GOP Governors Say Health Care Reform Does Not Fit All States

By Anna Cameron

Governors Gary Herbert (R-Utah), Deval Patrick (D-Mass.) and Haley Barbour (R-Miss.) explained to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Tuesday how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is affecting Medicaid and healthcare reform in their respective states.

Though Patrick defended the PPACA, he emphasized the necessity of a sustained commitment to reducing the cost of health care nation-wide. Noting that the government of Massachusetts continues to work hard to reduce system costs, Patrick praised the PPACA for providing several helpful tools utilized to facilitate the process.

“The Affordable Care Act actually supports our efforts to bring down costs. We are using the authority of the national reform to develop guidelines and incentives,” said Patrick. “[It] is helping us coordinate care for individuals who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare and thereby bring cost savings to the Medicare program.”

As a result of its market-based, hybrid system similar to that of the Affordable Care Act, Massachusetts provides more than 98 percent of its residents with coverage, including 99.8 percent of its children.

Governors Herbert and Barbour remained disenfranchised with the federal requirements instituted by the PPACA, reiterating their shared belief that “what is good for one state, isn’t necessarily good for another.”

“Different states have different problems [and] ideas,” Barbour told the Committee. “While you may not believe this,…we love our constituents just as much as [you] do and we want to do right for them. But we want to do what we can afford and sustain.

Proposing greater flexibility in Medicaid management, Barbour and Herbert emphasized the program cuts and tax hikes that would occur in their states based on the rising costs they expect to result from PPACA provisions. Herbert referred to the current relationship between the states and the federal government as “a partnership that is one sided and puts the states in a subservient role.”

“I emphasize that real health care reform…will arise from the states, the laboratories of democracy, not from the ‘one size fits all’ approach proposed by the federal government,” Herbert said.

Ex CIA Director: Mubarak's Ouster Offers "Great Hope" For Future

By Anna Cameron

Former CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden said Wednesday that recent events in the Arab world, particularly the revolution in Egypt, represent instances of “great hope” in long-term counterterrorism efforts.

“Here is a vision for the future, for particularly the Arab Islamic world, that has nothing to do with al Qaeda’s vision for the future,” Hayden said of the Egyptian protests. “It is not some view of transcendental religion descending upon man and directing all action. It is empowerment from people through popular choice.”

Though the United States has been effective in tracking and eliminating threats that come from those already committed to executing terrorist attacks, Hayden stressed the importance of improving the identification of new threats and sources of terrorist recruitment.

“We have to deal with the long battle that has to do with the production rate of people who want to come kill us,” Hayden said. “These changes give us the opportunity.”

Notable counterterrorism experts Captain Glenn Sulmasy of the U.S Coast Guard Academy, and Marc Thiessen, chief speechwriter to both President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, appeared alongside Hayden Wednesday to discuss a new counterterrorism agenda for Congress.

While Hayden highlighted the parallels between the Bush and Obama administrations in terms of counterterrorism policy, all three panelists emphasized the need for reform in Congress’ approach to an “intelligence driven war on al Qaeda.”

“We seem to be in a position where we are not capturing high value detainees. This is a conscious choice by the president to kill rather than capture senior terrorist leaders,” said Thiessen. “Our time for dining out on the successes of the Bush administration’s interrogation policy under the Obama administration is [running out]. We need to start replenishing that strategic intelligence or we’re going to get hit.”

Senate Dems On Board With White House's "Win The Future" Plan

By Anna Cameron

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and fellow Senate Democrats endorsed President Barack Obama’s plan for the 2012 budget Wednesday and articulated their support for the White House’s “Win the Future” initiative.

“Winning the future is about making smart choices, [cutting] waste and excess, creating jobs and keeping America competitive,” said Reid. “We also need to live within our means. That means reducing government spending and cutting the deficit.”

The Democratic initiative pledges to invest responsibly in order to cut the deficit, continue a commitment to innovation so that America remains a leader in global technology, work to strengthen the areas of manufacturing and infrastructure to promote growth, and strive to reform schools and build a skilled and competitive workforce.

