Senators Kelsey and Bell ask State Attorney General to join multi-state efforts to curb federal abuse of power over Obamacare rules

NASHVILLE, Friday, Jan. 4, 2014 -- State Senator Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) and State Senator Mike Bell (R-Riceville) today called on Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper to join his counterparts in eleven other states in asking Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to go through proper channels before changing rules for the federal health care plan commonly referred to as Obamacare.  Attorney Generals in West Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia wrote Sebelius a letter last week expressing concern that HHS has proposed a rule that “both compounds illegal executive action and fails to protect the privacy of consumers using the health insurance exchanges.”

Kelsey and Bell also urged Cooper to file a lawsuit with other attorney generals based on the problems enumerated by the letter, particularly as it concerns illegal rules that have not been authorized by congressional action.  The lawmakers said this includes enforcement of some parts of the federal healthcare law, while delaying other provisions in violation of constitutional authority.

“Tennesseans are concerned with the illegal action being taken by the Obama administration without congressional approval,” said Senator Kelsey.  “The only way Tennessee can enter into a lawsuit is if the Attorney General decides to. That is why I am calling on General Cooper to fight Obamacare today by challenging these illegal decisions.”

“The overstepping of authority in regards to Obamacare rules has been breathtaking,” added Senator Bell.  “Our citizens’ privacy is greatly compromised as a result of these rules.  The overreach of power will continue unless states challenge these actions through the courts.”

The attorney generals objected to five major administrative directives:

• Although they support allowing citizens to keep their cancelled health insurance plan, the attorney generals wrote that they only way to legally fix the problem is through congressional action rather than administrative rule.
• They asked HHS to implement commonsense safeguards to protect the security of consumers’ private information throughout the enrollment process on the healthcare exchanges.
• They called for rigorous training requirements and accountability for all programs using those governing state-licensed insurance agents and brokers as models to ensure a basic proficiency regarding consumers’ health insurance options.
• They asked for explanation regarding help for defrauded consumers whose personal information was improperly shared, including clarification of liability when the information is wrongly disclosed.
• They asked HHS to work in partnership with state consumer protection efforts.  In particular, they asked for clarification regarding federal requirements so they do not bar states from imposing certification and licensing requirements like surety bonds and acts-and-omissions insurance, on non-profit assistance groups who are not licensed agents or brokers.

“It is not enough simply to adopt vague policies against fraud. HHS has given its stamp of approval to every counselor who interacts with a consumer,” the letter from the attorney generals said.  “This position of trust has allowed counselors to gain access to a wide variety of personal information from unsuspecting consumers. Unscrupulous counselors, who are not properly screened out or supervised, have easy means to commit identity theft on consumers seeking enrollment assistance.”

“We believe Tennessee’s Attorney General should act to protect healthcare consumers in Tennessee from this disastrously flawed law,” Kelsey concluded. 

Kelsey is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, while Bell is Chairman of the Senate Government Operations Committee.

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House to take up bill to Demand Obamacare Updates. Lamar Alexander leads effort in Senate

Since the launch of the Obamacare website, the administration has been secretive about how many people have attempted to sign up and how many have successfully signed up for insurance under the Affordable Care Act.  The administration has released sporadic data when the demand for answers got so loud they could not be ignored or when the data suited the purposes of the administration.  This should not only frustrate Republicans, but should frustrate everyone who believes in open government.

How many people have enrolled is not a national security issue.  That is not classified information. Unfortunately, as of last October Senate Democrats were happy with keeping health enrollment numbers secret and blocked a bill sponsored by Senator Alexander that would  have required weekly reports on the Obamacare exchanges.

The coming week, the issue will be back before Congress when House Republicans will began work on H.R. 3362, the House version of the bill. The bill will require weekly reports from the Obama administration on how many people are using the HealthCare.gov website and signing up for health insurance.  It would require weekly updates on the number of unique website visitors, new accounts, and new enrollments in a qualified health plan, as well as the level of coverage. The data would have to be provided on a state-by-state basis. Weakly the administration would also have to report on efforts made to solve any website or enrollment problems.

Alexander has been outspokenly frustrated by the administration's secrecy regarding the progress of Obamacare enrollment and made the following statement when his bill was blocked in October. 

Before the Internet, RCA knew how many records Elvis was selling every day.  Before the Internet, Ford knew how many cars they were selling every day. Before the Internet, McDonald’s could tell you how many hamburgers it had sold each day. Yet the Obama administration cannot tell us how many Americans have tried to sign up for Obamacare.

