Thank you Mr. Chairman.  I’d like to start out by saying my bill, H.R. 2576, is about fairness.  This summer, when the Associated Press first reported that President Obama’s health care law would allow middle class Americans to become eligible for Medicaid, I was shocked.   The Affordable Care Act’s new income formula that determines eligibility for government… Read more

Washington, DC – Today, the Committee on Ways and Means favorably reported out two bills: H.R. 674, sponsored by Rep. Wally Herger (R-CA) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), to repeal the 3 percent withholding rule on certain payments made to vendors by government entities and H.R. 2576, sponsored by Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), to align the income definition for certain health programs to more… Read more

The United States Supreme Court starts its new term today and the Court is expected to hear and issue a landmark opinion that will determine, “whether the federal government can issue a mandate that Americans purchase and maintain health insurance from a private company for the entirety of their lives." While Democrats are already politicizing and trying to trivialize this critical… Read more

President Barack Obama’s latest jobs plan ignores the obvious: That part of the reason for the lack of investment and job growth in the nation is the uncertainty and disincentives engendered by the president’s own policies. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the health-care overhaul that Obama pushed through Congress in the face of widespread and persistent public… Read more

Today, the Kaiser Family Foundation released its annual Health Benefits Survey, confirming yet again that President Obama broke his campaign promise to reduce health care premiums by $2,500.  The report finds that health care premiums in the workplace have increased 9 percent, or over $1,200 for an average American family, in the year following enactment of some of the earliest… Read more

Washington, DC – Today, Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Wally Herger (R-CA) and Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA) released the following statements on the 18 month anniversary of the health care law to highlight the reform's negative impact on job creators: Rep. Herger: “Employers have said time and time again that they need help with… Read more

House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Wally Herger (R-CA) today announced that the Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing to examine certain expiring Medicare provider payment provisions.  The hearing will take place on Wednesday, September 21, 2011, in 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 2:00 P.M. In view of the limited time available to hear from… Read more

A new report by the Small Business Administration (SBA) confirms what small businesses have repeatedly told the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats – the Small Business Health Insurance Tax Credit doesn’t work.  The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) has reported, “Unfortunately, the credit included in the new health care law does not provide the kind… Read more

Today we are going to hear about a number of Medicare provider payments that will soon expire unless Congress intervenes.  But just because Congress must act, does not mean it should do so blindly.  This hearing offers us, and more importantly the American people, a chance to consider whether Congress should spend more than $2 billion to reauthorize these additional payments for… Read more

HEALTH SUBCOMMITTEE EXPIRING MEDICARE PROVIDER PAYMENT POLICIES HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH … Read more