As Their Policies Fail In Washington, Obama And Biden Head To Miami To Make It Rain

Obama In Miami Today, Biden In Miami On Thursday To Fundraise For Democrat Congressional Candidates.“Obama is expected to visit Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville on Monday before headlining a fundraiser Monday night in Miami for congressional Democrats … Two days after Obama’s visit, Vice President Joe Biden is holding fundraisers in Miami and West Palm Beach.” (Leslie Clark and Beth Reinhard, “Obama’s Next Florida Visit Won’t Be Featuring Gov. Charlie Crist,” The Miami Herald, 10/20/09)

BUT OBAMA’S STIMULUS HASN’T BEEN GOOD FOR FLORIDA, OR THE REST OF THE COUNTRY

After Passing $787 Billion Stimulus In February, Over 2.6 Million American Jobs Lost, Unemployment Grows To 9.8 Percent. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 10/2/09)

• Since Stimulus Passed, Florida Has Lost Over 196,000 Jobs. (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics Website,www.bls.gov, Accessed 10/23/09)

• Since Stimulus Passed, Miami Area Has Lost Over 17,000 Jobs.  (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,www.bls.gov, Accessed 10/22/09)

And Obama’s Chief Economist Admits Stimulus Has Already Had Its “Biggest Impact” On Economy. ”A top White House economist says spending from the $787 billion economic stimulus has already had its biggest impact on economic growth and will likely not contribute to significant expansion next year. Christina Romer, the chair of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, said … the $194 billion already spen t gave a jolt to the economy that contributed to growth in the second and third quarters of the year.” (Jim Kuhnhenn, “Romer: Impact Of Stimulus Will Level Off,” The Associated Press, 10/22/09)

AND THEIR GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE EXPERIMENT WOULD HURT FLORIDA’S SENIORS

House Democrats’ Tri-Committee Bill Includes Over $500 Billion In Total Cuts To Medicare Over 10 Years. “The House bill - the congressional proposal that has advanced the most - would reduce projected increases in Medicare payments to providers by more than $500 billion over 10 years, a gross cut of about 7 percent over the period.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Seniors Uneasy Over Medicare Cuts In Overhaul,” The Associated Press, 7/30/09)

• Senate Democrats’ Bill Includes $404 Billion In Cuts To Medicare And Medicaid. (Congressional Budget Office, “Letter to Chairman Max Baucus,” 10/7/09)

Medicare Cuts Could Make Hospitals Refuse Seniors. ”[L]awmakers are on track to approve across-the-board federal payment reductions of $155 billion over 10 years for hospitals … Mayo and similar health systems object to the sweeping cuts. ‘Across-the-board cuts will be harmful to everyone and we think it is particularly bad to penalize the high-value organizations,’ said Jeff Korsmo, executive director of the Mayo Clinic Health Policy Center. ‘We will have to violate our values in order to stay in business and reduce our access to government patients.’” (Phil Galewitz, “‘Model’ Health Systems Press Case For Medicare Fix In Reform,” Kaiser Health News, 7/20/09)

Seniors On Medicare Advantage Would See Benefits Cut In Half. SEN. MIKE CRAPO (R-ID): “So approximately half of the additional benefit would be lost to those current Medicare Advantage policy holders.” ELMENDORF: “Those who would be enrolled otherwise under current law, yes…” SEN. CRAPO: “So the current plan holders would recognize about half the benefits that they see under today under the current law.” ELMEN DORF: “Yes, that’s right.” (Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) And CBO Director Douglas W. Elmendorf, Senate Finance Committee Markup Hearing, 9/22/09)

Payment Cuts To Cardiologists Could “Threaten Access” To Heart Treatments Seniors Need. ”Medicare officials recently proposed changes that could increase payments for some primary care services but reduce payments to many specialists. Cardiologists would be especially hard hit, with cuts of more than 20 percent in payments for electrocardiograms and 12 percent for heart stent procedures. ‘Cuts of this magnitude could cripple cardiology practices and threaten access to services for millions of patients,’ said Dr. John C. Lewin, chief executive of the American College of Cardiology.” (Robert Pear, “A Basis Is Seen For Some Health Plan Fears Among The Elderly,” The New York Times, 8/20/09)

WILL FLORIDA DEMS KEEP THEIR PROMISES AND VOTE WITH THEIR CONSTITUENTS,

OR VOTE WITH THEIR CAMPAIGN COFFERS?

Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL) Concerned Obama’s Experiment Won’t Lower Costs, Increase Deficits. ”I always have been committed to fiscal responsibility, and I am concerned independent analysis shows that no bill before Congress does enough to lower costs over the long-term while being deficit neutral.” (Alex Leary, “Kosmas Treads Carefully On Health Care,” The St. Petersburg Times’s “The Buzz” Blog, 8/9/09)

• Obama’s HHS Economists Say His Experiment Will Increase Health Care Costs. ”The additional demand for health services could be difficult to meet initially with existing health provider resources and could lead to price increases, cost-shifting and/or changes in providers’ willingness to treat patients with low-reimbursement health coverage …” (Richard Alonso-Zaldivar, “US Health Care Tab Would Grow Under Overhaul,” The Associated Press, 10/21/09)

• New Version Of House Dems’ Bill Would Shift Deficits To States, “Meaning Already-Strapped Governors Would Have To Pick Up More Of The Cost Of Reform.” “The cheaper version would rely heavily on a more dramatic expansion of Medicaid, the government health plan for the poor that is funded partly by the states — meaning already-strapped governors would have to pick up more of the cost of reform.” (Lori Montgomery, “CBO Estimates house Health Bill At $905B Or Less,” The Washington Post’s “Capitol Briefing” Blog , 10/16/09)

Rep. Allen Boyd (D-FL) Says Obama “Wants To Do Too Much At Once,” Wants To Start Over With Incremental Approach. ”When a questioner, Ray Evans, said he believed the President wants to do too much at once and asked whether Boyd would ‘be willing to scrap everything’ and start over to do pursue reform more incrementally, the congressman responded: ‘I think that is an excellent idea … we may end up there.’” (Kevin Bohn, “Blue Dog: ‘Excellent Idea’ To Start Over On Health Care Reform,” CNN’s “Political Ticker” Blog, 8/17/09)

• Boyd’s Approach Long Embraced By Republicans To Make Common Sense Reforms. “McConnell called for Congress ‘to step back, start over and think about incremental changes’ to the health care system and warned against Democrats using procedural maneuvers to ram through their version without Republican support.” (Mitch Weiss & Laurie Kellman, “GOP Health Care Road Show: McConnell, McCain,” The Associated Press, 9/1/09)

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) Pledged To Not Vote For Bill That Increased Middle-Class Taxes. “[Grayson] pledged not to vote for any bill that put a new tax burden on average Americans, adding that at this point, a key House bill called only for those making more than $350,000 to see a 1 percent increase in tax rates.” (David Damron and Willoughby Mariano, “Alan Grayson Hosts Town Hall Meeting In Orlando,” The Orlando Sentinel, 8/18/09)

• Americans Earning Less Than $200,000 To See Tax Increases Under Obama’s Experiment. ”You asked about the proposal for the tax on individuals without acceptable health care coverage.  And, it’s a tax on the individual’s wages over an AGI threshold.  And, the AGI threshold says, I pointed out this morning, in 2009, would be $18,700 on a joint return, $9,350 on an individual r eturn.  So, yes, one would have to say that there would be taxes on individuals with adjusted gross income less than $200,000 in that circumstance.” (Thomas Barthold, Deputy Chief Of Staff Of The Joint Committee On Taxation, House Ways And Means Committee,Testimony, 7/16/09)

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 OBAMA, BIDEN HOSTING FUNDRAISERS IN FLORIDA THIS WEEK

Tags: Biden, fundraising, Obama

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