FreedomWorks

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has run afoul of the law again, urging companies whose future she controls to donate to do work her agency lacks the funds to do. Congress has asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate. Secretary Sebelius has been shaking down the industry she controls, raising funds for Enroll America, an alliance of community organizers and health sector businesses. This is not the first time Sebelius has run afoul of ethics laws, as she illegally campaigned for Democrats in 2012. In her position, Sebelius has enormous power. She may have the authority over the futures of the companies involved, if President Obama doesn't appoint member to the Independent Payment Advisory Board, or even if the IPAB doesn't submit certain plans to lower health care costs.  Whether the IPAB submits the proposals or Sebelius does, they have the force of law unless Congress votes with a supermajority against them.   According to a letter sent by two House committee chairmen, The secretary’s actions show an apparent disregard for constitutional principles and may violate the Antideficiency Act, the prohibition against augmenting congressional appropriations, and executive branch ethics laws. Five members of Congress signed the letter, including Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, Rep Jack Kingston, and Senators Alexander and Hatch of the Senate committees having oversight over how HHS spends money. ThinkProgress stated that Alexander did the same thing in 1991 under President George H.W. Bush. Alexander cites differences, but the activity is wrong in either case. Pointing out that someone else did it, too, doesn't make it right to do now. The members asked Secretary Sebelius for details, including A list of outside entities for which her department solicits fundsA description of the coordination between HHS and EnrollAmerica and other groupsWho in the government is solicitingAny government resources usedA list of those contactedThe specific requests madeAny promises or offers made in returnAny feedback or success reports from EnrollAmerica to HHSWho cleared this for ethicsAny other fundraising done under the Public Health Services ActA list of funds transferred since March 23, 2010 for PPACA implementation, including from HHS, other federal departments, or outside entities like EnrollAmerica. The last item there relates to a slush fund Sebelius has been using to fund Obamacare implementation, since it's far more expensive to destroy the American economy and health system than Obamacare thought. As Phil Kerpen put it,  And while Sebelius is dialing-for-dollars, she is also reallocating money from a slush fund created by the law toward public relations and political activity instead of using it to help people with preexisting conditions.  About 40,000 people with preexisting conditions will go without any coverage this year because Sebelius chose to end enrollment in the federal Preexisting Condition Insurance Plan in order to instead fund TV advertising and grants to lobbying groups.  So HHS is abusing taxpayer dollars as well as shaking down private citizens for coerced donations, all to maximize spending on their political push to build support for the unpopular law, instead of actually helping sick people. The members also want a few answers from EnrollAmerica, includingA list of staff or EnrollAmerica officials, HHS staff, and health sector companies who talked about fundraisingThe emails about itThe process by which EnrollAmerica obtained tax-exempt status from the IRS The Board of Directors for EnrollAmerica includes:Ron Pollack Executive Director, Families USA, thought to be funded by public sector unions, especially the SEIU, which mainstains a seat on the group's board.Vinny DeMarco President, Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative, a group whose mai

