Report: 3 key senators propose jettisoning 'cap-and-trade'; favor reducing carbon pollution
HOW CAN THIS STILL BE ALIVE!?!
Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass.,
Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Lieberman,
I-Conn,., are planning an alternative to be introduced next month, the
Post reported on its Web site. The bill would apply different carbon
controls to different sectors of the economy instead of taking a
national approach. A carbon tax could be levied on motor fuel.
Rebuttals
To Ryan? We're Still Waiting
It was the Wisconsin congressman who made the most pointed remarks about Obama's reform proposal. For example:
• "This bill does not control costs (or) reduce deficits. Instead, (it)
adds a new health care entitlement when we have no idea how to pay for
the entitlements we already have."
• "The bill has 10 years of tax increases, about half a trillion
dollars, with 10 years of Medicare cuts, about half a trillion dollars,
to pay for six years of spending. The true 10-year cost (is) $2.3
trillion."
• "The bill takes $52 billion in higher Social Security tax revenues
and counts them as offsets. But that's really reserved for Social
Security. So either we're double-counting them or we don't intend on
paying those Social Security benefits."
• "The bill takes $72 billion from the CLASS Act (long-term care insurance) benefit premiums and claims them as offsets."
• "The bill treats Medicare like a piggy bank, (raiding) half a
trillion dollars not to shore up Medicare solvency, but to spend on
this new government program."
• "The chief actuary of Medicare (says) as much as 20% of Medicare
providers will either go out of business or have to stop seeing
Medicare beneficiaries."
• "Millions of seniors who have chosen Medicare Advantage (Medicare
through a private insurer) will lose the coverage that they now
enjoy."• "When you strip out the double-counting and ... gimmicks, the
full 10-year cost of the bill has a $460 billion deficit. The second
10-year cost of this bill has a $1.4 trillion deficit."
• "The 'doc fix' (restoring cuts in Medicare reimbursements) costs
$371 billion ... a price tag (that) made the score look bad. (So) that
provision was taken out, and (put) in stand-alone legislation. But
ignoring these costs does not remove them from the backs of taxpayers.
Hiding spending does not reduce spending."
• "Are we bending the cost curve down or are we bending the cost
curve up? If you look at your own chief actuary at Medicare, we're
bending it up. He's claiming that we're going up $222 billion, adding
more to the unsustainable fiscal situation we have."
In response to all this, Obama basically talked up the benefits of
Medicare Advantage.
