VA progress is being made – but there is still work to be done

VA progress is being made – but there is still work to be done | gop.gov (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-7304846-1', 'gop.gov'); ga('send', 'pageview'); (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId : '1453356848214778', status : true, xfbml : false });};(function(d, s, id){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); SolutionsLegislativeMediaReleasesAbout GOP.gov / SOLUTIONS / Health Care / VA progress is being made – but there is still work to be done Previous Post | Next Post Health Care VA progress is being made – but there is still work to be done Communications • August 14, 2014

Veterans heard some good news today. According to the Associated Press, VA referrals to private doctors are on the rise. This is largely in part to the House-passed bill H.R. 3230, the Veterans’ Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014. This bill allocates money to private doctors to treat veterans who are unable to get appointments at a VA hospital, either because of wait times or distance. H.R. 3230 was signed into law by President Obama, and within two months, the VA has made more than 838,000 referrals for veterans to receive care from private doctors – a 25% increase.

However, House Republicans know that this is just the beginning – there is still a lot of work to be done for our veterans. While visiting home districts, many members visited and spoke with veterans about their concerns and hopes for the VA and life after the military.

This is truly the “Veteran’s Town.” #HotSprings pic.twitter.com/gQKLFl3HnS

— Rep. Kristi Noem (@RepKristiNoem) August 14, 2014

Great visiting w/our veterans service providers and advocates in Clay Co. We will continue to fight for our veterans. pic.twitter.com/rR8eZLremd — Ted Yoho (@RepTedYoho) August 14, 2014

@TeamFairchild families getting answers on an array of topics during the #MilFamSummit pic.twitter.com/mbghp4mMTd

— Fairchild AFB (@TeamFairchild) August 14, 2014

Good round table w Cowlitz vets yesterday re: their experiences w the VA. More must be done to fix the VA for vets. pic.twitter.com/16OoO0FrNV — JaimeHerreraBeutler (@HerreraBeutler) August 14, 2014

Inviting #milfams to speak their minds so #cmfc can bring stories and feedback back to Congress #milfamsummit pic.twitter.com/iccmZVYl0n

— Sanford Bishop, Jr. (@SanfordBishop) August 14, 2014

So enjoyed visiting w/ my friends @MGMChamber and discussing issues like middle class econ struggles, Iraq & the VA. pic.twitter.com/SvWWGU2iXm — Rep. Martha Roby (@RepMarthaRoby) August 14, 2014

Our veterans have sacrificed for our country and have given of themselves and they deserve to have the the best care possible.

— Rep. Lee Terry (@LEETERRYNE) August 14, 2014

The #veterans only hour begins in 15 mins (9am CST) at the Great Mall of the Great Plains in Olathe #YoderJobFair http://t.co/T4f9Iecudw — Rep. Kevin Yoder (@RepKevinYoder) August 14, 2014

Speaking to the Society of American Military Engineers (@SAME_HQ) this evening in Spanish Fort. #AL01 pic.twitter.com/GoUTNRLsSk

— Rep. Bradley Byrne (@RepByrne) August 14, 2014

Veterans town hall in #Lovelock going strong at Pershing County Community Center pic.twitter.com/ZoWH1wbtYT

— RepMarkAmodei (@MarkAmodeiNV2) August 13, 2014

 

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Related Content 5 things (still) on our summer wish listAugust 4, 2014

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Solving back-to-school stress

Families across the country are gearing up for the first day of school. New backpacks, sharpened pencils, and back-to-school outfits are filling wish lists – and emptying wallets. Back-to-school spending is estimated to total $26.5 billion this year, a slight decrease from 2013.

And the buck doesn’t stop there. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual Expenditures on Children and Families report, the average cost of raising a child born in 2013 is $245,340. And once you equate inflation – that total rises to $304,480! The total cost varies from family to family, with multiple factors like income, education expenses, and region at play - but across the board, costs are rising annually.

Retailers are responding with multiple back-to-school discounts, tuition sweepstakes, and “freebies” for the season – but House Republicans know the stress of raising a family goes far beyond an annual school supply shopping trip.

To ease the financial burden, House Republicans have passed dozens of bills aimed at driving down every day costs. H.R. 3, which approves the Keystone XL Pipeline and H.R. 1582, the Energy Consumers Relief Act open up new energy prospects, lowers energy costs at the pump and at home.  Other bills, like the Child Tax Credit Improvement Act and the Student and Family Tax Simplification Act will help families receive benefits they deserve – and benefits that will help them bring home more of their paycheck.

