By Marianna Levyash – Talk Radio News Service

House Republicans expressed concern Friday that the Affordable Health Care for All Americans Act contains loopholes which ultimately could provide government-subsidized health care benefits to illegal immigrants.

“It would cost the American tax payer $30.5 billion for people who have illegally come to this country,” said Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.)

Wilson added that according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), 2.5 million more illegal immigrants would benefit from the legislation.

The GOP members wrote amendments fo the House Health Care Reform Bill that would prevent access to health care benefits by these illegal aliens until they proved citizenship. However, the Rules Committee will reportedly not take any more amendments until the House votes.

“There’s a way to fix this…it should be fixed before the vote is taken,” said Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.)

House GOP’ers Say Illegal Immigrants Will Benefit From Democrats’ Health Care Bill

House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.), says President Obama has no one but himself and his administration to blame for the lack of support for the Democrats’ health care proposals. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) says it is time for the Administration and House Democrats to come together with the House Republicans to work out a health care proposal that will work for America. (0:19)

 

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By Laura Woodhead – Talk Radio News Service

The energy and health care proposals currently being debated in Congress will be disastrous for the economy, House Republicans said at a press conference Tuesday. Speaking following the weekly House Republican conference, Rep. Mike Pence (R – Ind.) said that the Democrats seem determined to try and pass their bills despite the negative impact they’ll have on an already challenged economy. If it were to pass, the American Clean Energy Act and the Democrats’ health care plan would be a “disaster for this economy and a disaster for working Americans” he said.

“House Republicans are determined to step forward and demand that this Congress focus on putting this country back on its feet,” Pence added.

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said that there is a strong bi-partisan coalition opposing the current health care proposals.

“Either this bill fails or it changes dramatically,” Cantor said. “If the bill fails it will be because of disagreement among the Democrats as to the proper direction to head as far as health care reform is concerned.”

“This administration, this President has no one else to blame,” he added. “What they ought to be doing is coming to work with us in order to reflect a much more reasoned approach to try and accomplish health care for the American people.”

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio.) said that the “President is going to begin his barnstorming” on bills that will kill jobs.

“The stimulus bill isnt working, they bring along this health care bill that will cost 5 million jobs, and they bring this cap and trade bill up last month that will cost us 2.5 million jobs each year for the next ten years. This is not what the American people want.”

Boehner called on President Obama to abandon current health care proposals and negotiate with Republicans in order to achieve economically feasible health care reform.

“Mr President, it’s time to scrap this bill. It’s time to start working in a bi-partisan way,” he said.

By Aaron Richardson – Talk Radio News Service

A group of House Republicans called out Democrats on Thursday, blaming them for passing a stimulus package that according to the Republicans, hasn’t yet turned our nation’s economy around.

Republicans Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Tom Price (R-Ga.), Chris Lee (R-NY), Lynn Jenkins (R-Ks.), Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.) and Steve Austria (R-Ohio) took turns bashing the stimulus plan at a press conference aimed specifically at pointing out the missteps of the Democratic majority.

“We are facing a situation where you have a very out of touch administration and majority who don’t realize the fiscal mess that they’re putting us into; but I can assure you the people of my district are extremely frustrated and want them to stop this reckless spending,” said Rep. Lee.

Rep. Price held specific Democrats responsible for the recent loss of jobs, and explained how the current economic downturn will affect Americans in the near future.

“Is this what the Speaker had in mind when she shackled our children and our grand children to this experiment in big government economics?” Price asked.

Rep. Jenkins took swipes at the Democratic majority as well; “Since January this Congress and administration has taken us in the wrong direction. They’ve gone on an unprecedented spending spree with your tax dollars. From numerous bailouts, to the near trillion dollar stimulus,to the natural energy tax, Kansans are saying enough is enough,” said the Kansas Republican.

By Joseph Russell- Talk Radio News Service
Leading House Republicans warned that the Democrats health care agenda harms all Americans because it sacrifices millions of jobs while at the same time creating billions of dollars in tax hikes.

“The 852 pages of the Democrat health care plan,” Boehner said during a press conference Wednesday, “is a complete government takeover of our health care system, which is going to lead to higher taxes, rationing, and lower quality in our healthcare system.”

Health care is not the only concern of the Republicans. Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) introduced the American Energy Act, an alternative to a cap-and-trade national energy tax, arguing “the president himself said that utility rates would quote ‘necessarily skyrocket’ . . . as utility rates rose that those would be passed along to consumers.”

At this point, House Republicans believe they are well positioned, claiming that the Democrats do not have enough votes to pass either their health care or energy agendas. Boehner said House Republicans are “encouraged” that their Senate colleagues are standing-up to this “bizarre notion” of a government run health care system.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) waded into presidential politics criticizing the Bush administration’s policies as Republican are casting themselves of agents of change. “It’s difficult to understand how somebody who voted with the administration 90 percent of the time can project themselves as an agent of change,” he said in reference to Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain. Hoyer criticized job growth saying , “It’s been one of the slowest eight years in recent history. You’d have to go back to the Hoover administration to see worse…” He also compared the job growth numbers in the last eight months of the Clinton administration with those of the past year.

He said that a comprehensive energy bill in the House is a possibility in the upcoming week. The House Republicans have been clamoring for their “All of the Above” energy bill to be brought to the floor since the session adjourned in August. One of the principle complaints has been the moratorium of new oil and natural gas drilling offshore. Hoyer said that the Republicans have been passing moratorium language for the last eight years without striking it in conference.

Hoyer said he had spoken with the Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson about the government take over of the mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Hoyers said that he agreed that this action was a necessary one at this point and time.

“Let out people go,” entreated Rep Joe Barton (R-Tex.) former chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Barton was speaking at a press conference on the fifth day of Republican grandstanding in the House of Representative. Barton and Republican Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who returned from his district for the event, called on the Democratic leadership to call the House back into session for debate on the American Energy Act, a bill which the Republicans call their “all of the above” energy solution. Minority leader John Boeher (R-Ohio) has called for this “revolt” to last up until the tart of the Democratic National Convention.

The members which included, Representatives Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Steve Scalise (R-La.) pointed out statements made by Democratic members of the House calling for a vote on energy legislation, particularly to for votes on expanded drilling measures. Blunt said that the group will be sending letters to every member of the Democratic caucus asking that they return from August recess to debate and vote on energy legislation.

The Republicans will get a vote on off shore drilling sooner or later, as the Congressional ban on offshore drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf expires Sept. 30 of 2008. Blunt said that if the ban where to expire on that date “fuel prices will head back down October 1st.” Blunt also said that threats of a government shutdown by opposing a continuing resolution were dependent on whether legislation to renew bans on off shore and oil shale drilling are included.

Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Texas) called the Democratic leadership the “very best friend OPEC has in the entire world,” accusing House Democrats of funding “both sides” of the war on terror by standing in the way of opening up more U.S. territory for oil exploration.

House Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam (R-Fla.) said in a pen and pad briefing that the focus this week for House Republicans has been on short and long term solutions to make energy more secure. He says Americans recognize that Washington, D.C. is “broken” because they are paying 1.50 dollars more than they were at the beginning of the 110th Congress. (more…)