Female GOP members of the House explain a few of the provisions within the Republicans’ healthcare plan, and argue that the Democrats’ plan is bad for Americans.

By Laura Smith – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele congratulated new Republican Governor elects, Bob McDonnell for Virginia, and Chris Christie for New Jersey, citing their victories as signs of a “Republican renaissance.”

“The Republican renaissance has begun,” said Steele. “The message was sent yesterday. It’s not about the change we need, it’s about the change we want.”

“As recently as a couple of months ago, Republicans were written off,” Steele added. “Many of you were writing our epitaph.”

He went on to say that independents played an important role Tuesday night, explaining that Republicans won independents 2-1.

“The real heroes last night, who brought home the victory, are the Republicans, Independents and yes, even Democrats, who spoke up against an incredibly arrogant government in Washington that has put our country our freedoms and our economy at risk with unprecedented spending,” he said.

A reporter asked Chairman Steele if he thought the loss of third party conservative candidate Dough Hoffman in New York’s 23rd Congressional district should have been a warning to conservatives that they should back off the local party process. Steele responded, “There should have been, in New York 23, a primary process. There should have been a process that involved something other than having individuals in coordination with the state party make that decision. This is what happens in hot contestant races when you have that type of process in place.”

Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) says that Republicans know that America’s health care system needs reform, but says they don’t agree with the Democrats on how to go about it. (0:14)

 

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Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) says that Republicans want to reform health care without raising taxes or increasing the deficit. (0:19)

 

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Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) accused President Barack Obama of breaking a campaign pledge by not providing sufficient transparency in the formation of health care reform legislation.

“If you remember candidate Obama said ‘when I introduce this health care legislation and we go to negotiate it, we’re going to negoatiate in the open, it’s going to be a transparent process. I’ll even put it on C-SPAN, so the American people can see who’s around the table,”‘ said Westmoreland. (0:30)

 

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By Ravi Bhatia-Talk Radio News Service

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and other Republican Congressmen delivered statements today at the U.S. Capitol opposing the proposed Consumer Finance Protection Agency.

The bill that would lead to its establishment, pushed by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), would create an agency to oversee nearly all facets of consumer lending. The Committee will vote on the bill by the end of the week.

“Increased government regulation isn’t always the answer,” Cantor said. “We need, perhaps, smart regulation, but more [isn’t always] the right solution.”

Supporters of the bill say that the agency will pull together consumer oversight powers scattered among various agencies, making consumer interests a higher priority.

“The new Consumer Financial Protection Agency that I’ve asked Congress to create will have just one mission:  to look out for the financial interests of ordinary Americans,” said President Barack Obama in a statement released Oct. 9. “It will be charged with setting clear rules of the road for consumers and banks, and it will be able to enforce those rules across the board.”

However, the Republicans at today’s briefing are concerned that the agency will concentrate too much power into one organization, or possible even one person.

“What has been proposed by the Democrats is a new consumer finance rationing and design authority,” said Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee. “It gives one person – a credit rationing czar – the right to make all types of decisions. Of all the losers, the greatest loser, if this legislation passes, is going to be small business, because small business [is already] having trouble getting financing.”

UPDATE: By a tally of 32-29, the House Financial Services Committee voted to approve the Consumer Financial Protection Agency on Thursday.

By Ravi Bhatia-Talk Radio News Service

Democratic senators accused their Republican colleagues of becoming “A party of ‘No’” today on Capitol Hill, expressing concern that the right is delaying a bill to extend unemployment benefits for 14 additional weeks to those whose benefits are expiring before 2010.

The bill would add 20 additional weeks of unemployment benefits to citizens in states suffering the highest unemployment rates, such as Rhode Island and Michigan.

“Every state has been hit by this recession, every state is seeing these problems,” Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I) said. “The Republicans have thrown up opposition in terms of requesting a CBO score when we know [the bill] is fully paid for and fully offset. Now they’re delaying passage by offering amendments that have nothing to do with unemployment. Instead of action, they are just simply saying ‘no’.”

