Capitol Hill Updates

  • Weekly House of Representatives’ Schedule - 5/20/13
    THE LEADER'S WEEKLY SCHEDULE WEEK OF MAY 20TH MONDAY, MAY 20TH On Monday, the House will meet at 12:00 p.m. for morning hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m. Legislation Considered Under Suspension of the Rules: 1) H.R. 258 - Stolen Valor Act of 2013 (Sponsored by Rep. Joe Heck / Judiciary Committee)2) H.R. 1073 - Nuclear Terrorism Conventions Implementation and Safety of Maritime Navigation Act of 2013 (Sponsored by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner / Judiciary Committee) TUESDAY, MAY 21STOn Tuesday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for...
  • IRS Chief Tells Price It's "Absolutely Not Illegal" for Agency to Target Americans
    Washington, D.C.- Congressman Tom Price, M.D., questioned outgoing Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Steve Miller during a House Committee on Ways and Means hearing today regarding recent revelations that the IRS specifically targeted conservative and religious groups for additional scrutiny. Responding to a question from Rep. Price, Miller announced that he does not consider the IRS's targeting of specific individuals and organizations to be illegal. IRS CHIEF: 'ABSOLUTELY NOT ILLEGAL' FOR IRS TO TARGET GROUPS (VIDEO) Courtesy of National Review. Earlier this week, Rep. Tom Price, M....
  • Committee Members Fight for Full Repeal of Obamacare
    Health Care Law Drives Up Costs, Limits Patient Choice, and Hurts Job Creation  WASHINGTON, DC – Members of the Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday voiced their support to fully repeal the president’s health care law.  Since the reforms became law three years ago, the committee has conducted rigorous oversight to educate the American people on the law’s impact on patients, providers, the economy, and states. With each day that passes, the committee continues to discover more consequences as a result of the law’s mandates, fees, policies, and taxes. Energy and...
  • Committee Seeks More Details on Sebelius’ Efforts to Support “Enroll America,” Joins Request for GAO to Conduct an Investigation
    Members Examine Reports that Sebelius Requested Health Care Execs Donate to Organization that Supports Implementation of Obamacare  WASHINGTON, DC – House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders on Thursday continued their examination into reports that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius may have solicited funding or assistance from the health care industry to help implement the health care law. According to The New York Times, an HHS spokesperson said Secretary Sebelius suggested health care executives and others to support the work of Enroll America, a private...
  • Price Praises Passage of Health Care Law Repeal
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Price, M.D. (GA-06), praised the passage of the repeal of President Obama’s health care law in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, saying:“Our friends on the other side of the aisle complain that we are voting again to repeal President Obama’s health care law. This critique is especially peculiar given the fact that the Democrat-controlled Senate and many Democrats in the House all voted to repeal a critical component of this law – the medical device tax. In fact, even President Obama agrees that his health care overhaul is tremendously...
  • Daily House of Representatives’ Schedule - 5/17/13
    FRIDAY, MAY 17TH On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. First votes expected: 10:30 - 11:00 a.m. Last votes expected: 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. One Minute Speeches H.R. 1062 - SEC Regulatory Accountability Act (Structured Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Scott Garrett / Financial Services Committee) The rule provides for one hour of general debate and makes in order the following amendments: Rep. Pete Sessions Amendment (10 minutes of debate)Rep. Robert Hurt Amendment (10 minutes of debate)Rep. Carolyn Maloney Amendment (10 minutes of debate) Special Order...
  • A Second Court Rules That Another NLRB “Recess Appointment” by President Obama’s Is Unconstitutional
    'For the second time this year, an appeals court reaffirmed what Republicans and job creators around the country have been saying: the President’s attempt to circumvent the Senate with a supposed ‘appointment’ to the NLRB was made outside the law’  WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit on Thursday ruled that a so-called “recess appointment” by President Obama to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Craig Becker, was invalid. The Court ruled (2 to 1) that a “Recess” of the Senate applies only to inter-session recesses of the Senate, not to...
  • Price Introduces “Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act”
    Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Price, M.D (R-GA) issued the following statement after introducing the Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act of 2013 (H.R. 2009) – legislation that would prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from implementing or enforcing any provisions of the president’s health care law. “Less than a week ago the American people learned what many had already suspected that the IRS had inappropriately abused its authority to target and intimidate certain individuals and organizations trying to practice their right to free speech,” said Rep. Price. “This comes at...
  • Committee Launches Probe Following Reports of HHS Soliciting Donations from Companies it Regulates
    Leaders Express Concern with Agency Soliciting Companies that are Currently Seeking HHS Approval to Sell Plans on Exchanges WASHINGTON, DC – House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders this week expressed concern with recent press reports that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has solicited funding from private companies to help implement the health care law. According to the Washington Post, the secretary has called health industry executives, community organizations, and church groups to request their assistance to “increase awareness of the law.” Despite HHS...
  • Charge & Response: Obamacare
    CHARGE: “You should know that once we have fully implemented, you’re going to be able to buy insurance through a pool so that you can get the same good rates as a group that if you’re an employee at a big company you can get right now — which means your premiums will go down.” (President Obama, speech in Cincinnati, Ohio July 16, 2012)RESPONSE: Nothing could be further from the truth. With new mandates, restrictions and taxes, health insurance companies are predicting massive insurance premium increases for individuals and small businesses. Consumers purchasing health...