IRS Target This week Americans have woken up to revelations of IRS targeting of conservative organizations, and a lawsuit alleging an illegal IRS seizure of 60 million private medical records. If you think these developments are scary, sit down for this: the Internal Revenue Service is also about to become the leading enforcement agency under ObamaCare. That's right. The IRS will be the primary enforcement agency of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Though Obamacare is a sweeping, pan-government reform, the amount of power it delegates to the IRS is staggering. All told, the law delegates 47 distinct new powers to the national tax-collection agency. These powers can be grouped into three broad categories: tax/fee collection, credit/subsidy distribution, and information harvesting. The application of the new functions is as broad as the 2000-plus page bill is long. Here are just a few examples of what's in store. 1. Tax / Fee Collection IRS's main job under PPACA is to collect the tax penalties on individuals and employers that are the linchpin of the new health care system, which goes into full operation on January 1, 2014. These tax penalties are designed to compel all Americans to purchase, and all but the smallest workplaces to offer, government-controlled health insurance. Although for political reasons Congress went out of its way to avoid calling the individual and employer mandate penalties "taxes" -- and President Obama even went so far as to vehemently deny that they are taxes -- the penalties are in fact, you guessed it, taxes. They're situated in the Internal Revenue Code and will be collected by the IRS. The Supreme Court even ruled that they're only constitutional because … they're taxes. Among the numerous other taxes and fees the IRS is tasked with collecting: a new, highly unpopular Medical Device Tax; a new 3.8 percent tax on income from real estate and retirement investments; and several new fees levied annually against health insurance providers and brand name pharmaceutical producers and importers. One of IRS's more intrusive tasks will be enforcing a "maximum profits" cap on insurance companies, the so-called Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) rule. This regulation is billed as a "consumer protection" measure, "protecting" consumers from being "overcharged" for their health benefits; however, its real effect will be to reduce competition in insurance markets, which will result in less choice, lower quality, and higher costs for consumers. As an economic matter, all of the law's various taxes and fees will be passed on to consumers, in the form of higher prices and lower quality. A recent report by the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the US House of Representatives reveals the extent of these new costs to consumers. The average premium price increase if you intend to keep your current healthcare is projected to be 73 percent, while premium rates for new health coverage are predicted to increase by a staggering 96 percent. 2. Credit / Subsidy Distribution Markets will also be distorted by several new, IRS-administered subsidies. The law introduces a wide array of these, but the largest of them by far will be a set of tax credit premium and cost-sharing subsidies for people who purchase their health plan through one of the new government-run "exchanges," pseudo-marketplaces that will function as the system's bureaucratic hubs. These subsidies will cost tens of billions of dollars per year, at first, and eventually hundreds of billions. Another subsidy is the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, which offers a subsidy to small firms under 25 employees to help them afford to keep offering health coverage to their workers. This credit, which features an application form of mind-boggling complexity, implicitly acknowledges the health care law imposes major burdens on small businesses. Yet another IRS-administered subsidy: the Qualified Therapeutic Discovery Project Program, which offers up to o

Dear FreedomWorks member, As one of our millions of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your representative and urge him or her to vote YES on H.R. 1062, SEC Regulatory Accountability Act. Introduced by Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), this bill would provide much needed accountability to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This common sense bill is simple and to the point: it would require the SEC to perform a cost-benefit analysis before enacting any new major regulations. The main purpose of the SEC is to enforce federal securities laws and regulate the securities industry and the stock market. SEC regulations have a major impact on the economy and should be carefully scrutinized. This bill is a good step in the right direction to get rid of burdensome regulations that stall economic growth. Under this bill, the SEC would be mandated to review its regulations every five years to determine which ones are ineffective or outdated. For new major regulations, the SEC would also be required to assess the significance of the problem the regulation is designed to address, determine whether the estimated benefits of the proposed regulation justify its estimated costs, and identify alternatives that are available. For all major new regulations expected to have an impact greater than $100 million, the SEC would be required to issue a report addressing its cost and benefits no later than two years after the rule was published. It is important for the SEC to review the impact of its regulations on the economy. After the required cost-benefit analyses, the agency would then decide whether to reform or repeal bad regulations. This is a sound approach to eliminate massive amounts of regulations that discourage investment and economic growth. I urge you to contact your representative and urge him or her to vote YES on H.R. 1062, SEC Regulatory Accountability Act today. This bill would help get rid of burdensome regulations and hold the SEC accountable for its actions. Sincerely, Matt Kibbe President and CEO FreedomWorks File Attachments LoS_2013-05-16_-_Support_-_SEC_Regulatory_Accountibility_Act.pdf126.75 KB

