Affordable Care Act

An 'Obamacare' Cost Explosion? Hardly -- GOP Distorts CBO Report

Sahil Kapur | March 15, 2012, 2:09PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Houser Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA)

Republicans and conservative media are cherry-picking a figure in a new Congressional Budget Office spending estimate (PDF) to assert that the cost of "Obamacare" has nearly doubled to $1.76 trillion. But the claim ignores the corresponding savings during the additional period of the spending projection, thus distorting the actual cost estimates of the law.

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Payroll Tax Cut

How The Payroll Tax Fight Descended Into Chaos

Brian Beutler | December 21, 2011, 5:45AM

John Boehner

The fight over renewing the payroll tax cut into next year has escalated into a multi-front political war, both between Republicans and Democrats, and within the Republican party itself.

But lost in the gamesmanship and the arguments about process, hypocrisy, and leadership are the issues at stake.

So let's review.

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John Boehner

No Laughing Matter: GOP Jokes While Heading Home Without a Debt Deal

Susan Crabtree | July 22, 2011, 4:03PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

You know the dizzying array of debt talk drama has gone beyond the state of ridiculous when an announcement from Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) about striking a deal with President Obama is his idea of a joke.

Boehner began a conference meeting Friday morning by deadpanning that Republicans, the White House and Democrats had reached a deal, according to a lawmaker in the room. The response from his conference was nervous silence before Boehner eased the tension by letting them know he was only joking.

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Ron Paul

Rep. Paul Says McConnell Debt Plan Is D.O.A.

Susan Crabtree | July 12, 2011, 7:56PM

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) just announced he's foregoing a run for re-eleection to focus full-time on his long-shot bid for the GOP nomination so maybe he's feeling a little emboldened. Then again, Paul is rarely afraid to state it like is.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Debt Negotiations At The White House]

Paul was the only GOP House member TPM found Tuesday afternoon willing to take a firm stand against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) plan to hand the White House full authority to raise the debt ceiling with Congress only able to disapprove with a two-thirds vote. Conservative groups, Tea Party members outside Congress and activists are reportedly incensed over McConell's fall back plan.

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Taxes

Boehner, Top Republicans, Say Tax Increases 'Non Starter' In Deficit Debate

Brian Beutler | April 12, 2011, 5:02PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

Top House Republicans told President Obama Tuesday that tax hikes are a non-starter in any debate about reducing deficits and debt in the future. And they're claiming their refusal to entertain any new revenues is the mark of fiscal responsibility.

"[I]f the President begins the discussion by saying we must increase taxes on the American people -- as his budget does -- my response will be clear: tax increases are unacceptable and are a nonstarter," said House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) in a statement.

The GOP budget achieves deficit reduction largely by privatizing Medicare and turning it into a voucher program, while slashing Medicaid costs -- but they offset these savings to a large degree by pairing them with dramatic tax cuts. Democrats are poised to propose a mix of spending cuts and tax increases on the wealthy to reduce deficits in the medium to long term.

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Defunding health care

House GOP Policy Committee Chair: We're Gonna Tie Health Care To The Debt Ceiling

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 23, 2011, 12:02PM

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)

As Congress has battled its way through the short-term spending bills keeping the government open for the past couple months, a looming battle has faded from the spotlight. But this morning, on a conference call marking the first anniversary of the health care reform law, one prominent Republican reminded everyone that the debt ceiling fight is coming, and he suggested that it will be bitter.

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), chair of the House Republican Policy Committee and the fifth-ranking Republican in the House leadership, told reporters today that the fight to eliminate funding for implementation of the health care reform law will spill over into the debt ceiling fight.

"Our budget I think will once again define a strong support for non-funding of the legislation," Price said. "It is a work in progress, and my suspicion is the debt ceiling may include the same kind of legislation."

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Tom Price

Tom Price On Cheney Hecklers: 'That's Part Of CPAC, Isn't It?'

Jillian Rayfield | February 11, 2011, 9:57AM

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), who will be speaking at CPAC later today, laughed off the Ron Paul supporters who heckled Dick Cheney yesterday and told TPM: "That's part of CPAC, isn't it?"

"This is a wonderful, wonderful organization," Price said, "a great group that gets together every year and provides that enthusiasm and that energy, that's necessary so that we continue to take our country back."

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Barack Obama

Do Republicans Want To Repeal The Obama Presidency?

Brian Beutler | February 10, 2011, 10:17AM

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)

We all know that the Republican party wants to repeal the health care law. And the financial reform law. And roll back spending to the levels they were at during the Bush administration. And tie Obama's hands so he can't issue new regulations, or has to undo old ones.

When you add it all up, what you get is a huge chunk of the entire Obama presidency that Republicans apparently simply want to erase. The Obama administration has done more than just the above, but, if you eliminate those things, suddenly his first two years look pretty unremarkable.

