Geoff Davis RSS Articles

Congressman Davis Statement on Record Unemployment

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Today, Congressman Geoff Davis released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the nation’s economy lost 190,000 jobs in the month of October and the national unemployment rate rose from 9.8 percent to 10.2 percent:

“For months, the American public has asked Congress to focus on policies that will encourage job creation and speed our economic recovery, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Majority remains determined to make it more expensive to do business in the U.S.

“From the so-called ‘stimulus’ bill and the flawed national energy tax to the misguided attempt to enact a government takeover of our health care system, the Democrat Majority’s agenda has a central theme: making it more complicated and more expensive to create new job opportunities in America.

“The latest unemployment numbers reaffirm that out of control spending, higher taxes and government expansion are nothing short of detrimental to our economy.
“It is past time to rein in Congress and bring fiscal responsibility back to Washington, and we can start by getting rid of Speaker Pelosi’s trillion-dollar health care legislation. Her bill contains $750 billion in new taxes and could cause an estimated 5.5 million more Americans to lose their jobs.

“Instead of a government takeover of health care, we need to focus on crafting legislation that will provide tax relief for working families and small businesses and put our economy back on the path to economic recovery.”

Health Care Debate Update: Republicans Release Common-Sense Health Care Reform, Thousands Gather on the Capitol Steps to Oppose Speaker Pelosi’s Health Bill

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Today, Congressman Geoff Davis joined thousands of Americans and his Republican colleagues on the West lawn of the Capitol to demand a better solution to health care reform.

Congressman Davis stated, “Thousands of Americans gathered today to voice their opposition to a government takeover of health care. Over the summer, the message rang clear that H.R. 3200 was unacceptable. Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi’s new bill, H.R. 3692, is much the same, with 900 additional pages of tax increases, regulations, and bureaucracy.

“There are better solutions. This week, my colleagues and I introduced an alternative health care reform bill. The Republican plan is a thoughtful, targeted and responsible beginning that will reduce insurance premiums, increase coverage, reduce the deficit and provide real reform to end frivolous malpractice lawsuits, all without raising taxes or costing American jobs.

“I encourage all Fourth District Kentuckians to visit my website where they can read both bills, review summaries and supplemental information, and most importantly, share their opinion on this major debate.”

Kentuckians can read the House Republican alternative health care bill here. The Republican Health Care Reform plan will:

Reduce health care insurance premiums for all purchasers;
Reduce the federal deficit by $68 billion over the next ten years;
Prohibit insurance companies from unjustly cancelling coverage;
Prohibit insurance companies from instituting lifetime spending caps;
Improve coverage for those with pre-existing conditions;
Allow Americans to buy insurance across State lines; and
Institute real medical liability reform.

Republicans will offer their alternative health care legislation as a substitute amendment during debate of H.R. 3962.

While a vote on health care reform is anticipated in the coming days and the Speaker reportedly continues to adjust her bill, Kentuckians can stay up-to-date with developments in the legislation and in the debate by visiting http://GeoffDavis.house.gov. To view a photo album of the House Call on Congress press event, click here.

Fox News: GOP Health Care Bill Delivers Lower Premiums Than Democrats' Plan

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Courtesy of Republican Ways and Means Committee

(Click to Play)

Americans repeatedly say their top health care reform priority is lowering the cost of health coverage. In an analysis conducted by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), health insurance premiums for many families would be nearly $5,000 more expensive under Democrats’ bill compared to those in the Republicans’ plan.

CBO estimated that the Republican bill would reduce health insurance premiums for those who do not have access to employer-provided coverage by up to 8 percent, for employees who get coverage through a small business (50 or fewer employees) by up to 10 percent, and for employees who get coverage through a large business (more than 50 employees) by up to 3 percent.

According to CBO, average annual health care premiums for families who do not have access to employer-provided health care would be $11,000 in 2016 if Congress does not pass a health reform bill. Under the Democrats’ bill, CBO predicts these premiums would actually increase to $15,000, and that’s for the Democrats' cheapest insurance plan!

