Free Republic

Nancy Pelosi is now predicting that Republicans will “rue the day” that the Supreme Court guts Obamacare subsidies for millions in three dozen states. “They’re going to then go out and say we’re going to take subsidies away from people who have health care? No, I don’t think so,” says Pelosi. “It would be really bad news for them.” Meanwhile, if anything, Republicans may be moving away from their previously-stated vow to participate in providing a contingency fix to temporarily keep those millions covered. The Hill reports that GOP Rep. Tom Price, the chairman of the House budget committee and...

Republicans believe a Supreme Court ruling against ObamaCare this summer would give them leverage to force President Obama to scrap the healthcare law's central pillars. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who is leading the Senate GOP’s response to King v. Burwell, said Republicans will be willing to strike a deal with Obama to ensure that the 7.5 million people who stand to lose their subsidies are protected, at least until the 2016 elections. But in return, they would demand that Obama to do something he has long resisted: nix the employer and individual mandates for insurance coverage. “Is the president going...

Senators on Wednesday blocked a Republican push to tie Iran's support of terrorism to a final deal on the country's nuclear program. Senators voted 45-54 on the amendment from Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), which would have required President Obama to certify as part of a diplomatic deal that Iran hasn't carried out or directly supported an act of terror against the United States or a U.S. citizen. Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Dan Coats (Ind.), Bob Corker (Tenn.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Orrin Hatch (Utah) and John McCain (Ariz.) voted with Democrats against the amendment....

The repeal of ObamaCare is the priority of the Republican party, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said on Sunday. “There will be a vote on repeal. The president, in the White House, will veto that,” he said of the symbolic gesture offered by GOP lawmakers still unsatisfied with the healthcare legislation. However, Barrasso told NBC’s Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press” that there would also be other bills that strike at other parts of the Affordable Care Act – some of which have gained bipartisan support – including a repeal of the medical device tax and the employer mandate. There is...

The U.S. Senate Energy Committee advanced a bill on Wednesday that would force congressional approval of TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline project, but the measure seems unlikely to be taken up by the full Senate. The bill, the latest effort by lawmakers to breathe life into the long-delayed pipeline from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast, will languish without a commitment from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to bring it to a vote. The measure, from Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Republican Senators John Hoeven of North Dakota and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, would take a decision...

The Senate approved a continuing resolution for the budget which included a provision authorizing President Obama to arm and train Syrian rebels for the purpose of combating Islamic State terrorists. The legislation passed 78-22. Of the 22 Senators that voted no, here are the 12 Republicans that voted against the provision: John Barrasso (WY) Tom Coburn (OK) Michael Crapo (ID) Ted Cruz (TX) Mike Enzi (WY) Dean Heller (NV) Mike Lee (UT) Jim Moran (KS) Rand Paul (KY) James Risch (ID) Pat Roberts (KS) Jeff Sessions (AL)

The Environmental Protection Agency has quietly floated a rule claiming authority to bypass the courts and unilaterally garnish paychecks of those accused of violating its rules, a power currently used by agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service. “The EPA has a history of overreaching its authority. It seems like once again the EPA is trying to take power it doesn’t have away from American citizens,” Sen. John Barrasso, Wyoming Republican, said when he learned of the EPA’s wage garnishment scheme.

Frustrated with President Barack Obama’s reaction to Russian action in Ukraine, a group of Republican senators said Wednesday they will introduce legislation outlining a more muscular response. “What we’ve seen from the administration is a lot of rhetoric,” Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, said on the Senate floor Wednesday morning. The White House has been dealing “with the situation after something bad has already occurred,” he said. Earlier this week, violence flared up in another area of Ukraine that hugs the Russian border, as the new government in Kiev criticized local police...

The Talk Shows March 30th, 2014 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Angus King, I-Maine; John Barrasso, R-Wyo.; Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Michael Leiter, former White House adviser on counterterrorism.FACE THE NATION (CBS): NCAA President Mark Emmert; Michael Hayden, former head of the CIA and the National Security Agency; Michael Morrell, former deputy CIA director and member of NSA Surveillance Review Group; Cmdr. William J. Marks, U.S. Navy 7th Fleet, which is involved in the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines jet.THIS WEEK...

Nashville, TN – Today, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham introduced the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The legislation currently has 33 cosponsors – but Senator Alexander is not one of them. Conservative Senate candidate Joe Carr called on Senator Alexander to change his stance and add himself as a co-sponsor. “I’m strongly pro-life and believe it’s imperative the Senate pass this important piece of legislation. When Senator Graham announced his co-sponsors and Senator Alexander’s name was missing, I was disappointed. I am hoping Senator Alexander will change his stance and add himself as a co-sponsor. This legislation is too...

