White House Cuts Health Care Deal with Labor Unions
Deal Shields Union Workers from "Cadillac" Tax for Five Years
A few other perks in the deal include removing dental and vision benefits when applying the tax, and raising the $23,000 income threshold to $24,000. According to White House officials, the deal took over 15 hours to negotiate and included influential participants AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, SEIU's Andy Stern, Change to Win's Anna Burger, union leaders from various trades, Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, and Vice President Joe Biden.
When asked about the labor union deal, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters she "had not seen the agreement." House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said "nothing has officially been added or subtracted at this time."
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said resolution of the labor union tax issue "provided a burst of momentum, raising hopes that the end is in sight nearly a year after Obama put health care reform at the top of his agenda." However, President Obama's insistence on taxing high-cost insurance plans to help pay for health care reform has some Democratic House members up in arms. They argue the massive tax would not only affect corporate executives, but middle-class families as well.
As the health care bill continues to drop in popularity, many Democratic leaders are becoming increasingly concerned about their future as lawmakers. Senator Mary Landrieu's "Louisiana Purchase," Senator Ben Nelson's "Cornhusker Kickback," and now special treatment for labor unions that historically support Democratic candidates - in no way line up with candidate Obama's promise of change. Couple these disparities with staggering unemployment numbers and things really start to look bleak for those up for re-election.
Sources:
White House Nears Deal on Health Care, Washington Post
Obama and Top Dems Meet at White House for Late-Night Negotiations on Health Care, Fox News
Internal Memo Confirms Big Giveaways In White House Deal With Big Pharma, Huffington Post
Published by Kim Linton
Kim Linton began her writing career in 2001 as a contributor for Ministrymaker Magazine. Kim's work has since been published on a variety of websites including Woman's Day and Intel, and featured on several... View profile
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35 Comments
Post a CommentWhat Obama is doind is placing economical uncertainty on those who are in control of the money supply. Jobs and lending will suffer due to hoarding and the people who have money will continue to have money and everyone else will remain poor.. and get even more poor... rich get richer and poor get poorer, and then the only thing he will be able to do to counter act that is raise taxes.
Don't you just wonder why he's in such a hurry to put every individual under the health care wing. I get a creepy feeling every time I ponder that question.
Great report.
Real clear reporting, Kim. Looks like these back-door deals are sending people to the polls in Mass. en masse today....
Oh, boy I say with a huge sigh! Does it ever end? Hopefully the sensible Patriots of Massachusetts will instigate the much-needed change today at the polls! It has been an interesting day here and I will be writing about it tonight! Excellent article, Kim! Glad you never back down in your reports!
I can't keep track of what's going on anymore with this bill. It just makes me dizzy!~
When Obama talks about the privleged few, he must be talking about the union bosses.
Good job. Unions in bed with government. What year is this? Who is John Gault?
Good coverage on this, Kim.
I don't remember seeing so much blatant gerrymandering going on in my entire lifetime. If he gets re-elected, I will be totally shocked.