Research Briefing

Walk The Plank Twice, Shame On You

After Twisting Arms To Pass Bloated Cap And Trade Bill, Speaker Pelosi Squeezes Once Again, But At What Cost?

Rep. Gene Taylor (D-MS) Admitted “A Lot Of People Walked The Plank On A Bill That Will Never Become Law.” (Molly K. Hooper, “Boehner: Climate Bill A ‘Pile Of S--T,’” The Hill, 6/27/09)

UNLIKE REP. TAYLOR, 22 OF THE OTHER MOST VULNERABLE HOUSE DEMS BENT TO PELOSI’S WILL AND “WALKED THE PLANK” AGAIN

Rep. Debbie Halvorson

Rep. Mark Schauer

Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy

Rep. Steve Kagen

Rep. Steve Driehaus

Rep. Bart Stupak

Rep. Zack Space

Rep. Paul Kanjorski

Rep. Tom Perriello

Rep. Vic Snyder

Rep. Dennis Moore

Rep. Tim Walz

Rep. Leonard Boswell

Rep. Martin Heinrich

Rep. Ed Perlmutter

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter

Rep. Dan Maffei

Rep. Alan Grayson

Rep. Dina Titus

Rep. Kurt Schrader

Rep. Jerry McNerney

(H.R. 2454, Roll Call Vote #477; Approved 219-212; D 211-44; R 8-168, 6/26/09; H.R. 3962, Roll Call Vote #887; Approved 220-215; D 219-39; R 1-176, 11/7/09)

JOB KILLING CAP AND TRADE A BLOATED MESS …

In June, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) “Laid Down The Gauntlet” To Rush Through National Energy Tax. “Pelosi laid down the gauntlet late Monday, announcing plans to bring the 1,200-plus-page bill to the floor on Friday ... Indeed, Pelosi is pushing the climate change measure full tilt, and enormous pressure is already building for rank-and-file Democrats to fall into line. ‘People may not like it, but it’s very tough to bet against the Speaker,’ said one Democratic strategist” (Steven T. Dennis and Tory Newmyer, “Pelosi Flexes Muscle,” Roll Call, 6/24/09)

Pelosi’s National Energy Tax “Grew Fat With Compromises, Carve-Outs, Concessions And Out-And-Out Gifts…” “[The bill] grew fat with compromises, carve-outs, concessions and out-and-out gifts intended to win the votes of wavering lawmakers and the support of powerful industries ... The deal making continued right up until the final minutes, with the bill’s co-author Representative Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California, doling out billions of dollars in promises on the House floor to secure the final votes needed for passage.” (John M. Broder, "With Something For Everyone, Climate Bill Passed," The New York Times, 6/30/09)

Bill Could Mean Nearly 1 Million Jobs Lost Per Year. “Overall, a cap-and-trade system that reduces annual GDP by 0.34 percent per year can be expected to reduce U.S. employment by roughly 964,900 jobs per year, reduce household earnings by $37.8 billion, and reduce total U.S. economic output by $136.1 billion.” (Andrew Chamberlain, “Who Pays For Climate Policy? New Estimates Of The Household Burden And Economic Impact Of A U.S. Cap-And-Trade System,” Tax Foundation, 3/09)

… WHILE HEALTH CARE BILL IS A TRILLION DOLLAR EXPERIMENT THAT WILL RAISE TAXES AND KILL JOBS

House Dems Rammed Through $1.2 Trillion Health Care Bill On Saturday Night. “The House of Representatives passed legislation for the first time Saturday night that would provide health coverage to almost every American after nearly a century of false starts and un-kept campaign promises. … The bill has a steep cost – both in dollars, $1.2 trillion, and political capital – but Democrats hailed its passage as the next chapter in a governing legacy that produced Medicare and Social Security.” (Patrick O'Connor, “House Passes Historic Health Bill,” Politico, 11/7/09)

Health Care Bill Paid For By $730 Billion In Tax Hikes, Including Income Tax Increase On Many Small Businesses That Will Kill Jobs. “This [surtax] would hit job creators especially hard because more than six of every 10 who earn that much are small business owners, operators or investors, according to a 2007 Treasury study... America’s successful small businesses would pay higher tax rates than the Fortune 500, and for that matter than most companies around the world ...” (“Estimated Revenue Effects Of Possible Modifications To The Revenue Provisions Of H.R. 3962, The ‘Affordable Health Care For America Act’,” Joint Committee On Taxation Publication, 10/29/09; Editorial, “The Small Business Surtax,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/14/09)

• That Includes $460 Billion Income Tax Increase. “This [surtax] would hit job creators especially hard because more than six of every 10 who earn that much are small business owners, operators or investors, according to a 2007 Treasury study... America’s successful small businesses would pay higher tax rates than the Fortune 500, and for that matter than most companies around the world ...” (“Estimated Revenue Effects Of Possible Modifications To The Revenue Provisions Of H.R. 3962, The ‘Affordable Health Care For America Act’,” Joint Committee On Taxation Publication, 10/29/09; Editorial, “The Small Business Surtax,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/14/09)
• An 8 Percent Payroll Tax On Businesses Who Can’t Afford To Cover Their Employees, Making It More Difficult For Them To Hire Workers They Need. “[E]mployers who do not offer ‘affordable’ coverage to employees would have to help pay the cost of such benefits for their low-income workers ... The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal research and advocacy group, said this proposal ‘could unintentionally discourage the hiring of lower-income people,’ by adding a new ‘health surcharge’ to the cost of employing them.” (House Committees On Ways & Means, Energy & Commerce, And Education & Labor, “Detailed Summary Of Affordable Health Care For America Act,” Fact Sheet, 10/29/09; Jeff Zeleny & Robert Pear, “Obama Says Government Health Coverage Plan Would Not Hurt Private Insurers,” The New York Times, 6/23/09)

Bill Includes $456 Billion In Cuts To Medicare And Medicaid, Cuts House Dems Admit Would Force Doctors To Decline Seniors. “Rep. Eric Massa said tightening provider payments could lead to access problems for patients. ‘We will force doctors to decline Medicare patients,’ he said after a raucous town-hall meeting in Upstate New York. ‘If we believe these savings are there, let’s test the concept. But we can’t hinge the entire funding of this bill on these not-yet-seen savings.’”  (Congressional Budget Office, Letter To Honor Charles B. Rangel, 10/29/09; Ceci Connolly, “Seniors Remain Wary of Health-Care Reform,” The Washington Post, 8/9/09)

And A New Tax On Medical Devices That Would “Jeopardize Thousands Of High-Paying” Jobs. “The proposed tax would have a significant and unfair impact on our industry, a worldwide leader in biomedical innovation … Such a rate would dramatically increase our overall effective tax rate, and, in turn constrain resources used for research and development and investment in physical manufacturing capacity. In short, the tax would jeopardize thousands of high-paying scientific and engineering jobs ...” (House Committees On Ways & Means, Energy & Commerce, And Education & Labor, “Detailed Summary Of Affordable Health Care For America Act,” Fact Sheet, 10/29/09; California Health Care Institute et. al., Letter To Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), 9/18/09)