The Progress Report
by Christy Harvey, Judd Legum and Jonathan Baskin
with Nico Pitney and Mipe Okunseinde
February 9, 2005
VALUES
VALUES
The Right-Wing's Broken Moral Compass
Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and 114 conservatives in the House of Representatives are pushing hard for a bill – the REAL ID Act – that would make it more difficult for people persecuted for their religious beliefs to receive asylum in the United States. Under the legislation, many refugees tortured, raped and brutalized on the basis of their race, national origin or political opinions would also be turned away. Sensenbrenner claims the law is necessary "to prevent another 9/11-type attack by disrupting terrorist travel." But current law already bars anyone who poses a security risk from being granted asylum. The bill also contains other provisions that are an affront to core American principles, including federalism, environmental stewardship and the rule of law. (Share your thoughts on the right-wing's moral values at ThinkProgress.org.)
FAITH-BASED GROUPS SPEAK OUT: A diverse coalition of faith-based groups – including an arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, B'nai B'rith International and the Midland Association of Churches – have spoken out against the legislation. An interfaith statement signed by the religious groups says, "We believe that the religious traditions which we embrace calls us to oppose a narrowing of the door to asylum by some of the world's most at risk persons. We are committed to resisting a fear driven agenda which violates our faith based principles."
BIPARTISAN COMMISSION CONDEMNS TREATMENT OF REFUGEES: The REAL ID Act will add more problems to an already flawed system. The bipartisan United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recently released a report that found "thousands of people who come to the United States saying they are seeking refuge from persecution are treated like criminals while their claims are evaluated." Refugee are frequently "strip-search, shackled and...thrown into solitary confinement in local jails and federal detention centers." Some refugees are given no privacy to use the toilet and little chance to exercise outdoors. Others are allowed to work but paid only $1 per day. The commission recommended "a high-level protector of refugees be appointed to monitor the system and correct inequities."
AN AFFRONT TO FEDERALISM: The REAL ID Act would also dictate to states driver's license eligibility requirements. Most significantly, it would invalidate all driver's licenses in 10 states that grant licenses to undocumented immigrants until they changed their policies. Officials in Washington State say such a mandate would endanger its residents because it would prevent many immigrants on the roads from obtaining automobile insurance. The bill, which contains no privacy protections, would also require sensitive state driver's license data to be shared with Canada and Mexico.
2005 = 1984: In an Orwellian touch, the REAL ID Act contains a provision that authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to "waive any and all laws in the course of securing the borders from illegal immigration." The bill also contains "exemption from judicial review that not only shields the waiver decisions from court scrutiny but also strips courts of any power to order remedies for anyone harmed by the consequences of such decisions." The provision "would empower the DHS Secretary to give no-bid contracts for border construction to private companies and then shield those contractors from all employment discrimination and workplace safety laws." Another big concern: the provision gives DHS free reign to waive environmental laws across thousands of acres of federal lands.
MEDICARE
The $913 Billion Boondoggle
According to the administration's new budget, the president's Medicare prescription drug bill will cost $913 billion from 2006 to 2015. It's a far cry from the initial estimate – in his 2003 State of the Union, remember, President Bush assured the nation his plan would cost just $400 billion. Immediately after his legislation was rammed through a reluctant Congress, in a classic bait-and-switch, the administration admitted the cost would be closer to $534 billion from 2005 to 2014, although it "never offered a detailed breakdown of that estimate." Here's a look back at the history of this misguided legislation.
THE PROBLEMS: The first stage of the law – the introduction of prescription drug cards – has been a bust with seniors. Why? The system is confusing, with 73 different cards all covering different medications. And once seniors have signed up for a specific card, they are locked into it, even though the drug companies are allowed to change prices as often as once a week. And the discount isn't guaranteed. In fact, to offset the potential loss in profit, drug companies jacked up the price of medicines over the past year an average of 7.4 percent, "or more than three times the 2.3 percent rate of general inflation in that period." Finally, studies have shown seniors can find cheaper drugs without using the cards.
THE COSTS: The Medicare bill may not have been good for seniors, but it was huge boost for the pharmaceutical industry and corporate interests. The White House, for example, blocked efforts to allow Medicare to use bulk purchasing power to negotiate cheaper drug prices. On top of that, the Medicare program will give corporations $89 billion to "discourage" employers from dropping retirees from their plans. The loophole: corporations receive the subsidy even if they cut support for pensioners…and many are taking the money and running. (The AARP recently sued the administration over this provision.) Also, the nonpartisan CBO said billions have been added to the cost of the bill because of excessive payments to private insurers and HMOs.
