Panel Argues Suits Against Health Reform Lack Substance

By Kyle LaFleur - Talk Radio News Service

A panel discussion between activists from the Center for American Progress, Washington and Lee University and the National Senior Law Center focused their thoughts on lawsuits filed by Florida and Virginia state Attorneys General against the Obama Administration’s Affordable Care Act.

Tim Jost of Washington and Lee University Law School spoke on the Florida case which, in part, accuses the the health reform provision mandating Americans to acquire insurance coverage by 2014 to be unconstitutional.

“Basically it says that if you can afford health insurance, if you don’t have a religious objection to it, if you’re not otherwise insured, if you been insured for more then three months and if it wouldn’t otherwise work a hardship on you, you would have to buy a very basic insurance policy,” said Jost. “This is something I think every responsible person should do and it’s a little bit hard to understand why the states find this such a terrible provision.” 

Virginia, according to Jost, has its own statute and claims that the individual mandate is not enforceable.  

“Under our federal system, under the Supremacy Clause, if the statute is constitutional then it’s enforceable in Virginia.  The state can’t nullify a federal law, we fought a war over that and the federal government won,” said Jost.  

The federal government tried to dismiss the Virginia case in August but the court found that Virginia had a plausible claim with an arguable legal basis. The case is being briefed on summary judgement and oral arguments over these judgements will begin at the Justice Department Monday.  

“To quote the case ‘It will certainly not be the final word’,” said Jost.  

Poll Shows Underdog Trails In 2010 Florida Senate Race

By Leah Valencia, The University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service

A poll commissioned by Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) showed that he trails Gov. Charlie Crist (R-Fla.) in the race for the state’s Senate seat by a margin of 47-31 percent.

According to the Sept. 23-28 poll of 800 likely Florida voters, 47 percent said they believe Crist is doing a good job, but only 27 percent say they are certain to vote for him on election day.

Crist’s public support has recently declined and many Florida voters have claimed that he is putting his own personal ambition ahead of his state by running for Senate mid-term.

Meek's campaign is trying to capitalize on Crist’s vulnerability, saying that Florida voters can be swayed and that, given his background of service, Meek has a good chance of winning.

During a press briefing hosted by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on Wednesday, Meek said he plans to gain momentum with the support of notable Democrats such as former President Bill Clinton and Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) in his corner.

“I will be a stronger and stronger David in this David-versus-Goliath battle,’’ Meek said.

More Physicians Needed For Health Care Reform

By Aaron Richardson and Sam Wechsler - Talk Radio News Service

The Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2009, which has recently been introduced to the House and Senate, would raise the cap on the number of resident physicians created by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. The bill is backed primarily by Representatives Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) and Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 only permits a certain number of Medicare supported resident physicians in each state. Under current conditions, if a hospital hires more than the capped number they will not be paid back for the surplus of residents.

While the population of the country has risen significantly in the last 12 years, the amount of resident physicians has not. This has resulted in a higher patient to physician ratio.

If health reform legislation is passed, then there will not be enough physicians to care for the newly insured. “Covering 45 million uninsured individuals is going to place an incredible burden on an already stressed out system,” said Crowley.

The act sets out to increase the number of young primary care physicians. This is especially important to Florida, where 25 percent of primary care physicians are 65 years of age or older.

“I believe this is a health access crisis” said Stephen Klasko, Dean of the University of South Florida College of Medicine, during a press conference with Castor and Crowley.

Unemployment high in March, Officials say

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

A day after President Barack Obama's budget was passed by a Congress boiling with partisanship, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report showing unemployment at its highest since 1983. There are now 13.2 million Americans out of work.

The pouring rain in Washington mirrored the sobered mood in the room, as the Joint Economic Committee heard the testimony of Keith Hall, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

March was one of the worst Months on record for unemployment, and when asked outright, Hall told the committee that there were no "bright spots" in the report.

National unemployment climbed to 8.5 percent in March, rising from the level of 8.1 percent in February and 7.6 percent in January.

Hall said that two-thirds of the job loss has happened in the past 5 months. Every state is in recession for the first time in 30 years, according to Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).

Official unemployment numbers do not encompass underemployed Americans or those who have officially left the workforce. It is reported that 16 percent of the country is out of work or underemployed. One in four of those unemployed have been out of work for more than six months, and of those, half have been looking for work for over a year, Hall said.

Maloney highlighted that last month, 8,000 jobs were lost in the news publishing industry. Those losses total 70,000 job cuts since Dec. 2007, Hall said, adding that most job losses have been see in the manufacturing, construction, and temporary services industries. The only area to see any growth in March was the Healthcare industry, Hall said.

Ranking Committee member Senator Sam Brownback (R-KA) noted that the impact of the ongoing recession was not severe for almost a year after it began in December 2007. Brownback attributed recent dramatic jumps in job losses over the past five months to the lockup in the credit markets and the government bailouts that followed.

The Federal Reserve believes that unemployment will peak at 8.8 percent this year, but Ranking House Committee Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) said that the unemployment rate is already higher than what the administration anticipated for 2009. Brady said that the Obama Administration's "optimistic assumptions" would not get the country out of its current mess.

President Obama’s Economic Stimulus package was passed by Congress earlier this year, and saw an unprecedented amount of money placed into public works meant to put people back to work. Obama has pledged the legislation will save or create three to four million jobs over the next two years.

Read the report here: Bureau of Labor Statistics Report

Miller: Middle class will suffer under the Obama budget

By Suzia van Swol-Talk Radio News Service, University of New Mexico
Congressman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) talks with TRNS correspondent Suzia van Swol at the 2009 House Republican Radio Row about the budget and federal spending. He says that we need to get taxes under control and that the best way to do that is with a fair tax. Miller says that even though the American middle class is making sacrifices now, they won't even know sacrifice until the President gets this budget passed and he tries to start funding some of the issues that are in it. (9:41)