Given that CBO predicts the GOP bill would reduce expected premiums in 2016 by up to 8 percent, this would mean the annual premium for the cheapest plan under the Democrats’ bill ($15,000) would be nearly $5,000 more expensive than those under the GOP bill ($10,120). Incidentally, CBO says the Democrats’ “cheapest” plan is unlikely to attract many families, meaning average premiums would be even higher in the Democrats' exchange.

Top Ten Tax Increases Included in H.R. 3962

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

New information on the tax increases in H.R. 3962 as released by the Republican Ways and Means Committee.

More information on H.R. 3962 is available here.

Democrats Reintroduce Health Reform in Bigger, More Expensive Packaging

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

On October 29, 2009, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the Democrats’ new health care reform legislation. The Speaker, who once famously promised the “most open and transparent Congress in history,” added more than 900 pages to H.R. 3200 behind closed doors to develop a bigger, more expensive and more complicated health care reform package, the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962).

The American people asked Congress to start over on a new bill that would increase access to affordable health care without piling additional debt on future generations, costing more jobs, or putting the government between patients and their doctors. Unfortunately, the Democrat Majority chose to ignore the voice of the people and propose a bill that includes the same unpopular provisions that were in the Democrats’ previous health care legislation (H.R. 3200) and more.

At 1,990 pages (about 400,000 words), it will take Members of Congress and the American public time to read and comprehend this massive bill, but one thing is already clear: H.R. 3962 is not reform. Speaker Pelosi’s new legislation includes massive tax increases on small businesses and families, harmful cuts to Medicare benefits for seniors, unfunded mandates, budget gimmicks and would make the federal health care bureaucracy more complicated and more rigid by creating over 110 new boards, bureaucracies, commissions and programs.

According to analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), H.R. 3962 comes with a trillion-dollar price tag. Specifically, CBO estimates that H.R. 3962 will cost approximately $1.2 trillion over the next ten years, a violation of President Barack Obama’s “target” spending total of $900 billion for health care reform legislation.

Health care reform is not reform without provisions that reduce health care costs for individuals, families, businesses and the government. In a recent letter, the Blue Dog Democrats said, “Rising health care costs are the single largest threat to our long-term fiscal picture, our economy and the pocketbooks of America’s families. In order to get a handle on our deficits and address the long-term financial liabilities of Medicare and Medicaid, we must take steps to reduce the growth rate of health care costs.” The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Office of the Actuary reported that H.R. 3200 would increase national health expenditures by $750 billion over the next ten years. With double the pages and double the government, H.R. 3962 is likely to be even worse.

To pay for its overwhelming cost, H.R. 3962 includes $729.5 billion in job-killing tax increases. These tax increases will affect every American, including families making $250,000 or less, small businesses, people who are unable to afford insurance, and businesses that want to hire new workers.

In these times of economic hardship, the American people need jobs, not more taxes. When the cost of Speaker Pelosi’s bill is measured in terms of jobs, the bill is more expensive than H.R. 3200. According to the economic model developed by President Barack Obama’s chief economic advisor, H.R. 3962 could cause up to 5.5 million Americans to lose their jobs.

We can increase access to and reduce the cost of quality health care in America. However, H.R. 3962 does not get the job done. Health care reform is an incredibly complex issue that must be carefully debated to find the right way forward. My Republican colleagues and I stand ready to work with the Majority to pass commonsense bills that will improve our health care system.

You can read H.R. 3962 by clicking here. In addition to the legislative text, you can find reading guides and summaries of the bill as they become available. Speaker Pelosi is expected to reveal additional changes to H.R. 3962, so check website often for the most up-to-date information.

House GOP Launches New Website to Expose Truth About Speaker Pelosi’s Health Care Bill

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

From GOP Leader Press Office

As House Republicans continue to battle Speaker Pelosi’s $1.3 trillion government takeover of health care, they’re using a new tool - Amplify.com - to engage the American people in a section-by-section dialogue scrutinizing all 1,990 pages of PelosiCare. Republicans hope the new site - HealthCareTruth.Amplify.com - will provide the American people with an unfiltered online clearinghouse for emerging information about the Pelosi bill as Democrats attempt to bring the massive legislation to a vote.