As one of our millions of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your representative and urge him or her to vote YES on H.R. 45, a bill to fully repeal ObamaCare. Introduced by Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN), it would repeal both the full Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the additional health care provisions that were added in the Health Care Reconciliation Act later. It is critical that ObamaCare be fully repealed as the first step to implementing real, patient-centered reforms that will let the market drive health care prices down. With full implementation coming in just over seven short months, it is more urgent than ever to repeal ObamaCare. It will kill jobs, bankrupt the government, drive up everyone's health insurance costs, put bureaucrats in charge of rationing our health care, and put the IRS in charge of forcing you to buy insurance. Polls have consistently shown that a majority of Americans still want Washington to reverse the government takeover of health care and adopt a patient-centered approach.  And a majority of states are (wisely) refusing to assist the federal government in setting up the health care exchanges that are central to the law. Obamacare is already driving up everyone’s health insurance costs, and premiums are set to spike even higher when the law comes into full effect in January of 2014.  A survey of 17 of the nation’s largest health insurers, conducted by the House Committee on Energy & Commerce, shows that many people will see their premiums double, while some will see increases of as much as 400 percent. Contrary to President Obama’s 2009 promise that “if you like your health care plan, you can keep it”, former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin predicts the new law will cause 35 million people to lose their current, job-based coverage. Employers have realized that they can save money by dropping their health benefits plan and send their workers into the local government-run exchange, with its premium subsidies. Moreover, the new law will cost $2.6 trillion during its first 10 years of full implementation. Ultimately, it will create 159 new bureaucracies to control our health care, and will force all Americans to purchase government-controlled health insurance by 2014. At a time when federal debt and deficits are at all-time highs, we simply cannot afford this massive new spending program. Even one of the law’s main authors recently described the Obama Administration’s efforts to implement this massive law as a “train wreck,” but that term could more properly be used to describe the law itself. The Unaffordable Care Act is likely to be a train wreck for workers, employers, patients, and taxpayers. It’s time to halt this train and start over with reforms that empower patients instead of bureaucrats and politicians. I urge you to call your representative and ask him or her to vote YES on H.R. 45, to repeal ObamaCare. We will count their vote as a KEY VOTE when calculating the FreedomWorks Economic Freedom Scorecard for 2013. The Scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the FreedomFighter Award, which recognizes members of Congress with voting records that support economic freedom. Sincerely, Matt Kibbe President and CEO, FreedomWorks File Attachments KVN_2013-05-15_ObamaCare_Repeal_-_YES.pdf306.13 KB

Dear FreedomWorks member, As one of our millions of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your U.S. Senators and urge them to vote NO on the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), S. 601. This bloated infrastructure spending bill functions more like a stimulus bill for infrastructure projects that would be better left to states and localities.   Probably the most egregious example of the unnecessary federal spending in this bill is the new guarantees given to harbor maintenance programs.  Increasing the federal match for spending on deeper-water dredging projects will cost the federal government billions, when these projects have traditionally been at least 50 percent handled by the ports themselves or the states. Even the White House has expressed concerns about these new spending obligations. Through the years, WRDA has also served as a hiding place for hundreds of earmarks, and President Bush actually vetoed the 2007 version of this bill for that reason.  Nowadays the Senate operates under a theoretical earmark ban, but this WRDA bill essentially allows earmarks through the Army Corps of Engineers. Instead of including a specific list of local projects to be funded (ordinary earmarks), the bill authorizes the Corps to take on any project referred to the Chief of Engineers by the time the bill takes effect. I urge you to call your U.S. Senators and ask them to vote NO on the Water Resources Development Act, S. 601.  We may score this bill’s passage as a KEY VOTE when calculating the FreedomWorks Congressional Scorecard for 2013. The scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the FreedomFighter Award, which recognizes Members of Congress with voting records that support economic freedom. Sincerely, Matt Kibbe, President and CEO, FreedomWorks File Attachments KVN_2013-05-13_-_Water_Resources_Development_Act_S._601_-_NO.pdf184.42 KB

The hits just keep coming for President Obama’s beleaguered health care reform law. If you’ve had trouble keeping up with all of the bad news surrounding ObamaCare, I don’t blame you. For the sake of convenience, let’s take a look at some of this news and then consider the “big picture” for the floundering Affordable Care Act. Health Insurance “Exchanges” We’ll begin with the health insurance “exchanges,” which are the primary mechanism by which ObamaCare distributes massive government subsidies to private health insurance companies. These “exchanges” feature only government regulated and approved insurance plans, from which consumers are allowed to choose. When writing the law, Congressional Democrats and the White House left the dirty work of setting up these expensive, complicated “exchanges” to the states. After a majority of states flatly refused to comply with this unfunded mandate, the Obama administration started scrambling to set up dozens of “exchanges” by itself. At the same time, the federal government is also burdened with the cost of conducting a massive public relations outreach campaign for ObamaCare, which remains unpopular with more than half of Americans. Compliant states are also struggling to implement their “exchanges,” with Idaho official Stephen Weeg acknowledging that the state bureaucracy will need to “beg, borrow, and steal” in order to get its “exchange” operational by the October 1st start date for enrollment. The federal Department of Health and Human Services even broke ObamaCare’s own rules by approving Utah’s unique “dual exchange” system. It is clear that the Obama administration is becoming desperate to salvage its crumbling law by any means necessary. By the way, even if these “exchanges” are actually set up according to design, some of the nation’s largest insurance companies are still expressing reluctance to provide coverage plans for them in the first place. Perhaps private insurers do not find the idea of entering such government dominated “exchanges” an attractive prospect, after all? Lawsuits Lawsuits continue to plague ObamaCare, as well. Earlier this month, a group of small business owners sued the federal government on the grounds that the text of the ObamaCare law does not authorize the government to issue subsidies to private insurance companies in those states with federally-run health insurance “exchanges.” The Pacific Legal Foundation filed a separate lawsuit that uses Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ flimsy defense of ObamaCare’s individual mandate as a “tax” against the law. Revenue-raising bills, such as taxes, must originate in the House of Representatives in order to be constitutional, but the final version of ObamaCare began in the Senate. This is just a small sampling of the growing number of lawsuits brought against ObamaCare so far. Medicaid Expansion ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion isn’t exactly going to plan, either. The law offers full funding for the first few years for those states that expand their Medicaid programs, and then promises 90% of the funding for future years. However, there is no guarantee behind that money, and truthfully, the federal government cannot afford to hold up its end of that bargain for very long. Once that happens, state legislatures across the country will get stuck with the tab for Medicaid expansion, which will crowd out other state budgetary priorities such as education and infrastructure. As a result, many governors are refusing to take such a risky deal. Even Missouri, which has Democratic Governor Jay Nixon, is turning down Medicaid expansion due to resistance from the state legislature. A recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine casts doubt on the belief that Medicaid expansion is even a good idea. After Oregon expanded its Medicaid program in 2008, researchers found that, “…Medicaid coverage generated no significant improvements in measured physical healt