But House Republicans also understand that the financial aspect is only one stress in raising a family – working families know that time and flexibility are also key. House Republicans have passed bills like H.R. 1406, the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013, and H.R. 5110 the Save Medicare Home Health Act of 2014 to make the balance between work and home more manageable for American families.

Raising a child is hard work, great responsibility, and often costly. Yet despite these tribulations, families remain the core of our society. House Republicans understand and appreciate the sacrifices of parents across our nation. By passing bills that will help Americans bring home more of their paycheck, lower every day costs, and making the work and home balance more flexible, House Republicans are able to make life easier for these hard-working Americans. Yet, while dozens of these bills remain stuck on Senator Reid’s desk, we will not be dismayed. We will continue to work and create solutions that answer the real needs of every day American families.

View the original article here

We’re dealing with a stubborn, out-of-touch President

Yesterday, President Obama told a crowd that the economy has “turned around” since he entered the White House.

“And if you think about where we are now economically compared to where we were when I first came into office, we were then losing 800,000 jobs a month. We now are seeing the lowest unemployment claim since 2006 — the largest drop this past year in unemployment in 30 years. We’ve seen the deficit cut by more than half. We’ve seen the stock market rise so that people fully recovered their 401(k)s. We’ve seen corporate profits booming … The housing market has recovered.”

Americans aren’t buying this.  Last week, Americans’ economic confidence dropped six points – the largest one-week drop since October 2013. And these negative sentiments are more than just worry and emotion – they’re the byproduct of real, economic hardships.

-Since President Obama took office, there has been a 23 % increase in the number of the long-term unemployed. 2.6 million long-term unemployed at the beginning of his term has climbed to 3.2 million last month.

-There are 46.5 million Americans living in poverty. The number of Americans living at or below the poverty line has gone up by 6.7 million between 2008 and 2012.

-More than $7 trillion has been added to the national debt. Trillion equates to more than $61,000 per household! And when President Obama introduced his budget plan this year, he failed to address the debt and increase taxes for Americans.

-Americans are paying higher costs for nearly everything – and struggling to make ends meet. Energy costs in particular have nearly doubled under President Obama. A quarter of Americans reported they’re “just getting by” financially.

-In addition to paying more, Americans are receiving less. Since January 2009, median household income has fallen by $2,067 – dropping from $55,958 in January 2009 to $53,891 in June 2014.

-These lower incomes might be due to the 66% increase in involuntary part-time workers. There are 7.5 million Americans struggling to find full-time work - stuck settling with part-time jobs. That is more than double what it was in December 2007.

-The labor force participation rate is nearing a 30-year low. According to the most recent Department of Labor unemployment report, the share of the population participating in the labor force is at lows not seen since the 1970's, at 62.9%.

So has the economy turned around? Definitely not. In fact, it’s doing worse. President Obama’s failed economic policies, paired with an out-of-touch understanding of real, Americans’ problems is putting too many families in stressful economic situations.

House Republicans have passed over 40 jobs-bills that will put Americans back to work and help them bring home more of their paycheck – too bad they remain stuck in a Democratic-controlled Senate. However, a do-nothing Senate and a stubborn President will not deter the House from continuing to work. We will pass more solutions for Americans – solutions to make life better and solutions to empower.

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President Obama’s Got “No New Friends”

President Obama has earned a reputation of not playing well with others. And while House Republicans have long been vocally frustrated – now even Senate Democrats are speaking out about their inability to work with President Obama.

In a recent New York Times article, several Senate Democrats – including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) – were interviewed about their relationship with President Obama.

“With Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, sitting a few feet away, Mr. Reid complained that Senate Republicans were spitefully blocking the confirmation of dozens of Mr. Obama’s nominees to serve as ambassadors. He expected that the president would back him up and urge Mr. McConnell to relent.

“Mr. Obama quickly dismissed the matter.

“‘You and Mitch work it out,’ Mr. Obama said coolly, cutting off any discussion.”

Ouch. That’s not a very nice way to treat your co-workers or fellow leaders. And Senator Reid agreed:

“After his return to the Capitol that afternoon, Mr. Reid told other senators and his staff members that he was astonished by how disengaged the president seemed.

“But the impression the president left with Mr. Reid was clear: Capitol Hill is not my problem.”

Other Democrats spoke out about the lack of communication and compromise coming from the White House:

“Asked to characterize his relationship with the president, Mr. Manchin, a centrist Democrat who has often been a bridge builder in the Senate, said: ‘It’s fairly nonexistent. There’s not much of a relationship.’”