With Wikileaks and Edward Snowden spilling our beans every day, what’s happening on the Obamacare exchanges is the only secret left in Washington. The National Security Agency should learn some lessons from Secretary Sebelius.

We shouldn't have to rely on anonymous sources to get basic information about what's happening with the Obamacare exchanges. They should be able to provide it really every minute. We shouldn't have to pass a law to find these things out.

The mainstream media likes to blame extreme partisanship and government gridlock on the Republicans, yet the administration will not voluntarily supply simple numbers which are readily available about the roll out of the Affordable Care Act and  Democrats in Congress oppose requiring the Administration to provide the information.  Republicans should stand firm and allow no administration initiative to see the light of day until this bill passes. Compromise and Reasonableness is a two-way street.

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Rep. Sherry Jones proposes medical marijuana bill

Bill would make medical marijuana sales legal in Tennessee

Sherry Jones, D-Nashville, sponsor of HB1385. "It would apply to only the most severely debilitated people ... children suffering a hundred (epileptic) ...

This is a positive development and I hope the bill passes. 

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Middle Tennessee Republican Women. Save these dates...

Happy New Year 2014 Middle Tennessee Republican Women Save these dates.... January 14, 2014 February 11, 2014 We are very excited to greet 2014. An election year where we can make a difference on the local front. We have been charged to educate, so we can educate others and then take action. We are also very proud to have our meetings at Frost, Brown, Todd Law Offices on the 19th floor of the new Pinnacle Bldg. Parking available in the building. Lunch will be $15 for members and $20 for guest. All Credit Cards accepted We will meet the 2nd Tuesday of the month with the option to have other meetings when necessary.  Meeting from 11:30 to 1:00  January 14 meeting proves to be exciting with the topic RED TO THE ROOTS. How we can help local candidates get elected.this IS Davidson County's Time. Please RSVP by January 10 to kathleengop@gmail.com.  Pre-Paid is preferred $15 Mail check to: MTRW, P.O. Box 158365, NT 37215 or call Kathleen 615-566-6511 for credit card charge.
membership info: Dues: $25.00/year Associate members : $20.00/yr men & members of other TFRW groups Mail check to: MTRW, PO. Box 158365, Nashville, TN 37215 WELCOME NEW MEMBERS: Loretta Willis Margaret Siciliano Wendy Miller Debra Maggart (A)	Meet your MTRW Executive Board President - Valerie Levay 1st Vice President - Christy McDonel 2nd Vice President - Stachia Graham Secretary - Kim Brewer Treasurer - Kathleen Starnes with our 1st Speaker & member Dr. Carol Swain	Congratulations Members! Carol Gotto - Jim Gotto is running for State House District 60 Debra Maggart - New Position at Frost Brown Todd Law as Lobbiest Angela Blanchard - Engaged Council Lady Karen Bennett - fundraiser @ Amqui Station for Prisoners Dr Carol Swain "Be The People" booksigning, Monday Jan 20 @ 6:00 - 7:00 Logos Bookstore in Green Hills

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Alexander: Ending Wind Subsidy a Good Way to Celebrate New Year, Reduce Federal Debt and Save Tennesseans $52 Million

Says subsidy allows wind developers to give away electricity and still make a profit, which could undercut the continued operation of 25 percent of our nuclear plants

“The massive taxpayer subsidy to windmill developers expired Jan. 1. A good way to celebrate the New Year would be to not renew it and to reduce the federal debt by $60 billion, an amount about equal to the spending in the recent budget agreement.”  – Lamar Alexander 

MARYVILLE, Jan. 3 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said Congress should not renew the taxpayer subsidy for wind turbines and use the $60 billion saved to reduce the federal debt.

He said the wind production tax credit, which expired Jan.1, provided a subsidy “so generous that wind developers can give away electricity and still make a profit, while undercutting cheaper and more reliable power from coal and nuclear plants. This ‘negative pricing’ rewards expensive, unreliable power like wind and punishes cheap, reliable power from nuclear and coal plants.” Alexander cited a study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which said that continuing the subsidy could make nuclear plants so uncompetitive that 25 percent of them could close by 2020.

Alexander offered four reasons to allow the wind subsidy to expire:
  
1. Money saved could reduce the federal debt:
“The massive taxpayer subsidy to windmill developers expired Jan. 1. A good way to celebrate the New Year would be to not renew it and to reduce the federal debt by $60 billion, an amount about equal to the spending in the recent budget agreement,” Alexander said. “For the next 10 years, extending the tax credit one year at a time could cost $60 billion or more, based on the most recent data from The Joint Committee on Taxation, about enough to pay for the $63 billion Congress spent in the recently passed budget agreement.”

