Dems React To Boehner's Resistance On China Bill

By Adrianna McGinley

House Republicans must schedule a vote on a bill addressing Chinese currency manipulation, said Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) and other House Democrats on Tuesday.

The House Ways and Means Committee ranking Democrat and other supporters of the bill said the legislation would create jobs in the U.S.

“There’s been no jobs legislation that has come out of the Republican majority here,” Levin said. “This is a jobs bill, and it is coming over most certainly from the Senate, and so the question will be whether the House leadership will let us vote on it. They know if it comes up for a vote, it will pass.”

Democrats who spoke took issue with House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) assertion that the bill would be “dangerous” for Congress to take up.

“This is a message from the Republican party, from Speaker Boehner, to all those small and medium size manufacturers all across the industrial Midwest that your help…is dead on arrival,” said Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio). “The Republican party no longer represents the small and medium size manufacturer.”

Levin said his years of experience in trade dismiss concerns from critics who say the bill could lead to a “trade war” with China. Levin said American businesses are already on an uneven playing field with the industrial powerhouse.

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) heavily criticized Republicans for not acting on the bill, saying they are inhibiting economic recovery.

“They don’t want Barack Obama to have one bit of success,” said the ranking member of the House Trade Subcommittee. “They will do anything to our economy in order to prevent him from having any lessening of the unemployment rate in this country.”

Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) agreed, saying Congress not only needs to act on this bill, but also on the president’s jobs bill, and he urged reporters to ask Republicans “why won’t you take up the job creation bills?”

Bipartisan Legislation Aimed At Ending Medicare Fraud

By Sarah Mamula - Talk Radio News Service

At Tuesday's House Ways and Means Committee hearing, new legislation aimed at resolving the estimated $60 billion of annual Medicare fraud was introduced by Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.). The Medicare Fraud Enforcement and Prevention Act would double criminal penalties to a maximum ten year prison sentence and up to $50,000 in fines.

“Criminals have decided that building a Medicare fraud scam is far safer than dealing in crack or dealing in stolen cars, and it’s far more lucrative,” said Lewis Morris, Chief Counsel to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). “Right now, it’s a good bet that you can take millions from us, and chances are, you’re not going to get caught.”

Klein criticized the “pay-and-chase” philosophy currently in place that gives room for criminals to succeed in obtaining money before law enforcement officials can make an arrest.

“One of the biggest flaws in our system is the unnecessary periods of time in which a potentially fraudulent claim is submitted, and when the proper law enforcement agency is alerted,” the Florida Democrat said.

If passed, Klein said new technology will be created and used to implement more strict pre-screening policies and a program using biometric measures will be piloted to “ensure that Medicare beneficiaries are physically present to receive services.”

“Our Medicare Fraud Enforcement and Prevention Act will provide badly needed reform to the Medicare system,” said Ros-Lehtinen. "We will soon restore our seniors' peace of mind and trust."

Democratic Party Not In Crisis, Health Care Bill Will Satisfy Members, Says Pelosi

By Sofia Sanchez
University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Despite the fact that the recently-resigned head of the House Ways and Means Committee and his possible replacement are both engulfed in controversy, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) downplayed any concerns that she may be leading a party in crisis.

“I feel very strong, we have been very effective in terms of passing the full Obama agenda in 2009. The House Democrats stepped up to the plate," said Pelosi on Thursday.

The Speaker said she and other top Democrats in the House have put the scandal involving Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) -- who earlier this week, after being found guilty by an ethics committee of accepting corporate junkets to the Caribbean, announced that he would be taking a temporary leave from his chairmanship of the tax writing committee -- “behind us." Pelosi promised that work on health care reform and a jobs bill would continue to be a top priority for the House.

“Our members are strong, and they know that we have to be stronger on our message as to what it is we’ve done,” she said. “We have a new chairman of the Ways and Means committee, that is a big change.”

Pelosi, however, was not referring to Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), the number two on the committee before Rangel stepped down. Stark, who has also faced ethics inquiries in the past, announced on Thursday that he would decline the job of committee chair, deferring to the committee's number three person Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.).

When asked if she still intended to honor her 2006 pledge to preside over the most ethical Congress in history, Pelosi responded by saying, “the public trust will always be honored.”

On healthcare reform, Pelosi said she was optimistic that she had the votes necessary to pass the bill in the House.

“I feel very confident that the up or down vote on the majority rule proposal that will come to the House will satisfy Members' concerns about the Senate bill…This is not about doing health care reform under reconciliation. This is about doing corrections to the Senate bill under reconciliation. The bulk of the bill, 75 to 80 percent of it, is already in the Senate bill."

House Republicans Uneasy With Direction Of Health Care Reform

By Annie Berman-Talk Radio News Service

During a hearing with the House Ways and Means Committee Wednesday, House Republicans expressed major qualms over how the formation of the upcoming health reform legislation has progressed.

"I'm very concerned and I think what many of us are struggling with today is that we don't have the facts on this bill,” said Rep. Geoff Davis (R-Ky.) “We have been told that this will likely be our only hearing and we are talking about entirely changing the framework of healthcare in America with no debate of any substance.”

Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), the Committee’s ranking member, stated that in order for Congress to act responsibly, the members would need to know more vital facts concerning the bill.

“We need to know the price tag of this bill if we are going to do our jobs: write a bill our country can afford that will guarantee every American has access to affordable, quality health care.”

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) blasted the new health care plan for resembling the current Medicaid program, stating that he believes that most people on Medicaid are unhappy with the program.

“I have a lot of citizens in my district who are on Medicaid, and for the life of me, I can't understand why we would want to make more people eligible for Medicaid...I don't have anyone that I know of that likes being on Medicaid." Nunes said.

The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to remain in session past 5:30 Wednesday evening. Witnesses representing insurance companies are slated to testify at the hearing’s end.

Today at Talk Radio News

The Washington Bureau is covering The House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on "Preventing Stimulus Waste and Fraud: Who Are the Watchdogs?", Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) weekly press conference, and the Save Darfur Coalition.

Talk Radio News is also covering the House Ways and Means Committee Oversight Subcommittee hearing on the "Troubled Asset Relief Program: Oversight of Federal Borrowing and the Use of Federal Monies," the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce (USMCOC) 13th Annual U.S.-Mexico Border Issues conference, and the Center for American Progress (CAP) discussion on "Sustainable Security in Afghanistan Requires Sweeping U.S. Policy Overhaul."