Tag: Lobbyists

Who Speaks For The People?

Here a lobbyist……there a lobbyist….everywhere are lobbyists.  Another group that tries to be a voice of us mortals that no one else will listen to in the political arena…..

We have ex-politicians making millions while acting as the voice of big oil or manufacturing or financial services, etc…….they all have a voice in Congress.  But what about the people that elect these semi-literate thugs we have as representatives?  That means….YOU!

Who speaks for you?  If you think your local politician does then you are sadly mistaken or just outright naive……..under a perfect governance the representatives we send to Washington would be our voices……so much for perfection, huh?

Ever hear of PACMEN?  No not the 80’s electronic game….but rather……..

Turns out a there’s a political action committee that fights against the influence of political action committees and doesn’t rake in the corporate donations.

PACMEN, or “People Against the Corporate Manipulation of Elections and News,” was started earlier this year by Massachusetts residents Jeromie Whalen and Scott Bloomberg, the duo behind the website WhatTheFuckHaveUnionsDoneSoFar.com.

The PACMEN’s websitedescribes the group as run by “regular, everyday, non-billionaire, non-lobbyist, people” who “are fighting against two problems that we consider to be at the root of many other problems in the United States,” the “Corporate Manipulation of Elections” and the “Corporate Manipulation of News.”Citing Karl Rove’s group American Crossroads, the PACMEN write that that “system has created a fundamental shift in who holds the power in our political process. When elections are decided by billionaires and corporations, it is an injustice to the will of the people.”

Unfortunately, I doubt just how effective they can be…..after all they are fighting an uphill battle with little cash and their opponents have an almost unlimited amount of money to throw at politicians and buy lots of friends and influence……but at least they are trying….more than I can say for our Congress!  Maybe if we can get enough of groups like this…..eventually someone in Washington will begin to listen…..I know a dream…..but what the Hell?

Money Well Spent!

Today is the BIG health summit….you know that piece of political theater that will set the stage for health reform….just wanted to add a thought or two into the mix…..

There have been a massive amounts of accusations that health reform is being beaten by the lobbies that are spending lots of cash on our diligent Congresspeople…..and if you think that is a bit harsh then you need to drop the playstation and pay a little more attention to what will be effecting you in the future…..I know….not an easy thing to do when you are so close to the high score….but give it try….

For months we have been bombarded with the facts that the health insurance industry has a anti-trust exemption and can basically gouge the crap out of its consumers with NO fear of reprisal by the government….in other words they have a Free Ride to make all the money they can off the plight of those insured……

The good news was that the Dems were fed up with the insurance companies and would do all they could to change the anti-trust exemption……they were going to make them more responsive and accountable…..well, that was the plan…..but as usual Washington is just full of surprises……the Politico’s Patrick O’Connor is reporting:

In an upcoming House vote to repeal the long-standing antitrust protections for the insurance industry. To most members of Congress, it seems like a no-brainer: Why should insurers be exempted from antitrust laws, anyway.

But Democrats look like they’ll scale back the legislation to protect insurance companies that offer malpractice coverage to doctors and other health care providers, bowing to industry pressure in the latest concession of the health care fight.

Democratic aides in the House said the final bill likely won’t include controversial new restrictions on medical malpractice insurers. Its authors also appear inclined to strip new authority for the Federal Trade Commission because it sparked similar unease.The concessions illustrate just how hard it’s been for the president and his congressional allies to overhaul a single sector of such an enormous segment of the economy.

Just goes to show that the lobbyist money is well spent……the free ride continues and the plight of the insured remains bleak…..As I keep saying…NOTHING about the health reform proposal is reform….it is a tweaking….minor adjustments that have the appearance of success…..and the American people wait…….

Senate Concessions For Health Reform

The AP has listed what concessions Senators won as payment for their vote on health reform…….read it and weep…….

SEN. BEN NELSON, D-NEB., who provided the critical 60th vote that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid needed, received numerous benefits for Nebraska, along with tighter curbs on abortion. Among the Nebraska-specific provisions:

_The federal government will pick up the full cost of a proposed expansion of Medicaid, at an estimated cost of $100 million over 10 years.

_Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska will be exempted from an annual fee on insurers; the exemption could also apply to nonprofit insurers in other states, possibly including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

_Supplemental “Medigap” policies such as those sold by Mutual of Omaha are exempted from the annual fee on insurers, something that would help other companies selling such policies.