The idea is simple. As House Republicans pour pore through the Speaker’s health care monstrosity and uncover harmful provisions not being disclosed to the American people by the majority, Amplify allows House Republicans to clip specific portions and explain what they mean in plain English.

The best part is that this process isn’t a one-way street. When visitors arrive at healthcaretruth.amplify.com they are able to easily leave their own comments on any portion, or share the content using Twitter, Facebook, Digg and other popular social tools. The site, created by Reps. Bob Latta (R-OH), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), and John Boehner (R-OH), is up and operating now.

This is hardly the first time this year that House Republicans have pressed for a more transparent and accountable Congress.

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Congressional Republicans have been fighting for a series of reforms in Congress to “let the sun shine in” on the legislative process. These reforms include a requirement that all bills be posted online for at least 72 hours before they are brought to a vote, and a requirement that committees post bills and amendments online within 24 hours after they are passed at the committee level, to prevent the majority from adding “phantom amendments” to bills in secret without a vote, as recently occurred with the health care bill in the Senate. House Republicans have also called for the Speaker to open secretive health care negotiations to the public and to put cameras in the powerful Rules Committee - one of the few Congressional panels that still does its work behind closed doors. These reforms are detailed at www.gopleader.gov/readthebill.

House Republicans hope the American people will engage their Representatives through Amplify and other new media tools to usher in a new era of unprecedented transparency and openness in the legislative process. After all, Members of Congress work for the American people - not the other way around.

Reading Between the Lines: What the Democrats are Trying to Hide About the Pelosi Health Care Bill

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

From the Republican Ways and Means Committee

The Democrats are touting a CBO analysis as proof their nearly 2,000 page government takeover of the U.S. health care system meets various budgetary tests. But the analysis raises even more questions than it answers:

1. What is the true cost of the bill? At least $1.055 trillion, but more like $1.3 trillion.

Democrats keep saying that the coverage provisions cost “only” $894 billion. CBO, however, notes the gross cost is actually $1.055 trillion, a fact they again clarified today. Democrats reach the lower figure by reducing that by $167 billion in “collections,” which are taxes, paid by employers who fail to offer and individuals who fail to purchase government-approved qualifying health insurance. Media isn’t buying the Democrats’ spin. From the Washington Post editorial page to the New York Times, news reports agree the price tag is over $1 trillion.

The Washington Post went on to say that the bill, “is not financed in a sensible, sustainable way.” Now, keep in mind, that is before the $1.055 trillion figure grows to $1.3 trillion once the costs of the Medicare payment physician payment fix, which was introduced without any offsets, is added. At a total of $1.3 trillion, this massive bill would be far from “paid for.”

2. Which way will this bend the cost curve?

Earlier this year, Peter Orszag, President Obama’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget said, “the single most important thing we can do to improve the long-term fiscal health of our nation is slow the growth rate in health care costs.” So a natural question to ask about this bill is whether the goal is met. CBO notes that the House Democrats’ bill contains an “increase of about $598 billion in the [federal] budgetary commitment to health care.” (Emphasis added) Clearly, the answer is "no."

The non-partisan Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also warned last week that an earlier version of the bill would increase national health spending by about $750 billion this decade.

CBO’s analysis contains warnings beyond the first ten-years of the bill: “On balance, during the decade following the 10-year budget window, the bill would increase both federal outlays for health care and the federal budgetary commitment to health care, relative to the amounts under current law” (p. 13).

3. Would Truth in Advertising laws require this to be called the “The Medicaid Expansion Act”?

CBO notes that of those who get health insurance coverage under this bill, more than 40% do so by entering Medicaid, a program notorious for its poor payment rates and limited access to doctors and hospitals for its enrollees. When so many are gaining coverage from increasing Medicaid eligibility, wouldn’t it be more accurate to refer to this bill as entitlement expansion rather than health reform?