Senate leaders Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) joined Reid.

“In order to win the future, we have to make smart investments in our workforce. We can and we will out-educate our global competitors and build a highly skilled workforce for the 21st century,” said Murray.

Reiterating a strong commitment to deficit reduction, Senate Democrats also stressed the importance of responsibility rather than recklessness in regard to spending cuts.

“Republicans want to cut everything,” warned Durbin. “They ought to focus on the things that really aren’t the highest priority. When it comes to the future, innovation is our highest priority.”

Though differences in opinion between Republicans and Democrats remain apparent, Reid noted the value of Obama’s budget proposal as a necessary starting point. The Majority Leader indicated that the two parties were “trying hard” to work in a bipartisan manner, despite contrasting positions.

Hoyer Slams GOP's Budget Plan, Calls For Bipartisan Cooperation

By Anna Cameron

House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) criticized House Republicans Tuesday, stating that their proposed spending bill is “not a formula for success.”

Hoyer emphasized the detrimental effects that the Republican spending bill would have on growth and job creation. The bill would cut jobs for policemen, firefighters and Head Start employees, reduce funding for science and energy research, halt projects to improve infrastructure and slash Pell Grant award dollars.

“We need to out-educate the competition and focus on growing the economy,” said Hoyer. “Democrats believe that we need to bring the deficit under control..[in a way] that does not undermine recovery.”

According to Hoyer, President Obama’s budget makes “tough and careful” choices, while freezing spending in certain areas over a five year period, rather than employing the “slash and burn” tactics that have been attributed to Republicans.

Emphasizing the importance of bipartisan cooperation in servicing the national debt, Hoyer called on House Republicans to work with the president to address the entire spectrum of spending.

“It takes two to reach an agreement, [and] we are prepared to compromise,” said Hoyer. “None of us can stomp our foot and say ‘this way or no way’.”

Final votes on the legislation are expected Thursday afternoon, though Hoyer expressed skepticism as there are 400 amendments up for debate. Although House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has stressed the importance of “open-rule” in the legislative process, Hoyer was unsure as to how the proceedings would follow.

“I am interested in seeing the process play out,” Hoyer said.

Dems Rebuke GOP Budget Proposals As Devastating To Workers

By Anna Cameron

House Democratic leaders spoke out Tuesday against Republican attacks on President Obama’s 2012 budget blueprint, saying GOP budget proposals would be counterproductive.

According to Democrats, Republican budget proposals would be detrimental to Obama’s mission to “out-educate, out-innovate, and out-build the rest of the world,” by eliminating thousands of jobs and deregulating institutions like Wall Street.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) said Republican budget proposals would “decimate the opportunities that people have to be retrained and obliterate the prospect of jobs with…cutting, not surgically, strategically and effictively like the president.., but randomly and at the expense of the American worker.”

Making manifest the stark contrast between the president’s “tough love” budget and anticipated Republican proposals, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) warned against the several “draconian” measures supported by House Republicans in regards to deficit reduction.

“The President cuts the deficit without doing violence to essential investments in our economy and the future, unlike what we’re going to see today…from our Republican colleagues,” said Van Hollen. “[These] are slashing cuts that will hurt the economy when it is still in a very fragile state, and put Americans out of work. That is why the bipartisan commission charged with deficit and debt reduction warned against deep and immediate cuts right now.”

Democrats also chastised the GOP for its continued inaction in regards to job creation. According to House Democrats, almost one third of cuts would come in the areas of labor, education, and health services, causing thousands of police officers, firefighters and Head Start employees to lose their jobs.

“The question to Republicans today, when you contrast what the president is doing in his budget with what [they] are proposing,…is “where are my jobs?” - that is what Americans will be asking,” said Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.). “You can campaign on one thing, but the facts are really difficult things to hide…I believe that Republicans will now have to face up to the facts and they will have to respond to what Americans are asking.”