Senator Angus King (I-ME) said:

“In order to work with people, you need to establish the relationship first before you ask for something, and I think one of the things the White House has not done well and the president has not done well is the simple idea of establishing relationships before there is a crisis.”

But this isn’t the first time President Obama has opted out of compromising friendship – this behavior has been going on for a while. The Wire broke down a timeline of President Obama’s inability to make friends, from the recent border crisis to complaints from foreign ambassadors. Often, the word “aloof” arises when lawmakers describe the President.

President Obama’s behavior has created a trickle-down affect, and his inability to compromise is echoed in the Senate chambers. House Republicans have passed dozens of bills that would put Americans back to work – many of them with bipartisan support. Yet they remain stuck in a stubborn Democratic controlled Senate. And now even his allies there are catching on to the fact that President Obama isn’t interested in helping anyone. In the words of hip-hop artist Drake, Obama is making “no new friends – no, no, new.”

House Republicans will continue to pass bills that empower Americans to make their lives better – and will push against the obstacles of an imperial Presidency.

View the original article here

How are Americans feeling?

Two words: Fed up.

NBC News and Wall Street Journal debuted the findings of their nation-wide poll, and the results showed a lot of very frustrated Americans.

– Six out of 10 are dissatisfied with the state of the economy
– More than 70% believe America is headed in the wrong direction
– Nearly 80% are “down on the country’s political system”

“We’re in the summer of our discontent,” said pollster Peter Hart, who conducted this survey with fellow pollster Bill McInturff. “Americans are cranky, unhappy… It is with everything going on the world.”

And the source of their discontent? The lingering effects of the recession and failed leadership.

These numbers show more than just Americans’ opinions – they are results of personal experience. Seventy-one percent said the recession personally impacted them, and 64% say it’s still having an effect on them. And breaking down the numbers even further paints a very scary economic picture:

– 40% say someone in their household lost a job in the past 5 years
– 27% say they have more than $5,000 in student-loan debt for either themselves or their children
– 20% have more than $2,000 in credit card debt they are unable to pay off month to month
–17% say they have a parent or a child over 21 years old living with them for financial or health reasons.

Yet the reason behind these dismal numbers was made equally clear by those polled: 71% believe the economic problems are due to the inability of Washington – and President Obama’s received his lowest approval rating yet – 40%.

Americans are frustrated and angry – they’re “Fed Up” with their Federal government. People are looking to their leaders for solutions – but so far, President Obama has not delivered. What Americans need are policies that will empower Americans – not make life harder.  They need solutions like the ones House Republicans are introducing and passing. Solutions that will empower individuals, improve our economy, and build a stronger America.

View the original article here

Obamacare is more unpopular than ever. 5 reasons why:

Every week there’s another Obamacare headline announcing another failure of the President’s health care program. Americans are starting to take notice. According to a recent survey, Obamcare is “more unpopular than ever” - with over half of Americans viewing Obamacare unfavorably.

Pollsters found the sudden change in opinion unusual. Drew Altman, the Chief Executive of the Kaiser Foundation that performed the survey, said “Normally, when negatives go up, you can tie it to an event,” but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

However, we know five reasons why Americans are increasingly disappointed, and it has nothing to do with current events. Instead, they all are consistent failures of the Affordable Care Act:

1. To avoid the expensive mandates under Obamacare, businesses are hiring more part-time workers – making full-time jobs harder to find.  Part-time workers are growing increasingly dismal at their full-time job prospects.

2. Premiums are continuing to rise – despite President Obama’s promises. Premiums for health plans through the federal exchange will rise by an average of 13.2% in Florida. In New York, rate hikes as high as 22% have been reported.

3. If you have Obamacare and you like your plan – it’s still going to cost you. People who decide to stick with their existing coverage are at risk for some of the biggest premium increases of all.

4. Small businesses are suffering. A lot. Higher premiums, less benefits, and great uncertainty are making the new health care mandates detrimental to small business owners and workers. Not to mention, the “SHOP” health care market for small businesses, is still not completely functioning.

5. Despite promises of “keeping your doctor” and health care choice – Obamacare is filled with medical limitations. For many Americans, doctors who treated them earlier are now turning them away, even if they haven’t changed insurers.

Obamacare is decreasing in popularity because the problems aren’t going away – in fact, they continue to grow. Our economy is suffering, consumers are facing higher costs and decreased coverage, and promises made are being broken. Americans deserve – and need – better health care alternatives. House Republicans are working to reverse this trend of harmful health care by presenting patient-centered, individualized alternatives that empower Americans’ to make their own health care decisions – not a government to decide for them.