4. How much will seniors’ access to care be affect by ever-growing Medicare cuts?

The Democrats’ bill would cut Medicare by one-half trillion dollars over the next 10 years. In trying to project the long-term budget impact of this plan, CBO included an ominous warning for seniors: the Medicare cuts “will increase by 10 percent to 15 percent per year in the next decade” (p. 12). Given what we know today about how difficult it can be for seniors to find doctors willing to accept Medicare patients because of low reimbursement levels, one wonders what will be left of seniors’ health care if this bill is enacted.

5. How many millions of seniors lose access to Medicare Advantage?

This fall, the Obama Administration tried to silence Medicare health plans and prescription drug plans that were alerting seniors to the possibility they could lose access to their plan or see reduced benefits and higher out-of-pocket costs as a result of Democrats’ health care proposals. In the face of clear evidence to the contrary by CBO, the Administration reversed its misguided policy. Unfortunately, CBO’s letter to Chairman Rangel about this version of health reform doesn’t include any information on how many seniors will either lose their Medicare health plan entirely or see their costs go up and their benefits slashed.

6. How many million lose their employer-sponsored coverage?

CBO’s analysis does not show how many individuals will lose their current employer-sponsored insurance -- the coverage they have and like and the coverage the President promised they could keep. CBO only reports the net change in employer coverage, which hides the fact that millions will lose access to their current plan if the Democrats' bill becomes law. In fact, by making more employers eligible to toss their employees into the exchange, this problem likely has gotten worse than when the bill was reported by the three Committees in July, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at the CBO letter.

7. What other provisions haven’t been scored?

The letter contains the usual caveats about the estimate being preliminary and subject to change but also includes this interesting passage, which makes one wonder what else aren't they estimating:

“Moreover, the analysis does not reflect all of the provisions of the bill. In particular, the analysis does not reflect the impact of section 110 of Division A, which would impose certain requirements on employers that currently provide health insurance to retirees.” (p. 9).

8. What other major costs will be funded later?

CBO’s letter helpfully notes that implementing this gargantuan government takeover of our health care system will require tens of billions in other federal spending, the burden of paying for which will fall to future years’ spending bills and are not accounted for in CBO’s estimate. The letter speaks for itself on this point:

“The federal agencies that would be responsible for implementing the provisions of H.R. 3962 are funded through the appropriation process; sufficient appropriations would be essential for them to implement this legislation in the time frame it specifies. Major costs for programs subject to future appropriations would include these:

“* Costs to the Internal Revenue Service of implementing the eligibility determination, documentation, and verification processes for subsidies. Those costs would probably be between $5 billion and $10 billion over 10 years.

“* Costs to HHS (and especially CMS) of implementing the changes in Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP as well as certain reforms to the private insurance market. Those costs would probably be at least $5 billion to $10 billion over 10 years. (The administrative costs of establishing and operating the exchanges, which are direct spending, are included in Table 1.)

“* Costs of a number of grant programs and other changes in Divisions C and D of the legislation. CBO has not completed a review of those provisions.” (p 8-9)

9. Did they properly account for temporary tax increases?

The CBO letter to Chairman Rangel says “the increase in revenues from those (tax) provisions is estimated to total about $52 billion in 2019 and is growing a little faster than 5 percent per year toward the end of the budget window. As a rough approximation, CBO assumes continued growth at about that rate during the following decade.” Interestingly though, one of the largest pieces of that is a provision that sunsets after 2020. One wonders how to square CBO’s estimate that the revenue will continue to climb with the fact a provision that raises $3.8 billion in 2019 disappears after 2020. Moreover, with the Senate set to use at least some of the revenue of that temporary provision to pay for an amendment to the unemployment benefit bill next week, one can only wonder how this revenue hole will be filled.

