Free Republic

Few fair minded Americans would argue that the tenants of Capitol Hill should suffer the slings and arrows which complicate the lives of mere commoners. After all, seeing to the 24/7 needs of the underclasses is burden enough for anyone. But thanks to an amendment to the Affordable Care Act, members of the political ruling class and their congressional staff will soon join the little people in suffering the financial distress promised in a 2,700 page law read and understood by very few within the beltway. And the DC elite do not like it one bit. Before ObamaCare was rammed...

Dozens of lawmakers and aides are so afraid that their health insurance premiums will skyrocket next year thanks to Obamacare that they are thinking about retiring early or just quitting... The fear: Government-subsidized premiums will disappear at the end of the year under a provision in the health care law that nudges aides and lawmakers onto the government health care exchanges, which could make their benefits exorbitantly expensive... If the issue isn’t resolved, and massive numbers of lawmakers and aides bolt, many on Capitol Hill fear it could lead to a brain drain just as Congress tackles a slew of...

Two weeks ago, I pointed out Section 1555, one of the major chinks in PPACA's armor according to an attorney at the Goldwater Institute. Section 1555 is in the law under "Subtitle G - Miscellaneous Provisions." Since bringing this up, I've heard from some who believe that this section is limited solely to those who sell ("issue") health insurance. Here again is Section 1555: "No individual, company, business, nonprofit entity, or health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall be required to participate in any Federal health insurance program created under this Act (or any amendments made...

A number of states have decided to separate their education achievement goals by race as part of their No Child Left Behind waivers. The question remains whether this move marks a “realistic” approach to education, or a major step backward for education fueled by lowered expectations for racial groups. “I put the question of states adjusting expectations based on a student’s ethnicity to Carla O’Connor, an associate professor in the School of Education at the University of Michigan,” writes Emily Richmond for The Atlantic. “O’Connor, who specializes in African-American student achievement and urban education, said the new sliding bar for...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday granted New Jersey a temporary waiver on Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) requirements to help counter a shortfall in fuel supplies in parts of the state following Hurricane Sandy. The waiver allows for the sale of diesel fuel that exceeds standards of 15 parts per million of sulfur under limited conditions effective immediately, according to a letter from EPA administrator Lisa Jackson to Governor Chris Christie. The waiver -- which the letter said aimed to "minimize or prevent disruption of the supply of diesel in New Jersey" -- extends for...

Two GOP Senators are demanding clarification on what security measures were in place for U.S. personnel there after reports that those who attacked the Libyan consulate may have had inside help. Sens. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Bob Corker (R-TN) have sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton which stated that they were "extremely concerned" over news of how security may have been handled in the days leading up to the attack. Isakson and Corker have read reports that indicate the State Dept. not only failed to bolster security at the Libyan consulate as threats mounted but actually sought...

HHS is selling this under the guise of "flexibility" and says the point is to get more people working, not fewer. But recall that the joint state-federal welfare program has always had "work" requirements. Prior to 1996, they included such demands as journaling, bed rest and massage therapy. For this reason, the statute specifically enumerated a 12-point definition of "work." People who can but don't meet the work terms eventually lose benefits. States have enormous flexibility to help recipients back into the job market. But they forfeit a portion of their federal money unless a certain percentage of their caseload...

With the Supreme Court giving President Obama’s new health care law a green light, federal and state officials are turning to implementation of the law — a lengthy and massive undertaking still in its early stages, but already costing money and expanding the government. The Health and Human Services Department “was given a billion dollars implementation money,” Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg of Montana said. “That money is gone already on additional bureaucrats and IT programs, computerization for the implementation.” “Oh boy,” Stan Dorn of the Urban Institute said. “HHS has a huge amount of work to do and the states...

Isn't there some sort of legal precedent that taxes have to be applied equally? Does yesterday's ruling invalidate the "waivers"?

Crony capitalism at its most basic. Create onerous regulations and then give out exemptions to allies and constituents. The only wrinkle in this case is that the demographic subsection unburdening itself of ObamaCare is the same demographic subsection that has been most pointedly exuberant in advocating health care reform, with California Democrats even passing symbolic health care laws just like the ones that their most liberal supporters are now opting out of. On the federal level, of course, Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi was instrumental in securing ObamaCare’s passage. And now, for a disproportionate number of businesses in Pelosi’s San...