THE THREATS: Before the Medicare legislation passed in 2003, the chief Medicare actuary, Richard Foster, knew it was going to cost a lot more than the White House was promising. But the administration, desperate to hide the true cost of the bill, threatened to fire him if he told the truth to any key lawmakers on the Hill. Foster alerted the White House five months before the vote that the Medicare drug bill was likely to carry a hefty price tag of $551 billion. But 13 conservatives in Congress had promised to block any bill over $400 billion. Thus, the White House told Foster he would be fired if he did not keep quiet, bury the estimates, and publicly assert the bill would not cost more than $400 billion until after the legislation passed.
THE TRICKS: Conservatives relied on a whole bag of dirty tricks to ram the Medicare legislation through Congress. The vote on the bill was scheduled to last the typical 15 minutes; when conservatives realized they didn't have the necessary support, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) kept the vote open for an unprecedented three hours, from 3 to 6 a.m. Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX) used that time to strong-arm bleary-eyed Republicans who had voted against the bill, demanding they switch their votes.
THE BRIBES: Last year, the House Ethics Committee publicly criticized Rep. DeLay for trying to bribe a House member reluctant to endorse the Medicare bill for his vote. DeLay offered to endorse the son of Rep. Nick Smith, who was running to replace his father after he retired, in exchange for Smith's vote on the Medicare Reform Act. According to the committee, DeLay told Smith that if he voted for it, "I will personally endorse your son. That's my final offer." Smith did not vote for the Medicare bill and his son lost his bid for the Republican nomination to succeed him. The Republican in charge of the Ethics Committee that voted to censure DeLay, Rep. Joel Hefley (R., CO) was subsequently removed from the committee and replaced with a DeLay-friendlier face.
Under the Radar
POLITICS – ROVE RISING: "There is no precedent in any modern White House for what is going on in this one: a complete lack of a policy apparatus," a former senior aide to President Bush observed in 2002. "What you've got is everything, and I mean everything, being run by the political arm." If that wasn't true then, it's certainly bound to be now: Machiavellian political strategist Karl Rove, former protégé of Watergate conspirator Donald Segretti and the "architect" of President Bush's reelection campaign, yesterday was named White House deputy chief of staff in charge of coordinating domestic policy, economic policy, national security and homeland security. "Many in the White House said the new position largely formalizes what was already true," the Washington Post reports, though Rove "will now for the first time…have a formal hand in foreign policy" as well as domestic affairs.
with Nico Pitney and Mipe Okunseinde
February 9, 2005
VALUES
VALUES
The Right-Wing's Broken Moral Compass
Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and 114 conservatives in the House of Representatives are pushing hard for a bill – the REAL ID Act – that would make it more difficult for people persecuted for their religious beliefs to receive asylum in the United States. Under the legislation, many refugees tortured, raped and brutalized on the basis of their race, national origin or political opinions would also be turned away. Sensenbrenner claims the law is necessary "to prevent another 9/11-type attack by disrupting terrorist travel." But current law already bars anyone who poses a security risk from being granted asylum. The bill also contains other provisions that are an affront to core American principles, including federalism, environmental stewardship and the rule of law. (Share your thoughts on the right-wing's moral values at ThinkProgress.org.)
FAITH-BASED GROUPS SPEAK OUT: A diverse coalition of faith-based groups – including an arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, B'nai B'rith International and the Midland Association of Churches – have spoken out against the legislation. An interfaith statement signed by the religious groups says, "We believe that the religious traditions which we embrace calls us to oppose a narrowing of the door to asylum by some of the world's most at risk persons. We are committed to resisting a fear driven agenda which violates our faith based principles."
BIPARTISAN COMMISSION CONDEMNS TREATMENT OF REFUGEES: The REAL ID Act will add more problems to an already flawed system. The bipartisan United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recently released a report that found "thousands of people who come to the United States saying they are seeking refuge from persecution are treated like criminals while their claims are evaluated." Refugee are frequently "strip-search, shackled and...thrown into solitary confinement in local jails and federal detention centers." Some refugees are given no privacy to use the toilet and little chance to exercise outdoors. Others are allowed to work but paid only $1 per day. The commission recommended "a high-level protector of refugees be appointed to monitor the system and correct inequities."
AN AFFRONT TO FEDERALISM: The REAL ID Act would also dictate to states driver's license eligibility requirements. Most significantly, it would invalidate all driver's licenses in 10 states that grant licenses to undocumented immigrants until they changed their policies. Officials in Washington State say such a mandate would endanger its residents because it would prevent many immigrants on the roads from obtaining automobile insurance. The bill, which contains no privacy protections, would also require sensitive state driver's license data to be shared with Canada and Mexico.
