Democrats Vote for Bailouts Twice in 24 Hours

Washington, Apr 27 - Republican Study Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) issued the following statement after the Senate Democrat leadership chose to push for a second vote on their permanent bailout protection bill this afternoon.

“Senate Democrats remain wholly invested in Washington’s bailout mentality,” said Chairman Price. “The American people are tired of seeing their tax dollars used to rescue private companies from the consequences of their own bad decisions, yet the Democrats are trying to make bailouts and too-big-to-fail institutions a permanent part of this now political economy. Instead of holding another pointless vote on their fundamentally flawed bailout protection bill, the Democrat leadership should join Republicans in working to end the bailouts once and for all, streamline the financial regulatory system, protect consumers, and revitalize the dynamic power of our economy.

“House Republicans have already offered a strategy that will accomplish these goals, and our approach also does not ignore the role Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac played in the financial collapse. The Majority remains beholden to a taxpayer financed culture of bailouts that distorts the market at the expense of responsible private sector job creators on Main Street, and no amount of political gamesmanship by our Senate Democrat colleagues will change that fact.” ###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4.27.2010 Congressman Tom Price is Chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC)

Documents Show Companies See Incentive in Dropping Health Coverage

Employers, unions warned months earlier that health bill would trigger losses.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, ranking member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today released a staff memo that indicates four large employers under investigation by committee Democrats see incentives in dropping employer health care coverage thanks to the new health care law.

“Turns out ObamaCare means if you like your health plan you can lose it. The president didn’t have to actually strong-arm companies into dumping their employee health insurance because his bill carried financial incentives to virtually guarantee that result,” Barton said. “But something’s very wrong when, like AT&T found out, paying $600 million in penalties will allow you to stop paying $2.4 billion for insurance, leaving both workers and taxpayers stuck. I suppose we can’t know for some years how many thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions of workers will lose their company insurance because of health care reform, but I know that it will be a breach of faith for most of them and a tragedy for some.”

The preliminary investigation by the Republican staff indicates:

1. “Each of the large employers under investigation warned that health care legislation would trigger reporting requirements (of pending losses) months before passage of the health care law.

2. “Internal company documents from each large employer under investigation reflect concerns over the health care legislation’s new taxes and effect on costs.

3. “Internal company documents indicate that there will be an incentive to drop employer health care coverage because the cost of providing coverage will be much larger than the penalty imposed by the health care legislation.”

For example, a presentation provided to investigators by AT&T shows that the company could save $1.8 billion annually by dropping coverage for current employees and paying the penalty imposed in the law.

A copy of the Republican staff memo can be found here.

Please note: We have redacted information in these updated files.

The documents from AT&T can be found here.

The documents from Caterpillar can be found here and here.

The documents from John Deere & Company can be found here.

The documents from Verizon can be found here.

Joe Barton's Web Site 2322A Rayburn House Office Building | Washington, DC 20515 | (202) 225-3641