Puerto Rico Ping! Please Freepmail me if you want on or off the list.
Posted on 01/21/2010 7:12:28 AM PST by Ebenezer
Democrats in general, and Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi in particular, were searching for ways Wednesday to follow through with health care reform for the nation, and the island, in the wake of the devastating Democratic election defeat in Massachusetts.
Up until the Tuesday election, “Puerto Rico was faring very well” in getting favorable provisions in the final legislation that Democratic leaders and the White House were at the point of agreeing on, said the resident commissioner.
But now “the Massachusetts result changes the landscape,” Pierluisi said. At the least, “this means more work and more time” to get health care reform approved and fair treatment for Puerto Rico, the resident commissioner said.
On Tuesday, Republican Scott Brown defeated Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley in the race for the Senate seat held for 47 years by Sen. Edward Kennedy before his death last Aug. 25. The result means that the Democrats lost the 60-vote majority in the upper chamber that the Obama administration needs to get its healthcare bill passed. Brown has said he would vote against the legislation.
President Obama said Wednesday that “core elements” of his health-care package enjoy broad support and could form the basis for a swift compromise. But any swift move could mean that only the issues broadly agreed on by all sides would be included, and such comparatively “minor” matters, such as how to treat the territories in the bill, could be overlooked.
The plan put forth by some Democratic leaders Tuesday, in case the GOP did what it did, i.e. capture the Senate seat, apparently is no longer considered the way to go. Under that now apparently discarded plan, the House would have quickly approved the Senate version of the legislation, send it to the president for his signature, then make changes to the bill later.
Pierluisi had opposed that option. The Senate bill treats Puerto Rico much less equitably than does the House version, which gives Puerto Rico $12.8 billion hike over nine years in Medicaid funds and subsidies for the health insurance market. The Senate version gives the island $4.7 billion more in Medicaid, while shutting Puerto Rico out of the exchange.
Inclusion in the market is seen as key for Puerto Rico to be able to cover the estimated 400,000 residents who do not have health insurance, either because they earn too much to qualify for Medicaid or too little to afford the price of private insurance.
Now, said the resident commissioner, the House leadership appears to be favoring what is known as the reconciliation option. Under reconciliation, both chambers would need just a majority of one to amend a previously approved bill. The major caveat is that the changes must have an impact on the budget before they could be considered. A change in policy could not be brought up, which could upset several interested parties.
Pierluisi believes a good argument could be made that the provisions that Puerto Rico and the territories want in final legislation would impact the national budget, and therefore qualify for reconciliation consideration.
The bills also would have to go back to the relevant committees to be argued about and voted on again. The process “could take weeks, maybe months,” said the resident commissioner.
Observers have noted that Congress would be less than enthusiastic about continuing to work on health care reform much longer in this election year.
Another possible major stumbling block in the reconciliation plan: Obama said Wednesday that the Republicans and Brown, in particular, should be part of the process of getting reform enacted.
“Here’s one thing I know and I just want to make sure that this is off the table: The Senate certainly shouldn’t try to jam anything through until Scott Brown is seated,” Obama said. “The people of Massachusetts spoke. He’s got to be part of that process.”
ping
“Puerto Rico was faring very well” in getting favorable provisions in the final legislation that Democratic leaders and the White House were at the point of agreeing on,...
Everybody Get Some! - motto of the Obama Administration.
The disinfecting sunshine.
Just amazing.
This guy’s entire agenda: tax working Americans, send the money to Puerto Rico. Free everything for Puerto Ricans.
To make things worse, Pierluisi is an Obama loyalist.
Puerto Rico Ping! Please Freepmail me if you want on or off the list.
Unfortunately, Puerto Rico's "faring very well" must come out of someone else's substance. This pig does not root evenly across the forest floor.
It seems to me that the Puerto Rico GOP is full of RINOs. Are there any truly conservative voices in the island, especially any taking issue with Obamacare?
I think we should grant them their Independence!
I second that motion.
We’re not allow to make that decision.Only they can make that decision.Most people in the world would chose to be free,unless you have been exposed to the benefits of Uncle
Sammy!
From the IRS
In general, United States citizens and resident aliens who are bona fide residents of Puerto Rico during the entire tax year (January 1 to December 31) do not report income received from sources within Puerto Rico on their U.S. income tax return.
However, they should report all income received from sources outside Puerto Rico on their U.S. income tax return. Residents of Puerto Rico who are employed by the government of the United States or who are members of the armed forces of the United States should report all income received for their services to the government of the United States on their U. S. income tax return. United States citizens or resident aliens who are not bona fide residents of Puerto Rico during the entire tax year are required to report all income from whatever source derived on their U.S. income tax return.
A U.S. citizen who changes residence from Puerto Rico to the United States and who was a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico at least two years before changing residence can exclude from U.S. taxable income the Puerto Rican source income received while residing in Puerto Rico during the taxable year of such change of residence.
If you are a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico and qualify to exclude your Puerto Rican source income on your U.S. tax return, you must determine your adjusted filing requirement based on the filing thresholds shown in the tax return instructions. For more information about how to determine the amount of income that requires filing a U.S. income tax return, refer to Publication 570 and Publication 1321 (PDF).
If you have no U.S. filing requirement but have income that is effectively connected with a trade or business in Puerto Rico, you must file Form 1040-SS (PDF) or Form 1040-PR (PDF) with the United States to report your self-employment income and, if necessary, pay self-employment tax. For more information on self-employment reporting requirements, see the instructions to these forms.
“Are there any truly conservative voices in the island, especially any taking issue with Obamacare?”
Probably just me.
Unfortunately, no. Since the days of the first governor, Luis Munoz Marin, the populace has been bribed into the voting booth with promises of a better welfare state, and the power of the strike-prone unions there is huge. The current status allows them the benefits of American welfare without US taxes. Might as well, by now, probably less than half of the population has a formal job, and of those, half probably work for the government.
Under those electoral conditions, RINOs are the best you can hope for.
I can dream can’t I
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.