10. What if we didn’t create the next AMT?

The surtax on individuals with incomes above $500,000 ($1 million for couples) is not indexed for inflation, making it a candidate to be the next AMT. Twenty years from now, a future Congress will laugh that Democrats thought a tax aimed at this group would only hit a few very wealthy individuals. Unfortunately, by not indexing these thresholds for inflation, the surtax will hit more and more families and small businesses as time goes on.

11. How much higher will Part D premiums be?

This summer, CBO estimated the Committee-passed version of this bill would increase Part D premiums by about 20%. While closing the donut hole will be of value to a small minority of seniors, for most it will mean substantially higher premiums. Unfortunately, CBO failed to quantify those amounts.

Congressman Davis Statement on Democrats' Hefty Health Care Bill

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Congressman Davis issued the following statement after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi revealed the House Democrats’ new health care legislation, the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3692):

“Speaker Nancy Pelosi today unveiled her re-write of H.R. 3200 dressed up as H.R. 3692, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Despite promises of the most open and transparent Congress in history, the Democratic Majority has added more than 900 pages to their government takeover of health care behind closed doors. H.R. 3692 is nearly double the size of H.R. 3200 and is expected to cost more than one trillion dollars.

“While it will take considerable time to digest this monster legislation, it is already apparent that their ‘new’ bill rehashes many of the provisions that people across the country vehemently opposed over the summer months.

“Masquerading as ‘reform,’ Speaker Pelosi’s new legislation includes massive tax increases on small businesses and families, harmful benefit cuts for seniors, and again proposes to create a complicated new federal health care bureaucracy.

“House Republicans and an overwhelming majority of Americans want to pass commonsense reform to make health care more affordable and accessible, but this will not happen if the Majority continues to keep health care legislation shrouded in partisan secrecy.”

In an effort to ensure every Kentuckian has the opportunity to read Speaker Pelosi’s new legislation, Congressman Davis has posted the bill to his website homepage at http://www.GeoffDavis.house.gov.

Speaker Pelosi is expected to release an amendment to the bill next week that will include even more changes to H.R. 3692. As more information becomes available it will be posted to Congressman Davis’ website. Congressman Davis invites his constituents to contact him via telephone or e-mail to express their views on the Democrats’ latest attempt to give the government control over Americans’ health care.

Conference One Page: Reading Guide -- Pelosi Health Care Bill

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

From House Republican Conference

In order to assist Members, staff, and interested parties seeking to read and review the health “reform” legislation (H.R. 3962) introduced by House Democrats, the Republican Conference has compiled a list of important page numbers and provisions in the 1,990-page “Affordable Health Care for America Act”:

Page 94—Section 202(c) prohibits the sale of private individual health insurance policies, beginning in 2013, forcing individuals to purchase coverage through the federal government

Page 110—Section 222(e) requires the use of federal dollars to fund abortions through the government-run health plan—and, if the Hyde Amendment were ever not renewed, would require the plan to fund elective abortions

Page 111—Section 223 establishes a new board of federal bureaucrats (the “Health Benefits Advisory Committee”) to dictate the health plans that all individuals must purchase—and would likely require all Americans to subsidize and purchase plans that cover any abortion

Page 211—Section 321 establishes a new government-run health plan that, according to non-partisan actuaries at the Lewin Group, would cause as many as 114 million Americans to lose their existing coverage

Page 225—Section 330 permits—but does not require—Members of Congress to enroll in government-run health care

Page 255—Section 345 includes language requiring verification of income for individuals wishing to receive federal health care subsidies under the bill—while the bill includes a requirement for applicants to verify their citizenship, it does not include a similar requirement to verify applicants’ identity, thus encouraging identity fraud for undocumented immigrants and others wishing to receive taxpayer-subsidized health benefits

Page 297—Section 501 imposes a 2.5 percent tax on all individuals who do not purchase “bureaucrat-approved” health insurance—the tax would apply on individuals with incomes under $250,000, thus breaking a central promise of then-Senator Obama’s presidential campaign

