tagged w/ Chuck Grassley
-
An Update on ALEC from Stew Blogger Beth:
The Koch Brothers front group, Americans for Prosperity, along with their Tea Party drones, are trying to counter the rising backlash against the billionaire's efforts to hijack our Democracy. They're holding training sessions for Right-wing bloggers on how to lie to the public.
Imagine that...the Koch Brothers are using their other front groups to defend/spin another of their front groups...
http://veracitystew.com/?p=34192An Update on ALEC from Stew Blogger Beth:
The Koch Brothers front group, Americans... more
-
-
The Republican Senator called President Obama "stupid" in a Tweet over the weekend and it's led to public criticism over the GOP Senator's confusing and crazy tweets...
http://veracitystew.com/?p=33335The Republican Senator called President Obama "stupid" in a Tweet over the... more
-
-
Washington lobbyists have been enjoying a multi-million-dollar sugar rush from the food industry.
Soft drink makers, supermarket companies, agriculture and the fast-food business have poured millions into campaigning against what they fear could be a burgeoning national movement to raise money for health care reform by taxing sweetened beverages.
During the first nine months of 2009, the industry groups stepped up their lobbying in Congress. They have spent more than $24 million on the issue of a national excise tax on sweetened beverages and on other legislative and regulatory issues, according to an examination of lobbying reports filed with the Senate Office of Public Records. The review shows that 21 companies and organizations reported that they lobbied specifically on the proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages - which among other things would include sodas, juice drinks and chocolate milk.
About $5 million of the money was spent on a national advertising campaign aimed at Capitol Hill lawmakers and promoting a newly formed coalition called Americans Against Food Taxes . The group bills itself on its website as a coalition of "responsible individuals, financially-strapped families, [and] small and large businesses" but its 400-plus membership list is dominated by industry heavyweights such as Burger King Corporation, Coca Cola, Pepsico and Domino's Pizza.
Many health officials and advocacy groups have argued for years that sugary drinks, particularly those with high-fructose corn syrup, have been key contributors to a rise in obesity rates in the United States, especially among children. Some argue that the time is right for a soda tax, which they say could not only cut consumption but also generate revenue to close state budget gaps and pay for new health care programs.
A proposal for a national excise tax on soft drinks surfaced in a May funding policy options paper during the Senate Finance Committee's deliberations on health care reform. Food lobbyists attacked then and continued their efforts in July when President Obama raised the possibility of a soda tax in an interview with Men's Health magazine. The proposal has not emerged in any of the health care reform bills still in play on Capitol Hill.
But the issue may be gaining traction in some key states. This week, California lawmakers are holding a high-profile hearing in Los Angeles to examine the link between childhood obesity and sugary drinks. In New York, Gov. David Paterson has revived the idea of a sugared beverage tax after a previous proposal was shot down by the legislature earlier this year in the face of industry opposition.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/04/soda-tax-mobilizes-food-l_n_345840.htmlWashington lobbyists have been enjoying a multi-million-dollar sugar rush from the... more
-
-
This site rocks. Learn the origin and history of Death Panels and use it to Truth the unbelievers.This site rocks. Learn the origin and history of Death Panels and use it to Truth the... more
-
-
Politicians are busy with the seven deadly sins these days. California assemblyman Michael Duvall is going heavy on lust with a lobbyist. But it could be worse, Chuck Grassley and Max Baucus are working on greed while on the healthcare lobby's dole.Politicians are busy with the seven deadly sins these days. California assemblyman... more
-
-
Leading liberal activists are pressing Senate Democrats to forget about Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) and move ahead with their own plans for healthcare reform.
Comprehensive healthcare reform legislation stalled in the Senate last month as Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) spent weeks cooped up in his office with Grassley trying to hash out a healthcare deal.
Despite frequent assurances from Baucus that he was making good progress, the Senate left town for its monthlong August recess without any deal, breaking the deadline set by President Barack Obama for passing legislation through the upper chamber.
Baucus and other Democratic members of the Finance Committee plan to resume negotiations with Grassley when they return in September, but leaders among the party’s liberal wing say that path leads to a “dead end.”
“We need to push the Senate to move and pass a bill at a time when Sen. Grassley will probably not support any bill the Finance Committee has formulated,” said Roger Hickey, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future.
“We are encouraging Finance Committee members and Senate Democrats to do their own bill and not compromise with a bunch of Republicans who are not going to vote with them anyway.”
Grassley, the senior Republican on Finance, alarmed liberals when he announced in a television interview Monday that he would not support healthcare legislation that does not have widespread Republican support.Leading liberal activists are pressing Senate Democrats to forget about Republican... more
-
-
On Wednesday, during Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA) town hall in Winterset, Iowa, an attendee proudly noted that the Senator brought his personal copy of Glenn Beck’s book “Common Sense.” Grassley responded stating that he has read the book and that he intended to “pass it on”.
At the end of the town hall, Grassley gave an autographed copy of “Common Sense” to ThinkProgress and said “it’s something you gotta read a couple times.”On Wednesday, during Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA) town hall in Winterset, Iowa,... more
-
-
So let's get this straight... Newt Gingrich, Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) were FOR government intervention on private healthcare decisions before they were AGAINST it?So let's get this straight... Newt Gingrich, Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) Mitch... more
-
-
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, has taken the lead role in negotiating the health care reform bill for the GOP. But earlier today during a radio interview with Iowa City’s KCJJ, Grassley steered the conversation with a caller toward rationing health care services among the elderly, one of the right wing’s favorite fearmongering tactics when it comes to health care reform. And as an example, Grassley cited Sen. Ted Kennedy’s (D-MA) brain tumor. Grassley said that in countries with government-run health care, Kennedy “would not get the care he gets here because of his age.” Instead, the government would decide to spend health care resources on younger people “who can contribute to the economy”:
GRASSLEY: In countries that have government-run health care, just to give you an example, I’ve been told that the brain tumor that Sen. Kennedy has — because he’s 77 years old — would not be treated the way it’s treated in the United States. In other words, he would not get the care he gets here because of his age. In other words, they’d say ‘well he doesn’t have long to live even if he lived another four to five years.’ They’d say ‘well, we gotta spend money on people who can contribute more to economy.’ It’s a little like people saying when somebody gets to be 85 their life is worth less than when they were 35 and you pull the tubes on them.
“Many Americans are under the delusion that we have ‘the best health care system in the world,’” wrote the New York Times editorial page in 2007, but “the disturbing truth is that this country lags well behind other advanced nations in delivering timely and effective care.” Among developed countries, the United States has the 10th highest death rate among cancer patients, higher than Spain and Sweden.
But the larger problem Grassley ignores is cost. For Kennedy, access to health care is not an issue. Among most Americans, however, staggering health costs prevent more than half of U.S. patients from gaining access to medical care. Last year, 38 percent of U.S. patients did not receive recommended treatment compared to 11 percent in Canada and 6 percent in the U.K. And even among Americans with insurance, 43 percent of adults with chronic conditions nevertheless had access problems because of cost.Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, has taken... more
-
