News from Saginaw County Republicans

News & Events

Dear Friends,

Having just attended a meeting with our State Party Chairman, Bobby Schostak, I have learned some interesting facts. Michigan Education Association (MEA) lobbyist's make around $100,000 plus annually. There are about 100 of them currently. MEA members give $1200 per year in union dues. They are a very powerful organization, and will stop at nothing to destroy the people we have in office! We need to all understand the importance of getting engaged in this recall process and prevent them from being successful. Our best chance in stopping them is educating the public on the motives of the unions. It's NOT about the children - it's about the unions, tenure and asking teachers to participate in the costs of health care. People who sign the petitions also need to understand, the union and the democrats are adding your personal information into a database, where you will be continually asked for money and help in future endeavors. Also, special elections are costly to the taxpayer! More to come!!!

Debt Limit Increases Were Typically Short & Tied to Reforms

US Debt

Not surprisingly, the President's demand for a 2-Year Debt Limit Increase is unusual. The historical data are clear: short-term debt limit increases have been the norm and financial markets don't "panic" about them. Some facts from the House Ways and Means Committee:

Over the last twenty-five years, Congress and the President have acted 31 times to increase the debt limit. (What kind of a "limit" is that?)
22 of those 31 were for less than a year.
Only three of those 31 increases lasted longer than 2 years.

Also, debt Increases are usually tied to reform legislation. Three examples of that include:

1987: Three short-term debt limit increases prior to a longer-term increase that included deficit targets and automatic spending sequestration provisions.
1990: Six very short-term increases prior to a longer-term increase that included PAYGO, discretionary caps, and other programmatic changes.
1996: Two very short-term increases to ensure full funding of Social Security and other Federal funds prior to a longer-term increase included in the "Contract with America Advancement Act."

But, the President's FY12 budget requires the debt limit to nearly double to $26.3 Trillion over the next ten years. No wonder he wants a long term deal! The current debate over the debt limit provides an opportunity to reduce out-of-control Washington spending. In fact, the debt limit was designed to provide this fiscal accountability, as noted in the following from the Congressional Research Service:

"Congress created a statutory debt limit in the Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917. This development changed Treasury's borrowing process and assisted Congress in its efforts to exercise its constitutional prerogatives to control the federal government's fiscal outcomes. The debt limit also imposes a form of fiscal accountability that compels Congress and the President to take deliberate action to allow further federal borrowing if necessary." ("Reaching the Debt Limit: Background and Potential Effects on Government Operations," June 3, 2011, Report R41633)

Meanwhile...

While we've all been focused on the debt limit, never fear: our trusty bureaucrats have been busy writing new rules to control our lives anyway. Of course, Congress gave them a mandate to write something in the first place. The latest project is a joint effort between the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the United States Department of Agriculture.

The agencies have been charged with doing something about childhood obesity. The regulations they are proposing would require that foods marketed directly to children between the ages of two and 17 contribute to healthy diets. That sounds good, until you look at the marketplace and realize that what they're proposing would require that 88 of the 100 most-consumed products in the country would have to be reformulated to meet these criteria or simply go unadvertised. The proposed restrictions even make foods that are already considered healthy under current FDA guidelines inappropriate to market to kids younger than 18!

You can read more at the Daily Caller.

More Proof You Can't Keep the Coverage You Have and Like

From Representative Dave Camp, Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, where you can read more:

While the most expensive and disruptive changes of the Democrats' health care law do not take effect until 2014, this week provided a startling glimpse of what consumers can expect from the Democrats' trillion dollar health care law. Below are examples of how the health care overhaul will increase costs and has left government bureaucrats with the power to limit consumers' choice, despite the President's repeated promise that "...if you like the coverage you have you can keep it."

North Dakota

North Dakota requested a waiver to protect its residents, including those with pre-existing conditions, from the onerous Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) requirements enacted under the Democrats' health care law, stating that without such a waiver, "carriers may choose to terminate existing blocks of coverage to avoid future solvency issues. If this occurs, consumers would be left without coverage and in [a] particularly disadvantage position in finding new coverage, especially if they have a health condition." Despite this clear risk of North Dakotans losing their plan, the Obama Administration denied the state's waiver request.

Oregon

Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon insures roughly 59,000 customers in the individual market (those not receiving health coverage through the workplace). This year, Regence said that complying with the new mandates in the Democrats' health care law forced the plan to increase its prices. Asked about the cost of health insurance becoming more expensive because of the new law, Oregon's Department of Consumer and Business Services, "acknowledged this was correct." While the state of Oregon scaled back the size of Regence's premium increase, it's clear that the Democrats' health care law is making coverage more expensive.

Michigan

And an unexpected consequence of Obamacare arrives in Michigan. Last week the Mackinaw Center reported that the Government Accountability Office released a list of contracts worth more than $700 million awarded to consultants to "assist in implementing" the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka ObamaCare. One Michigan organization, the Physicians Health Plan of Mid Michigan, received two contracts totaling $23.4 million, for which it has already been paid $1.8 million. The riches available from ObamaCare for consultants, information technology firms and other vendors are already beginning to flow. How will that possibly make healthcare cost less?

The Answer To Our Debt Problems!

Here's a video to make the debt-ceiling debate funny! A parody ad from the group Concerned Women for America advertises "Spenditol," the new miracle drug made in Washington and the "answer to all the painful problems Americans face."