_A physician-owned hospital being built in Bellevue, Neb., could get referrals from doctors who own it, avoiding a new ban in the Senate bill that will apply to hospitals built in the future. Without mentioning Nebraska or other states by name, the Senate bill pushes back some legal deadlines by several months, in effect making a few hospitals near completion eligible to continue receiving referrals from the doctors who own them.

SEN. MAX BAUCUS, D-MONT., chairman of the Finance Committee and a key architect of the legislation, put in a provision to help the 2,900 residents of Libby, Mont., many of whom have asbestos-related illnesses from a now-defunct mineral mine. Under Baucus’ provision, which never mentions Libby by name, sickened residents could sign up for Medicare benefits.

SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD, D-CONN., chairman of the Banking Committee and facing a difficult re-election next year, added an item making $100 million available for construction of a hospital at a public university. The measure leaves it up to the Health and Human Services Department to decide where to spend the money. Dodd says more than a dozen sites could be eligible, but he hopes the University of Connecticut will be the beneficiary.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY, D-VT., negotiated $600 million in additional Medicaid benefits for his state over 10 years. He said Vermont is due the additional benefits because the state already has acted to expand Medicaid eligibility to the levels now contemplated by the federal government. Vermont would be unfairly penalized if other states are now being helped with that expansion, he said. Massachusetts is getting $500 million in Medicaid help for similar reasons.

SEN. MARY LANDRIEU, D-LA., a key moderate, withheld her support from the legislation until she was able to procure Medicaid help from the federal government worth at least $100 million in 2011.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, I-VT., who was angered after a new government-run health plan was dropped from the legislation to win over moderates like Nelson and Landrieu, held out on backing the bill until Reid, D-Nev., agreed to a $10 billion increase in support for community health centers. (one of the few Senators that tells the truth and worked for the better of ALL Americans)

SEN. BILL NELSON, D-FLA., pushed a provision he said will let about 800,000 Florida seniors enrolled in private Medicare Advantage plans keep their extra benefits. It also helps seniors in a handful of other states. Elsewhere, Medicare Advantage patients risk losing benefits because the private plans are a major target of planned cuts to Medicare.

You see……..politicians have a price for their support of any given issue…..not only do they get the massive amounts of lobby money, but they get massive help for their states, but only if they hold out and make a name for themselves….too bad these a/holes do not work so hard all the time…..

The problem is that the rest of the country will be footing the bill for these concessions…..yet more screwing of the taxpayer……we should be use to it by now…..but it still hurts….in more ways than one….

An Ignored Idea

In keeping with the subject line of posts I will have another one onb alternatives….some good….some not so good…..but as I have been saying….it is time to FIX the damn problem and stop giving it lip service only……

There is a plentiful source of alternative energy that is being ignored……I know…Professor, do tell….do tell…..

It’s natural gas, the same fossil fuel that was in such short supply a decade ago that it was deemed unreliable. It’s now being uncovered at such a rapid pace that its price is near a seven-year low. Long used to heat half the nation’s homes, it’s becoming the fuel of choice when building new power plants. Someday, it may win wider acceptance as a replacement for gasoline in our cars and trucks.

Natural gas’ abundance and low price come as governments around the world debate how to curtail carbon dioxide and other pollution that contribute to global warming. The likely outcome is a tax on companies that spew excessive greenhouse gases. Utilities and other companies see natural gas as a way to lower emissions — and their costs. Yet politicians aren’t stumping for it.

about 27 percent of the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions come from coal-fired power plants, which generate 44 percent of the electricity used in the U.S. Just under 25 percent of power comes from burning natural gas, more than double its share a decade ago but still with room to grow.But the fuel has to be plentiful and its price stable — and that has not always been the case with natural gas. In the 1990s, factories that wanted to burn gas instead of coal had to install equipment that did both because the gas supply was uncertain and wild price swings were common. In some states, because of feared shortages, homebuilders were told new gas hookups were banned.

This is truly a low emissions industry and it is a good alternative for the foreseeable future…… then why not push it tooth and nail?  Lobbyists are the main answer….too many power generating industries are paying good money to keep this off the agenda….

In the area I live there are many, many natural gas wells that have been drilled but capped…..why?….because the oil companies were looking for more oil, not natural gas….