Capitol Hill Update, 13 May, 2013 House & Senate/Schedule: Both chambers are in session this week and next week.  Both chambers will recess for Memorial Day, the week of May 27th. Legislative Highlight of the Week: This week’s highlight is a report issued on Monday by the House Committee on Energy & Commerce.  The Committee surveyed 17 of the nation’s largest health insurers, and found that the coming increases in health insurance premiums will be staggering, particularly for the young, healthy individuals who will be coerced into buying insurance by the individual mandate “tax”. The entire point of the “Affordable Care Act” was to make health insurance more affordable, yet this report shows premiums increasing by almost 100% for individuals, and 50% for small businesses, with some people seeing spikes as high as 400%.  The full report can be found HERE. House/Health Care:  This Thursday, the House will hold a vote on H.R. 45, sponsored by Rep. Michelle Bachmann, which would fully repeal ObamaCare in its entirety.  This is largely a symbolic vote, being held to give the new GOP freshmen the ability to say they voted to repeal ObamaCare. Nevertheless, expect to see a FreedomWorks Key Vote: YES on this bill coming out shortly. House/Financial Services: On Friday, the House will vote on H.R. 1062, the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act, sponsored by Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ).  This bill would simply require the Securities and Exchange Commission to perform a cost-benefit analysis before enacting any new major regulations.   House/Agriculture: On Wednesday, the House Committee on Agriculture will take up the Farm Bill.  This bill, which was last passed in 2008, contains a variety of handouts to big farm corporations and insurance companies, on top of outrageous carve-outs to certain industries such as corn, sugar, and cotton producers.  And 80% of the farm bill’s spending is actually on the food stamp program (SNAP), the enrollment in which has increased by 75% in just the past five years.  The only major improvement in this bill is that it does eliminate the direct payments to farmers, but the bill as a whole is still a fiscal disaster that spends almost $1 trillion over the next ten years. Senate/Agriculture: On Tuesday, the Senate Agriculture Committee will consider its own version of the Farm Bill.  Since the Senate already marked up and passed their Farm Bill last year, there is a possibility that this year’s version will not spend much time in Committee, and could come to the floor for a vote as soon as next week.   Senate/Infrastructure:  This week, the Senate will resume consideration of the Water Resources Development Act, S. 601, and may vote on passage Thursday or Friday.  Sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), this bill is riddled with problems.  It guarantees billions in federal funds for projects that ought to be handled by individual states, such as harbor dredging and dam construction, essentially serving as a stimulus program.  It also uses the Army Corps of Engineers as a back-door earmark program by authorizing a nearly unlimited number of new contracts, despite the fact that the Corps already has a $60 billion project backlog.  FreedomWorks opposes this bill. House & Senate/Energy: Last week, companion bills were released in the House and Senate which deal with the EPA’s war on the coal industry. S. 861, sponsored by Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and H.R. 1829, sponsored by Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) require that the EPA speed up its permitting process for coal mining projects.  Currently, the EPA is greatly delaying many of these permits, causing untold loss of productivity in the coal industry, which accounts for nearly 30 percent of our domestic energy.