2. At more than 20 years old, the subsidy was long outdated and unnecessary:
“The subsidy was put in place in 1992 to jumpstart a technology, and according to the Obama administration’s former energy secretary, the technology has matured,” Alexander said. Former Energy Secretary Stephen Chu testified in 2011 that wind energy is a “mature technology.”

3. The subsidy treated Tennessee and many states unfairly:
“A recent study shows wasteful wind subsidies left Tennesseans who pay federal taxes at a $52 million loss in 2012 – meaning we get very little of the benefit because the wind doesn’t blow enough in the southeastern United States, and yet our federal tax dollars go to subsidize Big Wind in other states,” Alexander said. According to the study by the Institute for Energy Research, 30 states paid more to the federal government for wind subsidies than wind producers in their states received. Tennessee’s net loss was $52 million.

4. Windmills are a scar on the landscape and use massive amounts of land for the power they produce:
 “At least in our part of the country, windmills are a huge scar on the landscape – you can see their flashing lights for 20 miles,” Alexander said.  “You would have to stretch wind turbines the entire length of the Appalachian Trail, from Maine to Georgia, to equal the power produced by eight nuclear plants on one square mile each – and you would still need the nuclear plants or some other form of power generation for when the wind doesn’t blow.” Based on data from the National Renewable Energy Lab, if wind power were to attempt to provide the 20 percent of the United States’ electricity that about 100 nuclear reactors currently do, it would take 150,000 two-megawatt wind turbines stretching the entire length of the earth’s equator.

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State Representative Charles Curtiss Resigns From Seat

State Representative Charles Curtiss Resigns From Seat

Does that make this another seat the Republicans can pick up?

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Dear Senators Corker and Alexander: Stand firm, do not vote to extend unemployment benefits.

Dear Senators Corker and Alexander,

This is an open letter, asking you to vote against extending unemployment benefits.

An article in today's Washington Post said both of you were senators to watch as Republicans that might join Democrats and support an extension of unemployment benefits. Please say it is not so.

According to the Post story, there are already three Republicans ready to join Democrats in supporting the extension. They are Senator Heller from Nevada, Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski. If all 55 Democrats vote for the extension and the three named Senators above vote with the Democrats then they only need two more. The post listed nine potential senators who might vote with the Democrats. You two were among those nine.

I know that there are a lot of people hurting and I know there will be hardships if people lose there unemployment. Nationwide, 1.3 million ran out of jobless benefits on Dec. 28, and more will follow. However, I do not see how we can afford to indefinite keep people on unemployment. Our country is going broke. Also, unemployment benefits leads to unemployed people.  Unemployed people will be more picky about the job they will accept if they are receiving unemployment payments. A lot of people will not look for jobs that paid less than what they were making at their old job until they face the expiration of unemployment benefits.

 Many mothers of small children welcome staying home with their children and do not rush to return to work if receiving unemployment compensation. Also, many companies won’t even look at the resumés of the long-term unemployed, so to a certain extent the government is making it harder for the unemployed to find a job due to keeping them out of the job market. Also, we are on the edge of the baby boom retirement wave. How many people would go ahead and apply for social security if they were not receiving unemployment?  I don't know, but I would assume it is not an insignificant number. If those people were out of the job market, the unemployment rate would be lower.

Senators Corker and Alexander, I have voted for each of you and financially supported your campaigns and I have defended each of you to my tea party brethren who deem you insufficiently conservative. Please do not vote for extending unemployment benefits. If you do, I would have a hard time defending that vote. Don't prove me wrong for having been a faithful supporter of yours.

Sincerely,
Rod Williams

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Sara Kyle says she will not run for Governor

Governor Bill Haslam has announced his run for a second term. After exploring a potential run for governor, Memphis Democrat Sara Kyle has announced that she won't make a bid for the office. (Full Story)

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William F. Buckley Jr on Maijuana legalization

In recognition of the legalization of  recreational marijuana use in Colorado, I wanted to revisit the arguments in favor of legalization by conservative icon and one of the people I most admire, William F. Buckley, Jr. . Buckley was a long time advocate of legalization when most conservatives adamantly opposed legalization. Buckley also admitted to smoking marijuana, sailing his boat outside the territorial water of the U.S in order to do so legally.



Buckley once said, "Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could."

Buckley also said, "The amount of money and of legal energy being given to prosecute hundreds of thousands of Americans who are caught with a few ounces of marijuana in their jeans simply makes no sense - the kindest way to put it. A sterner way to put it is that it is an outrage, an imposition on basic civil liberties and on the reasonable expenditure of social energy."
 
In 2004, Buckley advocated the complete legalization of marijuana. If I were in Colorado, I would smoke one for WFB. 

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Alexander: Obamacare Creating More Substitute Teachers for Tennessee Schools

Says at least 11 Tennessee school districts are forced to limit jobs or hours worked because of higher health insurance costs

“Individuals, families and businesses aren’t the only ones facing financial challenges because of Obamacare – Tennessee schools are also being hit hard by higher health insurance costs that are forcing districts to cut jobs or hours. Obamacare has forced schools to save costs by creating more part-time employees, from substitute teachers to coaches to custodial and administrative staff.”– Lamar Alexander

MARYVILLE, Jan. 2 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), a former U.S. Secretary of  Education, today said that as school starts back up in 2014, Obamacare is forcing cuts in hours for employees, such as substitute teachers, in at least 11 Tennessee school districts “and likely many more,” harming students’ education in the process.

“Individuals, families and businesses aren’t the only ones facing financial challenges because of Obamacare – Tennessee schools are also being hit hard by higher health insurance costs that are forcing districts to cut jobs or hours,” Alexander, the senior Republican on the Senate education committee, said. “Obamacare has forced schools to save costs with more part-time employees, from substitute teachers to coaches to custodial and administrative staff.”

A major driver of school districts’ problems, Alexander said, is an Obamacare mandate requiring employers to provide more expensive health insurance to anyone working 30 hours or more per week. As a result, many districts are being forced to employ more part-time workers, and to keep their hours low, to save on costs.

Alexander said, “Schools should be free to make decisions based on what will help students learn what they need to know, not on how to cope with Obamacare’s burdensome and expensive mandates.”

School districts reporting fiscal challenges because of Obamacare include: Carter County, Clarksville, Franklin Special School District, Johnson City, Maury County, Oneida Special School District, Rutherford County, Scott County, Stewart County, Washington County and Wilson County.
Maury County Schools, south of Nashville, for example, is limiting its substitute teachers to no more than 28 hours per week. One school board member told the local news: “Students struggle enough having one substitute teacher, but  now we’re going to have to possibly split the substitute time between two substitute teachers. It just makes it hard on the students to learn.”

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The Metro Council meeting agenda for January 7, 2014 is now available.

The Metro Council meeting agenda for January 7, 2014 is now available. If you will wait I will read it for you and tell you if there is anything important on the agenda, but if you want to read it now, here it is: Council Agenda.

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Nashville Chickens coming home to roost.

Two years ago this month, the Council passed a resolution to legalize the keeping of backyard chickens. There are limits on how many you may have based on your lot size and there are other restrictions and those who keep chickens must pay a registration fee. At the time it passed, some suburban district were amended out of the bill. Exempted from the bill were council districts 12, 20, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33. Now, there is an attempt to remove those exempted districts and make the law apply county-wide.

Metro Councilman  Fabian Bedne who represents District 31, wants to keep his district's exemption from the bill and keep it illegal to keep chickens in his district. Here is an email letter he wrote to his constituents.

Greetings,

I wanted you to be aware that there is a Legislation coming to the Metro Council public hearing this January 7th regarding chickens. In the past I was able to exclude our District from the Law but this Legislation seeks to remove that exclusion. The sponsor argues that the law should be the same for the whole City, however that ignores the fact that Nashville is very different in Urban and Suburban areas (we already have farms with lots of farm animals).

I am very happy for people in urban areas to be able to have farm animals if they want to, raising chickens adds to a sustainable way of life. For our district it creates a problem of potentially attracting wild life (such as coyotes) closer to the homes. This sounds made up for people in the core but for us is reality.

I hope you will consider attending the Public Hearing at 6:30 pm January 7th. Thanks

ORDINANCE NO. BL2013-629 

An Ordinance amending Sections 8.12.020 and 17.16.250 pertaining to the keeping of chickens on residential property to remove the sunset provision and remove the prohibition of chickens in certain Council districts (Proposal No. 2014Z-001TX-001).

 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. That Section 8.12.020 of the Metropolitan Code is hereby amended by deleting subsection M. in its entirety.
Section 2. That Title 17 of the Metropolitan Code, Zoning Regulations, is hereby amended by deleting subsection B.1. in its entirety, and renumbering the remaining subsections accordingly.
Section 3. That this Ordinance shall take effect from and after its passage, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.

Sponsored by: Karen Bennett, Anthony Davis, Megan Barry, Peter Westerholm

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