COVID-19 & Healthcare

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The TanMan, Weeper of the House John Boehner, and his Tea-Publican
controled 112th Congress was "a very bad, no good, terrible Congress." 14 reasons why this is the worst Congress ever – Washington Post. The current 113th Congress is on pace to become the least productive Congress in history, having passed just 22 bills sent to President Obama before going home on August recess  — the fewest number in history.

The current 113th Congress is also the "hardly working" Congress. I have posted the House calendar before, but check out where things stand right now: Congress is taking a five week August recess and has scheduled only nine days in September before the fiscal year ends on September 30. Nine "working" days to avoid a government shutdown and the GOP hostage taking threat to default on the debt ceiling unless Democrats agree to their extortionary hostage demand to defund or repeal "ObamaCare." Does anyone seriously believe that this failed Congress is up to the task? We are headed for a trainwreck folks.

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

…Consistently *dishonest*, but consistent nonetheless…

The
Republican/corporate opposition to health care reform (HCR), known as
Obamacare, has a three-step strategy for generating public opposition to
HCR:

Step 1.  Lie.

Step 2.  Lie some more..

Step
3.  If steps 1 and 2 don't produce a satisfactory amount of public
opposition to health care insurance coverage for the vast majority of
Americans, lie even more.

 

The latest (renewed) GOPer lie "talking point" is to claim that Congress is "exempt" from the provisions.

Dranias is a senior operative at the corporate lobbying firm
"free market think tank", while the person who retweeted Dranias'
updates, Antenori, is one of the leaders of efforts to turn back
Medicaid restoration via the ballot.

The story that Dranias links to, from Politico.com, is here.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The TanMan, Weeper of the House John Boehner, the GOP "leader" who has lost control of his Tea-Publican caucus and cannot muster the votes from his own caucus to pass the "easy" appropriations bills like the agriculture bill GOP push to slash foodstamps puts farm bill in jeopardy, and the transportation and housing bill House
Republicans pull spending measure, focus on bills to embarrass White
House, is instead wasting the limited time of Congress on more symbolic votes directed at the GOP crazy base and the conservative media entertainment complex, and fundraising for GOP candidates. Recess-bound House votes to gut Obama health care law for 40th time:

Capping a legislative work period more noted for what it failed to
pass than for what it completed, the House voted for the 40th time on
Friday to repeal President Barack Obama's health care reform law before
heading home for a five week recess.

The GOP-controlled House voted to approve a measure to prevent the IRS from enforcing “Obamacare” in a 232-185 vote.

The legislation faces virtually no chance of advancing in the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.

By
most measures, Friday's vote marked the 40th time that Republicans have
voted to gut the national health care overhaul, which was signed into
law in March 2010.

Posted  by AzBlueMeanie:

The moral depravity of the House GOP "farm bill" continues to be exposed. The New York Times today has a pair of shocking headlines. The first, Millions in U.S. Subsidies Go to Dead Farmers:

The federal government pays millions of dollars in farm subsidies each
year to farmers who have died, because the Agriculture Department lacks
the proper controls to make sure the money it sends is going to the
right people, a government audit has found.

The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress,
said the problem involved several agencies within the department.

* * *

Controls over crop insurance, in particular, have been questioned after
government investigators found a huge fraud ring last year in North
Carolina that for decades siphoned over $100 million from the program.
The fraud ring involved insurance agents, adjusters, farmers and dozens
of others.

* * *

The findings were released as the House and the Senate prepared to meet
to work out their differences on a farm bill that would greatly expand
some subsidies, like crop insurance. The report raises questions about
the ability of the Agriculture Department to monitor the programs for
waste, fraud and abuse.