Page 313—Section 512 imposes an 8 percent “tax on jobs” for firms that cannot afford to purchase “bureaucrat-approved” health coverage; according to an analysis by Harvard Professor Kate Baicker, such a tax would place millions “at substantial risk of unemployment”—with minority workers losing their jobs at twice the rate of their white counterparts

Page 336—Section 551 imposes additional job-killing taxes, in the form of a half-trillion dollar “surcharge,” more than half of which will hit small businesses; according to a model developed by President Obama’s senior economic advisor, such taxes could cost up to 5.5 million jobs

Page 520—Section 1161 cuts more than $150 billion from Medicare Advantage plans, potentially jeopardizing millions of seniors’ existing coverage

Page 733—Section 1401 establishes a new Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research; the bill includes no provisions preventing the government-run health plan from using such research to deny access to life-saving treatments on cost grounds, similar to Britain’s National Health Service, which denies patient treatments costing more than £35,000

Page 1174—Section 1802(b) includes provisions entitled “TAXES ON CERTAIN INSURANCE POLICIES” to fund comparative effectiveness research, breaking Speaker Pelosi’s promise that “We will not be taxing [health] benefits in any bill that passes the House,” and the President’s promise not to raise taxes on families with incomes under $250,000

More information on H.R. 3962 is available here.

Davis and Rogers Secure $2 Million for UK Coal-to-Liquids Research

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Congressman Geoff Davis and Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers [KY-05] today announced that a $2 million grant will be awarded to the University of Kentucky’s Center for Applied Energy Research (UK-CAER) for the development of coal-to-liquids technology that would reduce dependence on foreign oil and open new markets for Kentucky’s coal mining economy.

The funding comes from Congressional appropriations that Reps. Davis and Rogers secured in the FY10 Energy and Water Appropriations Act, which was signed into law by the President today.

Congressman Davis stated, “Energy prices are a major factor in determining the cost of living and the cost of doing business in a particular location. In this time of economic hardship, investing in new energy technology is one of the smartest things we can do to spur our recovery. By encouraging the development of new technology like coal to liquids that will produce cleaner energy, we can attain greater energy independence, reinvigorate our economy and create thousands of new jobs, right here at home. I am very pleased that the University of Kentucky will receive these funds.”

“Rising energy costs create a huge burden on Kentucky’s hard-working families that are already struggling with economic uncertainty and job losses in these challenging times. We need to make a more concerted effort to wean ourselves from the stronghold of unfriendly foreign countries and utilize the abundant resources here on American soil,” said Rogers. “Coal is the single most abundant resource at our disposal in the United States, and the basic technology to convert coal into liquid fuel has been around for decades. Now is the time to make targeted investments that engage our best and brightest in the quest to make clean, coal-based transportation fuel commercially available and lower the price at the pump for American consumers and the U.S. military. I am confident that the ground-breaking research performed by scientists at UK-CAER will prove vital on both the national and local levels, particularly in the creation of high-paying jobs here in Kentucky.”

This funding will enable UK-CAER to expand upon its ongoing coal-to-liquids research by constructing a small-scale refinery to develop more efficient and environmentally-friendly methods for coal liquefaction. This important research into the manufacturing process of coal-to-liquids technology is widely seen as a critical next step to engage private investors in larger-scale commercial projects. To date, Reps. Davis and Rogers have worked to secure $4.425 million for this applied research project.

In addition to pushing for more federal dollars dedicated to alternative energy research, Reps. Davis and Rogers have joined like-minded colleagues in supporting comprehensive legislation to combat soaring energy and gas prices and create a stable, long-term domestic source of affordable energy for working families, seniors and veterans in Kentucky. The American Energy Act (H.R. 2846) takes an “all-of-the-above” approach to reducing and stabilizing energy prices by increasing the supply of American-made energy, improving conservation and efficiency, and promoting renewable and alternative energy technologies. Passage of H.R. 2846 would authorize the Secretary of Energy to enter into price guarantee agreements with up to six coal-to-liquids projects that produce innovative transportation fuel – creating a level of certainty for private investment in domestic coal-to-liquids production.