Yesterday, the House moved past the crabbling over the Speaker post, and moved on to substantive policy.
The House passed a bill repealing one of Obamacare’s most toxic provisions – the definition of 30 hours a week as “full time”, which has put (literally) countless people out of work:
Republicans set the showdown as an initial test of how many Democrats would be willing to defect against a lame-duck president and after the GOP relentlessly attacked Obamacare in November’s election campaigns, riding those attacks to big gains.
The legislation would repeal the provision that defines the 30-hour-per-week work threshold that determines when businesses have to face the health insurance coverage mandate. Critics say it scraps the traditional 40-hour workweek and takes pay out of Americans’ pockets because some employers are cutting hours to below 30 a week to get around the law.
Obama will override the veto – and if everyone votes as they did today, the veto will stand. And every single Democrat that votes to override will be on record opposing the will of the 2014 majority of voters.
And the first big wedge point of the 2016 will be put in place.
Then, it’ll become a battle to increase the attention span of the American voter – on the left and the right…
In 1974 Hawaii passed the Prepaid Health Care Act (PHCA). This required employers of full time workers to offer them healthcare at a low rate (max of 1.5% of monthly wages, I believe). Problem was that “full time” was defined as 20 hours per week. Employers immediately switched from full time workers to lots of part time workers. This was a very high profile issue, but attempts at a fix for the problem have always failed.
Obama was living in Hawaii throughout this time. He didn’t know.
Obama is not a smart person.
One correction: Obama will not override the veto, Obama will veto. Congress will fail to override the veto.
I would go for the jugular of Obamacare by simply equalizing the tax treatment of employer-paid and individual-paid health insurance. I really do not see why health insurance ought to depend on one’s employer, and this would be HUGE.
No question; this is a good start, though. And the more Obama stands against easy, common sense improvements to the Health Insurance Deform Act, the more he lets the cat out of the bag; the goal was not improved health care. It was single payer health care.
Republicans have only old, failed policy, and so far have done shit that is useful or substantive other than ot push the election to the Democrats in 2016.
‘Substantive’ – wow. Pot meet kettle as always ……
Doggone translated: because previous systems weren’t perfect, none of the damage done by the Health Insurance Deform Act matters.
Double shifts at the stupid pill factory tonight, obviously. She needs her supply.
Less than a week into the new Congress and Dog Gone is already calling them do nothing. Unlike other that read this blog, I haven’t been paying attention to her for years. Is this a new record, or just par for the course?
DG = Opinion unencumbered by Thought.
A mindlessly partisan Democrat complains about Republicans doing nothing but “push the election to the Democrats in 2016”? Seems legit.