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This week in Obamacare failures

Surprise, surprise. In this week’s roundup of Obamacare headlines, you’ll see a security breach, hidden enrollment data, more deleted emails, and higher health care costs that reduce work hours. Unfortunately, it’s business as usual for the this new health care law.

Rising Costs Reducing Work Hours

The burdensome regulations and rising health care costs of Obamacare are affecting school districts across the country. In Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, substitute teachers are seeing their hours cut to less than 30 hours a week due to a specific provision in the health care law.

“You have to feel bad for the districts and the kids because the districts are the ones who need the subs, and the kids are the ones who are going to get hurt, and that’s what we’re all here for,” said Lisa Ubassik, a 7th grade Language Arts teacher.

HealthCare.Gov Website Security Breaches

HealthCare.Gov is having more trouble – only this time it’s not users’ patience that’s at risk; it’s their personal information. Despite requests from both Republican leaders and journalists, the Obama administration refuses to release how secure HealthCare.gov is or what security measures it’s using.

Sam Baker, a health care correspondent for National Journal told Fox News, “We also know there were some security tests that were delayed … or certified sort of haphazardly before HealthCare.gov launched, so there are those legitimate security concerns. But there are also legitimate questions about if the necessary steps were taken to protect the data this site holds.”

Frighteningly, this week, the Washington Post reported that health care data breaches have affected over 30 million Americans.

Hidden Enrollment Data

Investor’s Business Daily pointed out that it’s been over 110 days since the last “monthly” report on Obamacare enrollment numbers. A Government Accountability Office report found that the numbers released by the Obama administration are “unreliable” because they don’t match up with industry numbers. Plus, as IBD notes: “Since Obamacare gives delinquents a three-month grace period before canceling plans, many of them could be off the rolls by now.”

So why is the self-described most transparent administration in history hiding enrollment numbers? Megan McArdle, a Bloomberg View columnist contends it’s because enrollment numbers are dropping.

She wrote, “People are still citing enrollment figures from March as the number of people covered by Obamacare policies, even though that number didn’t tell us how many would ultimately pay.”

Even More Deleted Emails

Both CNBC and Fox News reported that a top Obama administration official asked her spokeswoman to delete an email from a senior White House advisor that discussed problems with HealthCare.gov.

That makes at least 20 Obama administration officials who have lost or destroyed some portion of their emails.

“Time and again, the self-proclaimed ‘most transparent administration’ has been anything but,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) said. “And now we know that when HealthCare.gov was crashing, those in charge were hitting the delete button behind the scenes.”

These are just a few ways the president’s health care law is hurting Americans.

It’s more evidence that now – more than ever – Americans need real solutions for their health care.

House Republicans know that Americans are empowered when they are free to make their own health care decisions. That’s why our plan starts over with real health care reform that lets patients choose the plans they want, the doctors they need, and the costs they can afford.

Learn more about our health care plan and the health care accomplishments of the House Republican majority.

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You’ll want to read these IRS headlines twice

These articles are probably going to cause you to take a double-take:

“IRS Failed to Do Background Checks on Contractors”

“The IRS failed to do background checks on some private contractors who handled confidential taxpayer information, exposing more than a million taxpayers to an increased risk of fraud and identity theft, a government investigator said Thursday.”

“IRS Handed Taxpayer Information to Contractors Without Background Checks”

“The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a report released Thursday that the IRS handed over a disc containing sensitive data on about 1.4 million taxpayers to a printing firm without any of the company’s employees being subjected to screenings.”

Yeah, you read that right. The IRS – already known for its inability to keep records, save emails, and hold their staff accountable – has now exposed more than 1 million taxpayers to “increased risk of fraud and identity theft” by giving their private information away.

“IRS policy requires contractors with access to confidential taxpayer information to undergo background checks, though the policy wasn’t always followed, the report said. About 10,000 private contractors have access to such information.”

Additionally, the Washington Post reports:

“… auditors determined that 20 IRS contracts involved non-agency personnel who had not signed nondisclosure agreements, according to the report.”

This type of systematic abuse is dangerous and reckless for Americans. Already this year, House Republicans have demanded the truth surrounding “missing” emails and destroyed hard drives through multiple hearings – and have even passed a bill limiting their spending abilities. Yet, as stories like these continue to arise, the pursuit of accountability must continue.

The IRS is given great responsibility – and as representatives of the American people, House Republicans know that holding the IRS accountable is our responsibility.

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