It may be hard to keep track of with the round-the-clock news cycle, but the continuing injustice of waivers to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act deserves careful scrutiny by the American citizenry. The list of granted waivers now stands at 733. A glance reveals that much of this favored class is made up of the law's biggest supporters: unions and health care providers. A more extensive analysis of the list would be a waste of time; the salient point is that it is a manifestation of privilege -- i.e., Americans are unequal under Obamacare. While some are given...

Emigrant Bank was recently identified to receive a waiver that would allow the bank to opt out of rigorous Dodd-Frank requirements. These of course are the same new rules and regulations that Barack deems essential to the nation. Yet when the bank’s owner, Howard Milstein, who is a close friend and was a bundler for President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, protested that the new rules would seriously crimp operations of his bank, the Obama Administration worked with members of congress to grant him a waiver from the new rules. Other financial institutions and banks have consistently and vehemently argued that...

Obama administration concludes healthcare law waiver reviewBy Julian Pecquet - 02/16/12 04:12 PM ET The Obama administration on Thursday denied Wisconsin's request for a waiver from the healthcare law's medical loss ratio, while partially approving North Carolina's. With the two decisions, the Department of Health and Human Services has concluded its review of the 17 states that have requested a waiver from the law's requirement that individual market insurance plans spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care or give customers rebates. HHS has rejected 10 requests and approved modified applications from seven states. Wisconsin wanted a lower...

This, despite the supposed "tightening" of rules made by HHS last summer. The Daily Caller: Labor unions continued to receive the overwhelming majority of waivers from the president's health care reform law since the Obama administration tightened application rules last summer. Documents released in a classic Friday afternoon news dump show that labor unions representing 543,812 workers received waivers from President Barack Obama's signature legislation since June 17, 2011. By contrast, private employers with a total of 69,813 employees, many of whom work for small businesses, were granted waivers.

An ice-breaking Russian tanker won an exemption from U.S. maritime law on Friday allowing it to deliver fuel to the isolated Alaska city of Nome... The U.S. Department of Homeland Security granted a Jones Act waiver to the Russian ship, the Renda, which is scheduled to deliver diesel fuel and gasoline to the Alaska city of 3,600 people... Senator Mark Begich said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano responded to pleas for a Jones Act exception to help alleviate what could be a serious winter fuel shortage. ... Nome, which has no outside road connections and relies on marine vessels or...

In schools around the country, 2011 was marked by test cheating scandalsBy Associated Press, Published: December 31 ATLANTA — It was the year of the test cheating scandal. From Atlanta to Philadelphia and Washington to Los Angeles, officials have accused hundreds of educators of changing answers on tests or giving answers to students. Just last week, state investigators revealed that dozens of educators in 11 schools in Georgia’s Dougherty County either cheated or failed to prevent cheating on 2009 standardized tests. **SNIP** At President Obama’s invitation, states have begun filing waivers to get relief from the law. Under the 11...

The Obama administration on Monday rejected two states’ requests for waivers from the healthcare reform law. The decision could rekindle the controversy over the waiver process, as the two states that were turned down, Indiana and Louisiana, have Republican governors. GOP leaders at the state level have been extremely critical of the healthcare law and the requirements that it imposes on states. The Department of Health and Human Services said Indiana and Louisiana do not need an adjustment from the health law's medical loss ratio. That provision requires insurers to spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care...

In 2007, under Gov. Mitch Daniels (R.), Indiana enacted the Healthy Indiana Plan, an expansion of Medicaid that used consumer-driven health plans to encourage low-income beneficiaries to take a more active role in their own care. Today, Health Indiana is arguably the most innovative and successful reform of Medicaid in the history of the program. Today, we learn that the Obama Administration has rejected the state’s request to extend its federal waiver, which means that over 45,000 Indianans who get their insurance through the program are out of luck. Medicaid, of course, is the nation’s government-run health insurance program for...

"They're small. I couldn't speak to all 1,800 of them, but some of the lists that I have seen have been very, very small companies. They will not have a big impact on the economy of our country," Nancy Pelosi said in an interview with CNBC. McDonalds, one of the nation's largest employers in recent years, has received a waiver.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal agents trying to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border say they're hampered by laws that keep them from driving vehicles on huge swaths of land because it falls under U.S. environmental protection, leaving it to wildlife — and illegal immigrants and smugglers who can walk through the territory undisturbed. A growing number of lawmakers are saying such restrictions have turned wilderness areas into highways for criminals. In recent weeks, three congressional panels, including two in the GOP-controlled House and one in the Democratic-controlled Senate, have moved to give the Border Patrol unfettered access to all federally managed lands...