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Debt Ceiling

Republicans Could Force Multiple Debt Ceiling Votes Before 2012

Brian Beutler | January 21, 2011, 10:26AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Members of both parties are preparing for a big brouhaha over the debt ceiling a few months from now. Democrats are daring Republicans to allow the country to default. Republicans are insisting that they'll only raise the debt limit if the measure is paired with truly dramatic spending cuts. Both sides think they have the upper hand, and only one side can be right about that. But when all's said and done, everybody agrees the debt ceiling will be raised.

The question now is: for how long?

All speculation thus far has centered on the immediate fight. But if Congress decides to raise the debt limit by only a modest increment, Republicans will set themselves up for more bites at the apple in the coming months.

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Health Care

Tom Price: Health Care Repeal Won't Pass, 'But That's Not The Point' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | January 4, 2011, 1:29PM

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) has made an interesting public admission: That the upcoming effort by House Republicans to completely repeal health care reform -- which is set to be voted on in the House on January 12 -- will not actually succeed and become law. But with that said, he explained that the vote is still an important step.

Price was interviewed last night on Fox News by Greta Van Susteren, who asked him: "What's the likelihood you'd pass this, and you could even override a veto from the White House? I mean -- and to what extent is this show-and-tell?"

"It's not show-and-tell," Price replied, saying that it would be "fulfilling a promise to the American people," that they would vote to repeal it.

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Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Say What? GOPers Slam White House Over BP Gulf Spill Fund

Eric Kleefeld | June 17, 2010, 10:18AM

(clockwise from top left) Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN), Rush Limbaugh, Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS) and Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)

BP is ponying up $20 billion for Gulf Spill oil damages. And quite a few Republicans don't like it one bit.

The Obama administration and BP seem to have come to a solution on paying for damages from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, with the $20 billion escrow account to pay out damages to claimants. And since everything that a president does will get attacked by opponents, some Republicans have come out strongly against it -- with the sum total of charges being that it will turn into a political slush fund procured through dirty Chicago thug tactics that will be paid out to ACORN.

• Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) vigorously attacked the idea: "The president just called for creating a fund that would be administered by outsiders, which would be more of a redistribution-of-wealth fund," Bachmann said on Tuesday, also adding that BP should say, "We're not going to be chumps, and we're not going to be fleeced." Bachmann later backtracked on Wednesday, saying that BP should pay for all of the damages involved, but that the fund should not be "an unending pot of money."

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FL-SEN

House Conservative Leader Endorses Rubio In Florida Senate Race

Eric Kleefeld | March 16, 2010, 5:11PM

Former state House Speaker Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)

Marco Rubio has further solidified his support among Washington conservatives for the Florida Republican Senate primary. Rubio's campaign has announced the endorsement of Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), head of the conservative Republican Study Committee.

Price's statement doesn't directly mention Gov. Charlie Crist, the GOP moderate who was the initial frontrunner in this race, but has a clear attack on Crist for supporting the stimulus. And Price hints that we can't trust Crist on opposing Obama on health care, either: "I have full confidence Marco will stand with Republicans against big government disasters like the stimulus and ObamaCare. The last thing we need in the Senate is someone who will abandon our Party and undercut our efforts to limit government and take care of taxpayer dollars."

Republicans

No Regrets: Cosponsor Of GOP Budget Gives His Leaders A Pass--Despite Their Unwillingness To Support It

Brian Beutler | February 9, 2010, 2:56PM

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)

One of the handful of cosponsors of a far-reaching roadmap that would involve privatizing both Medicare and Social Security says he has no regrets about supporting the GOP shadow budget. And yet despite the fact that Republican leadership has sought to distance the party from the plan, he says the onus should be on Democrats to hop aboard Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) proposal.

"Anybody that is serious about fixing the fiscal challenges has to address honestly the issue of entitlements," Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) told me in an interview this afternoon, "and that's what Congressman Ryan has done and I commend him for it.

"There are all sorts of positive ideas out there," Price said. "I think that the roadmap is one of those that we ought to be looking at seriously. Congressman Ryan has introduced it through at least two Congress' now. And it's a very thoughtful and important document that I think positively effects the debate."

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Health Care

Republican Aide Cautions Use of AHIP Report: Check Your Donations First

Christina Bellantoni | October 12, 2009, 11:40AM

We've been keeping a close eye today on Republicans using the new AHIP report to talk about the health care bill leading to rising insurance costs.

Spokesman Kurt Bardella of Rep. Darrell Issa's (R-CA) office told TPMDC that Republicans are sure to use the report as justification for opposing the plan. But he cautioned the minority party must "strike the right balance" between the report showing premiums would rise and "trying to avoid the perception they are doing the insurance industry's bidding."

"Any Republican that uses the report should double-check to see how much money they've received from the industry as that'll be a very easy rebuttal for Dems to hit back," Bardella said.

He views the report as "ample ammunition" for critics of the health care bill and said that it can be used by Republicans as I-told-you-so proof once a bill passes if premiums do rise over the next decade.

"Democrats won't be able to feign surprise or cast it as an unintended consequence - they've been warned and if their health care reform plan - which, right or wrong, seeks to minimize private insurers, results in a defacto tax increase for middle-class Americans - it could prove to be politically devastating," Bardella said.

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