was within...

San Diego police Sgt. Martha Sainz, who was accused of physically attacking a subordinate officer in front of children, has been notified she is being fired, police sources said. Sainz was served with papers about two weeks ago indicating that she is being terminated in connection with the incident at a camp for sixth-graders, said the sources, who declined to be named because personnel matters are confidential. The firing is not effective until her appeals within the department are exhausted. Sainz's attorney, Donovan Jacobs, declined to discuss the case or disclose whether his client plans to appeal. “We're not going...

In a world where most politicos are content to toe the Party line and few dare violate the precepts of political correctness, one congressman has taken a stand. U.S. Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) has chosen to make free speech a defining issue of his career, and he is campaigning hard to extend First Amendment rights everywhere from college campuses to religious congregations. Many detractors argue that reform is unnecessary on campus and unseemly in church, but thus far, the congressman has ignored his naysayers and forged onward. On the religious front, many might be curious as to why our panoply...

On Monday, December 8, 2003, President Bush signed into law a Medicare prescription drug benefits package designed to help American seniors pay for their medications. This month, the Kerry campaign released a TV ad attacking President Bush’s Medicare record stating, “The very next day George Bush imposes the biggest Medicare premium increase in history while prescription drug costs still skyrocket.” There are several problems with this ad, namely that fact that 1) Kerry skipped the December 8 vote and 2) Kerry voted to support the increase in Medicare premiums that he now criticizes. The Kerry campaign offers no specifics on...

Items 1 through 14 of 14 Amendments For S.1805 1. S.AMDT.2617 to S.1805 To extend and expand the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Cantwell, Maria [WA] (introduced 2/25/2004)      Cosponsors: 14 Latest Major Action: 2/26/2004 Amendment SA 2617 ruled out of order by the chair. 2. S.AMDT.2618 to S.1805 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text. Sponsor: Sen Campbell, Ben Nighthorse [CO] (introduced 2/25/2004)      Cosponsors: 1 Latest Major Action: 2/25/2004 Senate amendment submitted 3. S.AMDT.2619 to S.1805 To expand the definition of armor piercing...

Nations Exempt from U.S. Fingerprinting Rule Citizens from 27 countries can travel to the United States without a visa and are exempt from being fingerprinted and photographed at US airports and seaports under a new anti-terrorism programme the Homeland Security Department launched today. Those foreigners can enter the United States with passports for business or pleasure for up to 90 days. To travel for other purposes or to stay longer, they must have a visa and would be subject to the checks for other arriving foreigners under the new US-VISIT program. The countries are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark,...

Hamas to be exempt from Israeli retaliation strikes By Ravi Nessman in Jerusalem 27 December 2003 Israel will target and kill Palestinian militants in retaliation for a suicide bombing that killed four Israelis, senior security sources said yesterday. The suicide bombing on Thursday came minutes after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed three Islamic Jihad militants and two civilians. The attacks ended a relatively calm period in the conflict and threatened tentative steps to renew peace talks. Shaul Mofaz, the Defence Minister, and his officials decided yesterday to target militants from Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation...