Fortune.com is reporting more bad news for American workers as a result of the Democrats’ new health care law. After reviewing internal company documents, Fortune reports that four major U.S. employers (AT&T, Verizon, Deere and Caterpillar) are considering “dumping the health care coverage they provide to their workers in exchange for paying penalty fees to the government."  These… Read more

As the old saying goes: when it rains, it pours.  And, the nation’s chief financial officers are suggesting the new health care law is all wet when it comes to the prospects for their businesses and employees.  A survey conducted by the City University of New York for the Financial Executives Research Foundation found that three-quarters of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) believe the… Read more

The House of Representatives today passed bipartisan legislation to help speed Haiti’s economic recovery following the devastating January earthquake that shattered the country’s economy.  H.R. 5160, The Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act expands duty-free access to the U.S. market for additional Haitian textile and apparel exports and extends existing trade preference programs for… Read more

When health care reform begins to take effect in Connecticut, it will undoubtedly mean insurance for tens of thousands of people who have lacked coverage. But that doesn’t mean they will be able to find a doctor to see them. The Connecticut State Medical Society is warning of a major shortage of primary care physicians in the state that, if not addressed soon, will lead to longer… Read more

Washington, DC - Ways & Means Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI) made the following statement on this morning’s GDP data: “Economic growth is good, but it is not a paycheck and it should not obscure the fact that over 10 million people are now receiving unemployment checks instead of paychecks – 2.3 million more than when Democrats’ failed stimulus plan passed.  I am concerned that the… Read more

One week ago, Vice President Biden predicted that “some time in the next couple of months we're going to be creating between 250,000 jobs a month and 500,000 jobs a month."  That the Administration is making job predictions at all may seem surprising given their dubious record on predicting job growth and unemployment rates.  For example, instead of creating 3.7 million jobs and holding… Read more

Ways and Means Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI) issued the following statement today after learning that Ways and Means Republican Ginny Brown-Waite (FL) will not be seeking reelection: “First and foremost, I offer prayers for Ginny’s speedy and full recovery.  In the short time she has served on the Ways and Means Committee, she has proved herself as a tenacious legislator and staunch… Read more

Thank you for yielding, Mr. Chairman. I’d be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to publicly congratulate my friend and colleague, Mr. Tanner, on his becoming Chairman of this Subcommittee.  I look forward to working with you in your new capacity.  Today we’re exploring the possibility of expanded trade with Cuba.  I’m open to loosening some restrictions on Cuba.  Specifically, I… Read more

Washington, DC – House Ways and Means Committee Republicans today sent a letter to Ways and Means Chairman Sander Levin (D-MI) requesting a hearing on the new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) analysis of the recently enacted health care overhaul.  CMS estimated that the law will increase health care spending over $300 billion, includes over one-half trillion in cuts to… Read more

With unemployment hovering close to 10 percent and underemployment -- such as part-time workers wanting full-time work – even higher, Mercer’s annual employer health plan survey illustrates the harsh reality for employers and more importantly the employees that work for them under the Democrats’ health care overhaul.  The study found that at least 38 percent of employer health plans may… Read more