The IRS has for several years been targeting fiscally conservative and freedom-oriented grassroots organizations with highly detailed and burdensome demands. The effect has been to delay approval of tax exempt status, causing some organizations to abandon the effort, harming their ability to participate in the public debate. FreedomWorks has obtained the IRS letter listing questions to TheTeaparty.Net. The letter contains several pages of detailed and invasive questions, going far beyond any reasonable effort to determine whether the targeted groups are focused on public service and education rather than on candidate advocacy or electioneering. Among the details the IRS asked for areList all activities, rallies, advertising to be explained "in detail"Lists of industry conventions at which the organization had a presence and any materials distributed to the public therecopies of current web pages. "If you are a membership organization, please include all the pages that are accessible only to your members"Financial detais about internet related activiesContent of blogs and social media presence Lists of any candidates for public office appearing at forums the group sponsoredAny materials distributed for any other organizationVoter education and registration activities, in detail. One question may have required the organization to hire a professional grammarian to parse: "Who on the organization's behalf have conducted or will conduct the voter registration or get out to vote drives?"Business dealings with candidatesAny other tax-exempt organizations with which the group is "associated"Fundraising efforts in detailCorporate minutes, board member compensation and workList of volunteersAny board member who has ever run or will ever run for public officeIncome statements in detailExpense statements in detail Jackie Bodnar, FreedomWorks Communications Director, said: Excessive paperwork and complex protocol is a weapon used by power brokers in DC to make it impossible for individual Americans to exercise their basic civic duty to hold government accountable. Complexity is big government's strategy to avoid accountability. We have to bring more transparency to the system and expose the injustices and violations of civil liberties that we find along the way.  Even the far left bellweather ACLU said the move showed that "giving the government too much power to limit political speech will inevitably result in selective enforcement," threatening civil liberties. Jenny Beth Martin of Tea Party Patriots said the requests made of conservative and tea party groups were "ridiculous".   TheTeaparty.Net spokesman Dan Backer responded via email with the list of demands (pdf) that the IRS sent to the organization.We’ve just gone through our third round of IRS inquiries. The first round was probably not completely unreasonable since the original filing was made by volunteers and not lawyers. The 2nd round of questions was clearly politically driven, asked a great many questions designed to elicit information unrelated to exemption, and is discussed at length (and included in) the White Paper. The third round was pointless, burdensome, and serves no purpose but to harass the organization. Here is the content of the cover letter: The IRS' overreach in targeting these groups should bring Congressional investigation and media scrutiny. It shoudl unite the left, right, and center in defense of civil liberties. Instead, it may be used as a wedge to divide Americans even further. File Attachments 2012-03-09_IRS_probe_redacted.pdf969.74 KB

Our K-12 education system is a monopoly, and like any other monopoly, the customer (child) suffers from lack of choice and competition.  Our children are being held captive in a failing system where markets are not allowed to work. As it turns out, parents, especially moms, know that the key to improving our education system is to allow for market forces to drive innovation and create an enviroment that responds to the needs of children, instead of just propping up the status quo. In a study just released by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, mothers of school-aged children were asked about education nationwide, education in their communities, and the issue of school choice. The study, Schooling in America, provided some great insight into feelings on traditional education in America, and what they would like to see change.  One key finding is that mothers have more confidence in private schools than in traditional public schools, which is probably why 66% support vouchers and 69% support tax credits for their children to get the best education available. Around the country, about 255,000 students are using vouchers and tax-credits this year. Why are so many mothers seeking other options? Because, as the survey showed, 79% of mothers surveyed gave the federal government’s involvement in education a “fair” or “poor,” while 61% believe that education has “gotten off on the wrong track.”  It’s not simply a matter of “the grass is always greener” for these moms, either. Those who have their children in private schools find that their children are receiving much better educations. 56% of mothers gave their private schools an A or B grade, compared to only 43% for public schools. This is down from 62% only a year ago. As education reform and school choice becomes more mainstream, parents are beginning to realize that they have options, and as they research an seek those out also find that some are better for their children.  Perhaps that’s why most respondents agreed that vouchers should be available to all children regardless of income. “When a school doesn’t work for a child, the public believes that child should have choices, including private schools—no matter what his parents’ income,” said Robert Enlow, President and CEO of the Friedman Foundation. Isn’t that what America is about- equal opportunity for all? America’s mothers certainly seem to think so- and we agree!