2005 = 1984: In an Orwellian touch, the REAL ID Act contains a provision that authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to "waive any and all laws in the course of securing the borders from illegal immigration." The bill also contains "exemption from judicial review that not only shields the waiver decisions from court scrutiny but also strips courts of any power to order remedies for anyone harmed by the consequences of such decisions." The provision "would empower the DHS Secretary to give no-bid contracts for border construction to private companies and then shield those contractors from all employment discrimination and workplace safety laws." Another big concern: the provision gives DHS free reign to waive environmental laws across thousands of acres of federal lands.
MEDICARE
The $913 Billion Boondoggle
According to the administration's new budget, the president's Medicare prescription drug bill will cost $913 billion from 2006 to 2015. It's a far cry from the initial estimate – in his 2003 State of the Union, remember, President Bush assured the nation his plan would cost just $400 billion. Immediately after his legislation was rammed through a reluctant Congress, in a classic bait-and-switch, the administration admitted the cost would be closer to $534 billion from 2005 to 2014, although it "never offered a detailed breakdown of that estimate." Here's a look back at the history of this misguided legislation.
THE PROBLEMS: The first stage of the law – the introduction of prescription drug cards – has been a bust with seniors. Why? The system is confusing, with 73 different cards all covering different medications. And once seniors have signed up for a specific card, they are locked into it, even though the drug companies are allowed to change prices as often as once a week. And the discount isn't guaranteed. In fact, to offset the potential loss in profit, drug companies jacked up the price of medicines over the past year an average of 7.4 percent, "or more than three times the 2.3 percent rate of general inflation in that period." Finally, studies have shown seniors can find cheaper drugs without using the cards.
THE COSTS: The Medicare bill may not have been good for seniors, but it was huge boost for the pharmaceutical industry and corporate interests. The White House, for example, blocked efforts to allow Medicare to use bulk purchasing power to negotiate cheaper drug prices. On top of that, the Medicare program will give corporations $89 billion to "discourage" employers from dropping retirees from their plans. The loophole: corporations receive the subsidy even if they cut support for pensioners…and many are taking the money and running. (The AARP recently sued the administration over this provision.) Also, the nonpartisan CBO said billions have been added to the cost of the bill because of excessive payments to private insurers and HMOs.
THE THREATS: Before the Medicare legislation passed in 2003, the chief Medicare actuary, Richard Foster, knew it was going to cost a lot more than the White House was promising. But the administration, desperate to hide the true cost of the bill, threatened to fire him if he told the truth to any key lawmakers on the Hill. Foster alerted the White House five months before the vote that the Medicare drug bill was likely to carry a hefty price tag of $551 billion. But 13 conservatives in Congress had promised to block any bill over $400 billion. Thus, the White House told Foster he would be fired if he did not keep quiet, bury the estimates, and publicly assert the bill would not cost more than $400 billion until after the legislation passed.
THE TRICKS: Conservatives relied on a whole bag of dirty tricks to ram the Medicare legislation through Congress. The vote on the bill was scheduled to last the typical 15 minutes; when conservatives realized they didn't have the necessary support, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) kept the vote open for an unprecedented three hours, from 3 to 6 a.m. Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX) used that time to strong-arm bleary-eyed Republicans who had voted against the bill, demanding they switch their votes.
THE BRIBES: Last year, the House Ethics Committee publicly criticized Rep. DeLay for trying to bribe a House member reluctant to endorse the Medicare bill for his vote. DeLay offered to endorse the son of Rep. Nick Smith, who was running to replace his father after he retired, in exchange for Smith's vote on the Medicare Reform Act. According to the committee, DeLay told Smith that if he voted for it, "I will personally endorse your son. That's my final offer." Smith did not vote for the Medicare bill and his son lost his bid for the Republican nomination to succeed him. The Republican in charge of the Ethics Committee that voted to censure DeLay, Rep. Joel Hefley (R., CO) was subsequently removed from the committee and replaced with a DeLay-friendlier face.
Under the Radar
POLITICS – ROVE RISING: "There is no precedent in any modern White House for what is going on in this one: a complete lack of a policy apparatus," a former senior aide to President Bush observed in 2002. "What you've got is everything, and I mean everything, being run by the political arm." If that wasn't true then, it's certainly bound to be now: Machiavellian political strategist Karl Rove, former protégé of Watergate conspirator Donald Segretti and the "architect" of President Bush's reelection campaign, yesterday was named White House deputy chief of staff in charge of coordinating domestic policy, economic policy, national security and homeland security. "Many in the White House said the new position largely formalizes what was already true," the Washington Post reports, though Rove "will now for the first time…have a formal hand in foreign policy" as well as domestic affairs.
posted by T. Scott Brineman at 11:13 AM
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