I will be watching the next big Washington sideshow….the energy debate…..to see if alternatives are there or if the gas companies get the same deal insurance companies got in the health debate……

Are Lobbyists Running Scared?

We have all heard the horror stories of the power that lobbyists have in Washington…they represent every industry and spend oodles of money with lawmakers…but is there anything that can be done?

Lobbyists have been furiously lobbying the Obama White House to oppose restrictions on their ability to lobby.

The kafuffle began on September 23 when special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform Norm Eisen wrote that “the White House has informed executive agencies and departments that it is our aspiration that federally-registered lobbyists not be appointed to agency advisory boards and commissions.”

How many Industry Trade Advisory Committees — ITACs — are there?

The Washington Post says the system of these committees is “so vast that federal officials don’t have exact numbers for its size; the most recent estimates tally nearly 1,000 panels with total membership exceeding 60,000 people.”

Sixteen lobbyists who chair ITACs — including executives from Boeing, Harley-Davidson, the International Association of Drilling Contractors, Fanwood Chemical Inc., IBM and others — wrote to the president to protest the decision.

In another letter to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, the lobbyists said that a “quick review of the impact of this new policy suggests that dozens of the most active — and most knowledgeable — Committee members who generate many of the documents needed by the Committee and our trade negotiators will be dismissed once the new charter term begins. This occurs because individuals who specialize in trade policy matters in their particular sectors often find that such specialization and expertise pushes them above the 20 percent lobbying activity threshold that triggers registration under the Lobbying Disclosure Act” or LDA.

“We explained to the ITAC chairs that this issue is not about the few corrupt lobbyists or specific abuses by the profession, but rather concerns the system as a whole. For too long, lobbyists and those who can afford their services have held disproportionate influence over national policy making… we decided that while lobbyists have a right to petition the government, it would best serve the interests of a fairer and more representative democracy if we limited their ability to do so from special positions of privileged access within the government. The result will be a Washington that is more reflective of all of America.”

These people have way too much pull on the Hill and with the President….somehow and somewhere limits have to be formed…….second only to Wall Street is the lobbyists, garnering much hate from the people of the country….

Personally, I like the idea that a Congress person can NOT become a lobbyists for at least 5 years after leaving the public trough……

Obama Pounces On Health Insurance Lobby

And if you believe that piece of fantasy, then I have some land in Florida that I will sell by the gallon…..

Recently the insurance lobby left the fold, so to speak, and issued a report saying that if the Baucus bill or one similar is passed then insurance premiums will go up and very considerably.  This report has been proven to be erroneous but it is still quoted as gospel by those on the Right.  This report is about as reliable as those coming from the Lewin Group, which is funded by the insurance industry…so to say that their findings would be cooked is an understatement.

In his defense Obama hit the airways:

This is the unsustainable path we’re on, and it’s the path the insurers want to keep us on. In fact, the insurance industry is rolling out the big guns and breaking open their massive war chest – to marshal their forces for one last fight to save the status quo. They’re filling the airwaves with deceptive and dishonest ads. They’re flooding Capitol Hill with lobbyists and campaign contributions.  And they’re funding studies designed to mislead the American people. […]

It’s smoke and mirrors. It’s bogus. And it’s all too familiar. Every time we get close to passing reform, the insurance companies produce these phony studies as a prescription and say, “Take one of these, and call us in a decade.” Well, not this time. The fact is, the insurance industry is making this last-ditch effort to stop reform even as costs continue to rise and our health care dollars continue to be poured into their profits, bonuses, and administrative costs that do nothing to make us healthy – that often actually go toward figuring out how to avoid covering people. And they’re earning these profits and bonuses while enjoying a privileged exception from our anti-trust laws, a matter that Congress is rightfully reviewing.

Which his statements made me smile….why?…..he is attacking the industry for our behalf…but is he?

He has waffled on his statement in the past, that he would NOT sign a bill that did not have a public option in it…..now he saying that it is not necessary for a reform bill but that he would prefer that it contained an option.

There is more…..the Congress seems to be reluctant to lift the anti-trust exemption of insurance companies that give them a virtual free ride to run rough shod over the consumer.  This exemption allows insurance to be a virtual monopoly which in turn allows them to control the health insurance market…lets them fix prices, eliminate competition and make obscene profits with no need to justify the mistreatment of the insured.