Dear FreedomWorks Member, On behalf of our more than 4 million members nationwide, I urge you to contact your Senators and Representatives in Congress and tell them to support the Coal Jobs Protection Act: S. 861 in the Senate and H.R. 1829 in the House of Representatives. In accordance with the Clean Water Act, coal mining companies are currently required to apply for 402 and/or 404 permits through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which regulate the potential discharge of pollutants, dredge and fill material from mining operations. However, the EPA has recently been delaying the review and approval process for these permits, hampering the American coal industry. As a result, thousands of coal jobs have been lost across the country and untold capital investment has been either misallocated or paralyzed. Coal is here, abundant and produces nearly 30 percent of all domestic energy. Global economies and energy demand have begun to catch up with the United States forcing Americans to pay unprecedented prices for energy. At a time like this, the coal industry should be free to meet American demand for affordable energy without having to worry about bureaucratic hurdles. This is why I implore you to tell your elected officials in Congress to support the Coal Jobs Protection Act. This legislation sets a 270 day and 90 day time limit for EPA review on 402 and 404 permits respectively. If the government misses their deadlines, then, under this act, the permits will automatically be approved. This legislation gives government an incentive to fulfill its obligations expeditiously and gives energy businesses the kind of certainty required to save jobs, properly allocate capital, and ultimately lower prices. Thus I urge you to contact your elected officials in Congress in support of the Coal Jobs Protection Act, tell your two Senators to support S. 861, and your Congressman to support H.R. 1829. In Liberty, Matt Kibbe President and CEO FreedomWorks File Attachments LoS_2013-05-09_-_Support_-_Coal_Jobs_Protection_Act.pdf126.75 KB

Last night, the Senate voted to pass the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act (S. 743) and send it to the House.  This bill allows states to band together to form a sales tax cartel under which a business which sells products online must collect taxes for states where their goods are being shipped.  There are a multitude of problems with this bill – it is potentially unconstitutional, it raises taxes, it will harm startup businesses online, and it fundamentally changes the way that taxes can be collected. Twenty-one Republicans joined most of the Democrats in voting to pass this internet sales tax scheme.  See the roll call vote HERE. The GOP tax-hikers are: Lamar Alexander (TN) *co-sponsor* Roy Blunt (MO) *co-sponsor* John Boozman (AR) *co-sponsor* Richard Burr (NC) Saxby Chambliss (GA) Dan Coats (IN) Thad Cochrane (MS) Susan Collins (ME) *co-sponsor* Bob Corker (TN) *co-sponsor* Mike Enzi (WY) *Sponsored the bill* Deb Fischer (NE) Lindsey Graham (SC) *co-sponsor* John Hoeven (ND) Johnny Isakson (GA) Mike Johanns (NE) John McCain (AZ) Rob Portman (OH) Jeff Sessions (AL) Richard Shelby (AL) John Thune (SD) Roger Wicker (MS) Big-box retail corporations have been lobbying hard for this law for over a decade because it will harm their online competitors, and unfortunately their deep pockets have paid off in the Senate.  Fortunately, the bill faces an uncertain future in the House. Check out FreedomWorks' Key Vote notice and our Issue Analysis to learn more about why the Marketplace Fairness Act is neither free-market nor fair. And, as always, be sure to let your Senators know how you feel about their vote - good or bad.