Sebelius the 'laughingstock of America,' says senator By Elise Viebeck - 10/27/13 11:02 AM ET A Republican senator called Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius the "laughingstock of America" after she was lampooned on "Saturday Night Live." The sketch, which aired Saturday, poked fun at Sebelius's attempts to downplay serious problems with ObamaCare's enrollment website. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) referred to the skit Sunday during an appearance on ABC's "This Week." "She's lost considerable credibility," Barrasso said of Sebelius. "She's the laughingstock of America." Sebelius has experienced a wave of scrutiny since HealthCare.gov debuted with major problems on...

Hunters and tourists are needlessly being kept away from public lands during the shutdown, Republicans claimed Tuesday. GOP members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee accused the Interior Department of closing roads and lands that could have been kept open in Western states. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said the Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is wrongly blocking access for hunters as the Alaskan winter approaches. “This is moose season. This is hunting season. This is when Alaskans are filling up their freezer for a long winter. In so many of our communities there is no Costco;...

In a secret meeting on Tuesday morning, Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.) hosted a bipartisan group of senators and House members in the Capitol’s basement. According to several participants, the lawmakers plotted ways to stop the use of U.S. military force in Syria. Since the diplomatic situation is fluid, there was no final consensus on how best to combat the administration, but potential legislative maneuvers, press appearances, and letters were discussed. Several undecided members asked questions. Aides say Paul planned the gathering over a week ago, and the list of attendees grew by the day. He is pleased, especially, by...

The Obamacare health insurance exchanges are still supposed to go live next month even though implementation delays have continued to pile up. Additionally, many analysts have predicted what has come to be known as "rate shock" - the realization of many who go to get insurance on the exchanges that they'll be paying a lot more now than they used to. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) - who is one of a few actual doctors in the Senate - put those predictions into words . "Many families are going to have real sticker shock when they see their new insurance...

Republicans are using their weekly radio and Internet address to focus on health insurance costs under President Barack Obama’s health overhaul. GOP Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, who was an orthopedic surgeon before coming to Congress, says many families “are going to have real sticker shock when they see their new insurance rates.” …

A new front is opening in the Senate confirmation fight over former Sen. Chuck Hagel as senators from states with nuclear bases are questioning the defense secretary nominee’s role in the Global Zero commission that advocates eliminating all nuclear weapons and making unilateral strategic arms cuts. Six senators with home-state nuclear bases or membership on the Senate Armed Services Committee said they are either opposing Hagel’s nomination or questioning his judgment for backing the international anti-nuclear movement. Hagel is among some 300 international and national public figures supporting the group’s stated goal of seeking “the elimination of all nuclear weapons.”...

In the Weekly Republican Address, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) calls for full repeal of Obamacare following the Supreme Court's decision this week to uphold the President's health law. A doctor who has practiced medicine for 25 years, Sen. Barrasso says the Court's ruling did nothing to improve the failed health care law: "It remains unworkable, unaffordable, and very unpopular." Sen. Barrasso says congressional Republicans are committed to repealing Obamacare and replacing it with health care reform that ensures Americans "get the care they need, from the doctor they choose, at a lower cost."

Senator Hatch promised the crowd of business leaders that if he were re-elected and became Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, he would be well-positioned to help take down the Affordable Care Act. "If we take over in the majority, we're going to try and repeal Obamacare, and see if we can get it right," he said. Hatch and Wyoming Senator John Barrasso said they were currently focused on repealing provisions of the law including a tax on the medical device industry and on health insurance providers. Democratic Utah state Senator Pat Jones is on the Salt Lake Chamber's Health...

Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) is introducing his Climate Change Pre-emption bill, an initiative that would prevent the EPA and other such agencies from unilaterally regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions without explicit Congressional Authorization. The Supreme Court’s ill-advised decision in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency (2007) gave the EPA a mandate to issue an “endangerment finding” on CO2 and related GHG. Since this finding was issued in December 2009, the EPA has expanded its influence by leaps and bounds, regulating everything from hospitals to cars based on their tenuous relation to man-made global warming. (Click here for ATR’s previous reports on...

Republicans have had little hesitation in pointing out the stagnant job-creation numbers during the Obama administration, but to be fair, they’re also predicting a big hiring boom, too. Unfortunately, that hiring boom would come at the IRS, which is tasked with enforcing the individual mandate in ObamaCare and in determining what kind of medical coverage qualifies. The Obama administration denies that it will hire more IRS agents, while HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius predicts no more than a couple of hundred extra agents. With the CBO estimating new costs to the IRS between five and ten billion dollars over the next...