Now that there is a bill in the Senate with a public option (well, sort of) the question now is, will the White House and the Dems truly go after the insurance anti-trust exemption?  If they do I am sure it will be the same sort of watered down bill that gave us the “public option”.  The industry has too much money on the buying of friends in the Congress to ever let something like this get in their way.

Please…Give Them Time To React

As the Senate committee goes through the mark-up thing, tempers flair and the truth comes out.

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) offered a defense of Bunning’s amendment by arguing that the 72-hour provision was critical because it provides time for senators to consult with health insurance lobbyists:

All the Senator from Kentucky is asking is for 72 hours to determine the cost. Senator Snowe has spoken eloquently about sunshine, and the openness, and the fact that the American people would support this 90 percent, 95 percent. But the thing that I’m trying to point out is we would have at least 72 hours for the people that the providers have hired to keep up with all of the legislation that we pass around here, and the regulations that we pass around here, to say “hey, wait a minute. Have you considered this?” And that’s all I’m asking for — is not only cost, but also the content of a bill. And that 72 hours, I think, is highly, highly important.

To be clear, Roberts is referring to health insurance lobbyists when he references the “people that the providers have hired to keep up with all of the legislation.”

How tacky!  He wants to give the very people that are fueling the fires of  misinformation time to reload and attack.  Do you think he is getting any money from the Insurance industry?

But there is a bright spot!  And for his actions and words, Sen. Jay Rockerfeller (D-WV) wins the “balls of Steel” Award for 2009.  He said:

If there’s anything which is clear, it’s that the insurance industry is not running this markup, but it is running certain people in this markup. […]

Thanks to thinkprogress.com for the excellent reporting.

All I can say about that is….BAM!….you nailed that.

The Senate will be the hardest part of the health bill…there are way too many taking the cash from the insurance industry…..but at least someone on the committee has the cajones to tell it like it is….thank you, Sen. Rockerfeller.

Tea Parties 3.0

Professor’s Classroom

Subject:  American History

Note:  I originally posted this on Progressive Independence (good site go to blogroll to get there).

In the beginning there were a bunch of “patriots” who dressed like natives threw a bunch of tea into Boston Harbor as a protest.  The original was not about patriotism, is was about profits made off of tea.  Neither are the ones to come.  Then as now…it is about profit and nothing else.   Years later…..there was a meeting of a newer generation of  “patriots” that met to demonstrate tax increases and now they are back and health care is the target.

But wait it does not end there…..Aug. 22 of the year 2009…there is a new “spontaneous” uproar of voices in the wilderness that feel they must be heard.  It is the American way…to be spontaneous in our disgust against a government that we feel is not responsive or listening.

Okay Professor…where the hell are you going with this?  Sorry…my intro went the way of most political discourse…off-track.

August 22 is the date that the new tea partyers have decided to make their stand…it will be called the “recess Rallies”.  These protests, oh my bad…..rallies will be as spontaneous as the original tea party….NOT!….They being planned down to the last detail and as with the original…most of the participants are being manipulated for an agenda that has little to with the intent.

These “rallies” are billed as a spontaneous outpouring of concern from the grassroots of the nation…the real people and their concerns with the direction of the health issues in the US.  When actually these rallies are being planned to the last detail by lobbying firms like Freedom Works and Red State and the ever popular Michelle Malkin…there are others in the far right movement that are “concerned” with the governments attempt to make health care more responsive to the people.  Ha!  Sorry could not say that without a giggle.

From the Recess Rally website:

The Recess Rallies, by default, are all scheduled for noon local time. If you are an organizer in your area and would like to be listed as a local contact, please contact us at rally@americanlibertyalliance.com.

The Nationwide Recess Rally takes place on Saturday, August 22nd, 2009. If you believe your liberty, your hard earned money and your way of life is under attack through dangerous healthcare legislation currently being proposed, get to your local Representative office on August 22nd and make sure he/she knows.

Spontaneous eh?  Sorry guys, but these protesters are no more spontaneous than the originals were…it is all planned to the last detail.

Recently I had a comment on one of my health posts and the person said that if the government took over health care then our security would be in jeopardy…..I asked for clarification on how at would effect my security…so far no answer.