Capitol Hill Update, 6 May, 2013 Schedule: The House and Senate are back from their one-week recess, and will remain in session for the next three weeks.Legislative Highlight of the Week: The Senate voted on Monday to pass the Marketplace Fairness Act, S. 743.  This is the bill that would allow states to collect taxes on internet sales from businesses outside their borders. FreedomWorks has opposed this bill all the way, and will continue to do so as it passes over to the House, where its future is uncertain. Senate/Regulation: The Senate will likely vote this week on the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), S. 601.  Sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), this bill is an amalgamation of programs involving waterways and ports, and is loaded with local pork spending.  It also extends federal funding guarantees to a number of projects that ought to be the responsibilities of the states or localities involved.  FreedomWorks opposes this bill.House & Senate/Agriculture: During the next few weeks, the House and Senate will both be taking up the Farm Bill in committee. The Farm Bill, which has traditionally been renewed in five-year increments,  is a massive package of direct payments to farm corporations, price supports for favored industries, and crop insurance programs, and it also contains the food stamp program (officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP). For more information on this huge spending bill, and the reforms that need to be made to it, join FreedomWorks on Tap this Wednesday, May 8th, at 7PM at live.freedomworks.org.House/Debt Ceiling: With the latest debt ceiling extension set to expire on May 18th, the House will vote this week on an important bill called the Full Faith and Credit Act, H.R. 807.  Sponsored by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA), this bill simply directs the Treasury Department to prioritize certain mandatory payments in the event that the U.S. reaches the debt ceiling and can no support its government spending by borrowing.  Basically, this means that as the debt ceiling approaches Obama can no longer threaten that America will default on its debt or that seniors will stop receiving Social Security payments if the debt ceiling isn’t raised. FreedomWorks supports this bill.House/Labor: The House will also be working on the Working Families Flexibility Act, H.R. 1406. Sponsored by Martha Roby (R-AL), this bill modifies federal labor laws to allow employers to give comp. time to employees in lieu of overtime pay.  This has been allowed in the public sector for some time.

There are times where it doesn't feel good to be right, and this is one of them.  Under the president’s health care law an estimated 16 million more Americans will be put on Medicaid, bringing the total to more than 80 million Americans by the end of this decade, or around one-quarter of the U.S. population. Universal health care coverage, either through state level Obamacare exchanges, or through expanded Medicaid coverage was touted by progressives as the best ways to provide better coverage for all and better outcomes for everyone, including the very sick and the poor. In the push to pass Obamacare and beyond, liberal pundits and policy wonks made many claims about the benefits of such coverage.  Back in 2009, Ezra Klein put an actual number on the lives universal health care coverage would save and argued that more money simply must be spent.  During the battle against the government takeover of health care, conservatives were scorned for questioning the ability of a huge bureaucratic program to meet the medical needs of those without coverage.  Conservatives and libertarian policy experts had many concerns about expanding government coverage, especially Medicaid. Not only because of the enormous costs, but also the likelihood that expanding such programs and dumping large numbers of people into an already broken system would only add to the numerous problems providing timely access to quality care.  Yesterday, a report proved these naysayers right in many regards.  In 2008 Oregon expanded its Medicaid coverage with a lottery system.  The state could not afford to cover everyone who qualified, but they did cover an additional 30,000 of the 90,000 residents in waiting. This new expansion allowed for researchers to contrast specifically designated health care outcomes for over 6,300 low-income adults now covered under the expansion to 5,800 who were not picked in the lottery.   The New England Journal of Medicine published The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, (OHIE) conducted by the nation's top health policy experts.  The study found no measurable effect on any of the measured physical health outcomes studied. Participants spent on average 35% more than those not on the plan, averaging over $1,150 per person. That's right, even with access to medical care and increased spending, those on the expanded Medicaid program showed no measurable physical health benefits over those not selected. The study states: “This randomized, controlled study showed that Medicaid coverage generated no significant improvements in measured health outcomes in the first two years, but it did increase use of health services, raise rates of diabetes detection and management, lower rates of depression, and reduce financial strain.” After reading Avik Roy's take on this study, I spoke with him about the most significant findings and what conservatives should take away from all of it. "Here's what's most important to note; we're currently spending over $450 billion a year on Medicaid, and we're about to spend over $600 billion a year for a program that does not appear to actually achieve the goal of helping the poor become healthier. I am not opposed to spending money on the poor, I'm opposed to wasting money on the poor.  The dominant argument from the Left is that we must spend more to help these people, and we have, but it's not achieving the goals." As Philip Klein puts it "The landmark study shatters liberal health care claims" stating: "So the study suggests that expanding Medicaid is one way of reducing financial pressure on low-income groups, but it's costly and does not improve their health.  Another interesting finding was that though medical spending increased among Medicaid enrollees due to more prescription drug usage and doctor's visits, the study "did not find significant changes in visits to the emergency department or hospital admissions."  This undercuts another favor

