Democratic Caucus Weekly Update - December 18, 2011
Last week, House Republicans had an opportunity to end the political theater and join the President and Congressional Democrats to prevent a tax hike on middle class Americans. Yet instead of working to find a bipartisan compromise, House Republicans offered a bill filled with poison pills that was too extreme to pass the Senate and become law.
This Saturday, the Senate passed a bipartisan two-month compromise bill by a margin of 89 to 10. The bill would prevent a thousand-dollar tax hike on middle class Americans, extend unemployment insurance benefits, and prevent a major pay cut to doctors who treat patients on Medicare.
After a year of Republican gridlock, brinkmanship, and manufactured crises, and one of the worst Congresses in history, it’s time to put our nation first and do what an overwhelming majority of Americans want – prevent a tax hike on the middle class and get Americans back to work. Families shouldn’t need to worry this holiday season that their taxes will skyrocket because of another made-up GOP crisis.
What You Need To Know:
- After a long game of irresponsible brinksmanship by Republicans in Congress, the House and Senate agreed to and passed an omnibus appropriations bill.
- While middle class families are struggling, the rich are getting richer.
- House Republicans targeted working families to pay for their version of the payroll tax cut extension.
- Debunking GOP talking points, a new study finds that people receiving unemployment benefits work harder to find jobs.
- If Republicans in Congress had their way, 3.3 million Americans would lose unemployment benefits.
- Paul Ryan introduces new plan for Medicare that would increase costs for beneficiaries and risk ending Medicare as we know it.
- Apparently oblivious to what caused the financial crisis; Congressional Republicans have made it more difficult to rein in reckless banking practices on Wall Street.
- After thousands of American lives lost and hundreds of billions of dollars spent, the Iraq War has come to a close.
- Contrary to what Republicans want you to believe, the Affordable Care Act is working.
- The House Democratic Caucus has created the Task Force on Fair Governance, which will explore and promote policies under consideration in the House related to campaign finance reform, disclosure rules, voting rights, and government efficiency.
In Case You Missed It:
President Obama: Weekly Address {Watch} – “On Thursday, the colors our armed forces fought under in Iraq were formally cased in a ceremony in Baghdad before beginning their journey back home. Our troops are now preparing to make their final march across the border and out of the country. Iraq’s future will be in the hands of its own people. Our war there will be over. All of our troops will be out of Iraq. This holiday season, all of us can finally say, ‘welcome home.’”
Chairman Larson: GOP Needs to Stop Political Theater and Get America Back to Work {Watch} – “I would add of course that I think it would be just as easy, as well, to enact the President’s jobs package and put the country back to work. Let’s embrace this holiday season – with its signs of hope – and give the American people what they desperately want, and that’s a job. And that’s a job that will fortify them throughout the year. Instead, we see recalcitrance on the other side and dug in with seemingly one objective in mind, and that’s to defeat President Obama. And while that, from their perspective, may seem to be a laudatory goal, politically for them – what does it do for the American people?”
NYT Editorial: An Agreement on Spending – “It’s a huge bill, appropriating $915 billion, and far-right House Republicans had tried to use it to promote some of their most radical ideas. They wanted to stop spending on reforms of the financial system and health care, forbid financing on Planned Parenthood and NPR, limit family visits to Cuba and even prevent military chaplains from officiating at legal same-sex marriages. In particular, they wanted to roll back several vital environmental regulations, including limits on particulate matter in the air.”
Kristina Costa (CAP): Playing Chicken With Our Economy – “If Congress doesn’t extend the payroll tax cut and emergency unemployment benefits, 2.2 million Americans will be staring down the poverty line. Every working American will pay an average of $1,000 more in taxes. And our fragile economic recovery may begin to falter—all because conservatives in Congress insist on politicizing tax cuts and emergency aid for hard-working Americans.”
NYT Editorial: Targeting the Unemployed – “But Republican lawmakers would have you believe that the nation cannot afford jobless benefits and that many recipients are not so much needy, as lazy, disinclined to work as long as benefits are available. When was the last time any Republican lawmaker tried to live on $289 a week, the amount of the average benefit?”
Steve Benen (Washington Monthly): House GOP Leader on Payroll Cut: 'A Bad Idea' – “In either case, the key realization from this, Sessions’ limited intellect notwithstanding, is that many, if not most, House Republicans simply want this tax break to go away. They’ve heard the warning about the detrimental effect on the economy, and they simply don’t care.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Politico): GOP's Horse-Race Politics – “We have seen no meaningful attempts to create and retain jobs this year. However, we have seen plenty of brinkmanship, budget crises and bad faith arguments from the GOP. This is because, at the bottom of it all, Republicans in Congress are only focused on the 2012 horse race.”
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (WH Blog): 2.5 Million More Young Adults Have Coverage Thanks to Health Law – “As a parent, nothing gives us more peace of mind than knowing that our children can pursue their dreams without unfair limitations. This is why I’m excited to announce that millions more young adults in America now have health insurance coverage thanks to the health care law – enabling them to pursue their goals without worrying about what will happen if they get sick. The provision in the law allowing young adults to remain on their parents’ health insurance until age 26 has resulted in 2.5 million young people gaining coverage, according to analysis based on new data released today by the National Center for Health Statistics.”
House Democrats in the News:
The Birmingham News: Reps. Luis Gutierrez, Terri Sewell, Charles Gonzalez and Joe Baca held a field hearing in Alabama to investigate the effects of the state's harsh immigration law.
The State Column: Reps. Henry Waxman and Anna Eshoo introduced a bill to that would create a nationwide, interoperable public safety broadband network.
Newark Post: Rep. John Carney traveled to Afghanistan to be briefed by field commanders on the ground and visit U.S. troops from Delaware and around the country.
WSAV Savannah: Rep. John Barrow holds his fifth annual "Holiday Cards for our Troops" program.
The Baltimore Sun: Rep. Elijah Cummings launches probe into for-profit schools.
The Week Ahead:
On Monday, Republican Leadership has advised that the House will meet for legislative business.
On Tuesday and the remainder of the week, additional House votes are possible.
Tweets of the Week:
@HouseDemocrats: The war in #Iraq is coming to an end after nearly 9 yrs. As our troops come home, we thank them for their service & sacrifice.
@RepBobbyRush: Our mission in #Iraq formally ended today. To all those who have served and to those who continue to serve, we thank you and your families.
@jimlangevin: Monumental day as Iraq War ends. TY to those in uniform who bravely & brilliantly represented our nation. We are all proud of your service
@WhipHoyer: One year ago today, House voted to repeal #DADT. I was proud to help lead the charge to end this harmful & discriminatory policy forever.
@BruceBraley: The Iraq war has finally ended. The most important thing we must do now is remember the sacrifices of our veterans and their families.
@RepDonnelly: I welcome the end of the Iraq War and thank all servicemen and women for their service during this conflict.
@askgeorge: A fair & balanced approach would have avoided automatic #DefenseCuts, #GOP just now learning the #ConsequencesOfFailure
@maziehirono: Thank you to all who served our country in Iraq as war officially ends. You will always be appreciated, especially our fallen and wounded.
@NitaLowey: Thanks to Affordable Care Act, 2.5 million young adults under age 26 now have access to health care - previously uninsured.
@ChrisVanHollen: I will continue to resist GOP efforts to single out federal employees as scapegoats. They have paid their fair share, now others must too.
@NancyPelosi: We’re on day 346 of GOP majority having a day that has defined the year of GOP-control: missed opportunities & made up crises.