Sorry I digress….the subject of the rallies seems to be that we will lose our right to choose and that any program the government is involved in will be a disaster….first of all….may I suggest that if you would take a good look at the protesters then you will immediately notice that about half of them or more are older Americans and you can bet they are on Medicare…..but wait!….is not Medicare a government program?

This series of tea parties will be like the last couple of tea parties …it will be more about the hate of the president than the actual issues that it is billed as opposing.  I am sure the constitution will be invoked and the usual hate placards will be visible.

Damn!….. this is great theater!

Drug Lobbies Win Again

Step into the way back machine and visit the early days of the health debate….recall that Obama came out and said that the drug companies were on board and that they would cut $80 billion over a number of yewars.  It was held as a great deal and that the companies were willing to work with the admin to lower health costs.

That was then…this is now……

Kate Randall writing for wsws.org:

The Obama White House has acknowledged it made a deal with drug makers to block moves in Congress to obtain any cost savings beyond the $80 billion already agreed to by the pharmaceutical lobby.

The New York Times reported Thursday that, in return for the $80 billion agreement, the Obama administration pledged that it would work to block any health care legislation that would allow the government to negotiate price-setting on drugs.

The deal is further evidence of the corporate forces calling the shots in Obama’s health care overhaul. While touring the country claiming the plan will make the health care giants’ “honest,” the administration is cutting behind-the-scenes deals to protect and boost their profits.

Details about the pharmaceuticals’ $80 billion offer have been vague, but they will likely come—not as a handout by the drug industry—but in the form of lower patient co-pays on prescriptions, or as modest discounts on reimbursements to the industry for expanded government-backed medical coverage.

In an industry that generates annual US sales of more than $300 billion, the $80 billion is minimal. The more likely scenario is that $80 billion will be more than offset by the increased profits the pharmaceutical industry stands to make on prescriptions purchased by new patients under insurance coverage that they would be mandated to purchase under the new health care legislation.

And you thought all was moving along swimmingly….think again.

Once again the Obama Admin is making concessions to the industry that is profitting heavily from the current health situation in the US.  The Dems have taken away the single payer option, the public option looks doomed and now they are tryiong to protect the drug industry from any accountability for their gouging of the American people.

I have said and written on many occassions that if there is a health care bill for the president to sign that it will fall far short of the intention of covering ALL Americans for their health care.  I think there will be a deal, but not something that the President can be proud of in future debates.

Once again, as usual, the American people will be the losers and the politicians will get their blood money from the industry.

Feeding Frenzy At Treasury

Well the NY Times has the article written by Mark Landler and David Kirkpatrick.

When the government said it would spend $700 billion to rescue the nation’s financial industry, it seemed to be an ocean of money. But after one of the biggest lobbying free-for-alls in memory, it suddenly looks like a dwindling pool.

Many new supplicants are lining up for an infusion of capital as billions of dollars are channeled to other beneficiaries like the American International Group, and possibly soon American Express.

Of the initial $350 billion that Congress freed up, out of the $700 billion in bailout money contained in the law that passed last month, the Treasury Department has committed all but $60 billion. The shrinking pie — and the growing uncertainty over who qualifies — has thrown Washington’s legal and lobbying establishment into a mad scramble.

The Treasury Department is under siege by an army of hired guns for banks, savings and loan associations and insurers — as well as for improbable candidates like a Hispanic business group representing plumbing and home-heating specialists. That last group wants the Treasury to hire its members as contractors to take care of houses that the government may end up owning through buying distressed mortgages.

The Congressional bailout law gave the Treasury broad authority to decide how to spend the $700 billion. Under the terms of the $250 billion capital purchase program announced last month, cash infusions are available to “qualifying U.S. banks, savings associations, and certain bank and savings and loan holding companies, engaged only in financial activities.”

That definition has grown to include private banks and insurers like Allstate and MetLife, which own savings and loans. It may also encompass industrial lenders like GE Capital and GMAC, the financing arm of General Motors, provided they win approval to reclassify themselves as a bank or savings and loan holding company.

Law and lobbying firms that specialize in government contracting fired off dispatches to clients and potential clients explaining opportunities in the new program. Capitalizing on the surge of interest, several large firms, including Patton Boggs; Akin Gump; P & L Gates; Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson; and Alston & Bird, have set up financial rescue shops.

Like a shark feeding frenzy, lobbyists are scurrying around trying anything that will get a piece of the bailout pie.  And the people wait.