On the first article I posted regarding the proposed coal trains through the Pacific Northwest, I received the following thoughtful comment that got me to thinking: As a Whatcom County resident and having discussed this issue with many locals, we have a mixed opinion on whether the coal trains would be a benefit or a curse. But the reasons are far more diverse than this article explains. Yes, your points about the liberal/environmental agenda are well taken, but I don't believe the acceptance of the coal trains into our county in Upper NW Washington has a lot to do with it. Take a look at a map of the railway from Portland to Vancouver. Note where this railway passes through Whatcom County and you will get a better understanding of the reason many are opposed to a huge increase in traffic along this byway. Railways were built to pass through towns, and most large towns and cities have moved their core away from the tracks often with that area becoming the warehousing and shipping area and the suburbs and city activities moving away with time. So the increased traffic the coal trains would create would have little threat to suburbia. Unfortunately, Bellingham and Fairhaven are lovely coastal towns whose downtowns have been revived with small businesses and tourist activity which support the area and would be strongly affected (or so citizens believe) by a train coming through the middle of these towns night and day. Also, since the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, the easiest passage for the train tracks when they were built was along the coastline. Very high end real estate, and parks that are frequented by the public, would be adversely affected by tremendous increase in traffic. Maybe the people are misguided by the concern. But if you are going to convince Whatcom county residents (liberal or conservative) that this coal port and train activity is good for them. You will have to address the traffic concern. However, I have to agree with one friend who said, "Vancouver B.C. would love the business, if we don't take it, and the trains will pass by anyway." This could be a good talking point. I began to wonder what the true impact of increased rail traffic might be, once these terminals are at peak operation. The first thing to note is that coal trains have been in operation in this area for decades already, as they ship to British Columbia terminals. Other freight trains also run frequently on this route, many of which exceed the overall length of most coal trains, as they deliver freight to terminals all over northern Washington State as well as into BC. The most likely routes for the new rail traffic would be through Spokane, across Washington either via a northerly route or along the Columbia River, and then north up the I-5 corridor. It is important to reiterate that current freight traffic already runs north along the I-5 corridor, all the way to Canada - and as the commenter states, if the coal ends up being shipped to Canada because Washington and Oregon refuse to allow the terminals to be built, Northwest Washington will still have the increased rail traffic with nothing to show for it. But how much excess traffic will there actually be? That appears to have been answered to a certain extent in a report commissioned by the Mayor of Seattle in 2012. In the Coal Train Traffic Impact Study, the introduction states, in part: Coal trains were assumed to be 7,000 feet long in 2015 and are expected to be up to 8,500 feet long in the future. In 2015, 10 total coal train trips (5 round trips) are expected each day, which is approximately one train approximately every 2.4 hours at crossings through Seattle. In 2026, the number of daily trains would increase to 18 total daily trips (9 round trips), which is approximately one train every 1.3 hours.   Overall vehicle queue lengths at railroad crossings vary depending on when trains, including coal trains, arrive in relation to other trains. Freight tr

TAKE ACTION HERE Dear FreedomWorks Member, On behalf of our 4 million activists nationwide and our several-thousand-strong membership in the great state of North Carolina, we urge you to call your state legislator and tell them to support House Bill 298, the Affordable and Reliable Energy Act. This legislation would work to curb the effects of a government energy mandate, the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). Passed in 2007, the RPS forces North Carolinians to begin buying energy from inefficient and unreliable sources handpicked by the government. This began pushing electricity prices higher at the onset of the economic crisis. The qualified sources can often be 3 to 5 times as expensive as conventional energy sources that North Carolinians would use if the government chose not to interfere. Since implementation of the RPS, electricity prices have increased annually at a 33 percent higher rate than years prior to 2007. In the meantime, states without an equivalent of North Carolina’s RPS have seen prices fall by 16 percent. This creates an enormous drag on the economy of North Carolina and reduces the competitiveness of businesses in the state. Over the period of implementation of the RPS law, disposable income in North Carolina is projected to drop by $56.8 million while industrial investment in the state will decrease by $43.2 million. H298, the Affordable and Reliable Energy Act, will allow North Carolina to begin back down the road towards competitiveness in the energy market and the broader economy. North Carolinians deserve the same freedom that the citizens of many other states have: the freedom to purchase the most affordable and reliable energy available to power their homes and businesses. For these reasons, I urge you to call your state representative and encourage them to stand against government mandates, support your economic liberty in the energy market, and support H298, the Affordable and Reliable Energy Act. Sincerely, Matt Kibbe President & CEO FreedomWorks TAKE ACTION and Call the Members of the House Utility Committee here. File Attachments LoS_2013-04-30_-_Support_-_NC_H298_Affordable_and_Reliable_Energy_Act.pdf194.8 KB