Every dollar of unemployment benefits generates $1.60, according to Reed, who later added that the Republicans proposed attaching amendments that relate to ACORN funding and extending the $8,000 real estate tax credit.

Employers pay state and federal unemployment taxes. To pay for the bill, the Democrats proposed extending federal unemployment taxes one more year. Republican senators want the bill to be paid for by other means.

The national unemployment rate has reached 9.8 percent and continues to climb, according to the U.S Deptartment of Labor.

“We don’t need more foreclosures. We need to help folks,” said Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), whose state’s unemployment rate is at 7.6 percent. “And this is the time to do it.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says the Republicans have plans for healthcare like the Democrats. He says he would start with doing something about the serious problem of junk lawsuits against doctors and hospitals, then equalize the tax code and incentivize wellness programs. (0:57)

 

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By Ravi Bhatia, Talk Radio News Service

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed Friday the U.S agenda for the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), touching on issues such as the Obama administration’s missile defense strategy, the conflict in the Middle East, nuclear proliferation and the threat posed by Iran.

While she read her speech at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C., she discussed the “ambitious” intentions of the Obama administration at next week’s UNGA in New York, and alluded to a long term goal of a world “with no nuclear weapons.” While fielding questions, she reflected on the state of American foreign policy today.

“For many years, [the U.S] outsourced our policy and concerns about the nuclear program to others to try to intervene with and persuade Iran to change course,” she said. “So we were on the sidelines…we were just trying to figure out how to get other people to go on the field and deal with this problem and look where we are today. We’re really nowhere.”

Clinton also discussed the Obama administration’s missile defense strategy, which was retooled to focus on defending the United States and its allies in Europe from short and mid-range missile attacks. The strategy rejects the Bush administration’s plan to station interceptors in the Czech Republic and Poland that were intended to stop long-range missiles that the current administration believes Iran does not have. Since Poland and the Czech Republic will no longer have land-based interceptors, the new plan eases pressure on Russia, displeasing some Republican members of Congress upon Obama’s announcement of the strategy on Thursday.

“This decision was not about Russia,” she said. “It was about Iran and the threat its ballistic missile program poses. Because of this position, we believe we will be in a far stronger position to deal with that threat and to do so with technology that works and a higher degree of confidence that what we pledge to do we can actually deliver.”

She later discussed Iran and the repercussions the country must face for not revealing its intentions to the international community for nuclear technology.

“Our concern is not Iran’s right to develop peaceful nuclear energy, but its responsibility to demonstrate that it’s program is intended exclusively for peaceful purposes,” she said. “This is not hard to do. The Iranian government seeks a sense of justice in the world, but stands in the way of the justice it seeks.”

In response to a question from Brookings Institute President Strobe Talbott, Clinton also discussed the U.S. government’s strategy for restructuring the country’s health care policy.

“It’s interesting that what we are proposing is fundamentally so conservative compared with so many of our friends and allies around the world, who do a much better job then we do in covering everybody and keeping costs down,” Clinton said. “And yet some of the political opposition is so overheated. We have to calm down here, take two aspirin, go to bed, think about it in the morning. But I’m optimistic.”

John DuBois, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

A number of Republican Congressmen called upon President to support the a number of other plans as an alternative to a publicly funded health insurance option.

“Mr. President, there are alternatives to a government takeover of healthcare. The American people are rejecting the liberal, big government approach. They don’t want an approach that put’s the government first, they want an approach that put patients first,” said Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.).

Among the plans put forward by Republicans are the Empowering Patients First Act, the Patients’ Choice Act and the Improving Health Care For All Americans Act.

“No less than three dozen health bills have been introduced by Republicans this year,” Rep. Tom Price, MD (R-Ga.) said.

“We hope the President will recognize that and work with us to find common ground,” Price added.