Congressman May File Criminal Charges Against Obama For Delaying Health Law

[ProSense]

Congressman May File Criminal Charges Against Obama For Delaying Health Law

By Igor Volsky

A Republican Congressman said he is looking for a way to file criminal charges against President Obama for delaying a portion of the Affordable Care Act, suggesting that the administration is “beyond” incompetent and may have engaged in Watergate-level transgressions.

Earlier this month, the administration announced that it will delay enactment of the employer responsibility provision until 2015 to allow businesses more time to comply with the law and promised to “convene employers, insurers, and experts to propose a smarter system.”

Republicans have blasted the move, but during a local radio interview on “94.3 The Talker,” Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) went a step further, telling the David Madeira Show that “If the chief law enforcer of the country … will not enforce the law, and the president decides to break the law because he doesn’t like it, there has to be another mechanism by which we in Congress can kick into gear, pursue this, see if there are criminal charges we can file.”

<...>

In a letter to Republican congressmen, the Treasury Department defended the delay, arguing that the reporting requirements in the ACA apply “at such time as the Secretary my prescribe” and that it is exercising the Department’s “longstanding administrative authority to grant transition relief when implementing new legislation.” It noted that it used the authority to delay laws in 2007 and 2011.

- more -

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/07/12/2290931/congressman-threatens-to-file-criminal-charges-against-obama-for-delaying-implementation-of-health-law/

Oh, the irony.

Howard Dean: Mandate Delay Begins Shift To Government-Financed Health Care System
http://election.democraticunderground.com/10023162211

[Blackford]

1. So he wants to impeach

That is the only way to bring "criminal charges" against a sitting president.

[atreides1]

2. Marino?

Wasn't he the racist mayor of a PA town?

[Archae]

4. Don't know about any racism...

But he did lie about his dealings with the Bush Department of Justice.

Marino served as a Lycoming County District Attorney from 1992–2002, and was then selected as a U.S. Attorney.

In 2007, Marino resigned from office as U.S. Attorney after a Department of Justice investigation was launched for giving a reference to convicted felon Louis DeNaples, who needed the reference to obtain a license to operate slot machines at his Mount Airy Lodge casino in Eastern PA. Marino falsely claimed he had written permission from the Justice Department to issue the reference, and the Justice Department confirmed they did not give permission. Marino resigned while under review by the Department of Justice, and accepted a position as Louis DeNaples in-house attorney for $250,000 per year. Marino's resignation, under Justice Department guidelines, ended the internal affairs probe.[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Marino

[flamingdem]

3. Citizens United Considering Suing the Government Over Obamacare

Opponents of Obamacare are sensing blood.

And Citizens United now says it's prepared to sue the government. “A small organization took on the entire weight of the federal government and was able to prevail,” says president David Bossie, referring to their successful suit over campaign financing in 2010 (that suit boosted the influence of SuperPacs). He tells The Daily Ticker that health care reform is a similar issue and he expects “many more lawsuits” fighting the Affordable Care Act.

Asked whether Citizens United would sue the government on the issue, Bossie says, “We absolutely would if we felt there was an opportunity and that we had standing. We’re studying it.”

The president himself may have opened the door to those challenges.

Weeks ago President Obama announced a one-year delay in the mandate for larger employers to provide health insurance for workers, or face penalties. Those companies, with 50 workers or more, now have until 2015, instead of 2014, to provide insurance coverage.

Business leaders welcomed the grace period and most Democrats and liberal groups said little. Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a health policy expert, wrote in The New York Times that the delay will have little impact on employees because those working for big employers likely already have coverage and those who don’t can still get it from the health care exchanges that start early next year.

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/citizens-united-considering-suing-government-over-obamacare-161413976.html

[ProSense]

5. These people, indluding the Congressman, are idiots. n/t

[The Magistrate]

6. And The 'Dumbest Fuck In Congress' Race, Ma'am, Has A New Contender....

[juajen]

10. You express yourself so well, Sir!

I hope you and yours are doing well.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

7. The irony is that imposing the ACA would be a boon to the GOP

when it should be a winner for the Democratic party.

[ProSense]

8. Yeah, the 38 GOP attempts to repeal it is proof. n/t

[Nuclear Unicorn]

9. So implement it in full with a wide smile.

[ProSense]

11. You seem

"So implement it in full with a wide smile."

...upset about the consequences of the delay.

Howard Dean: Mandate Delay Begins Shift To Government-Financed Health Care System http://election.democraticunderground.com/10023162211

HHS Ruling Helps Workers But Spells Trouble for Employer Mandate

Richard Kirsch

Workers won't be denied coverage because of the reporting delay, but they may not want to give up the insurance they get through the exchanges come 2015.

In my post last week, after the announcement that the employer mandate would not be enforced for a year, I wrote that it was vital that the Obama administration show as much concern for the workers who might be denied health insurance as it did for employers. Specifically, I asked the administration to make clear that a worker would be able to get subsidized health coverage through the new exchanges based on filling out an application, without having to get proof from an employer. On Friday, HHS issued that ruling.

<...>

As noted, the HHS ruling made it clear that the exchanges should rely on the information workers provide rather than proof from their employers. Workers can ask their employer to help provide the information, but that is not a requirement. And the exchanges can try to verify the information if possible, but that will be difficult and again is not a requirement. Under the new ruling, a worker who reports that he or she is not offered affordable health coverage at work will qualify for subsidized coverage. (Affordability is measured by the employee share of premiums being no more than 9.5 percent of their income.)

The HHS announcement is an important measure to help get coverage to uninsured workers. Of course, it has received little attention compared to the news about the employer mandate. That news is almost always reported incorrectly, with most articles saying that the mandate itself has been postponed for a year. What has been postponed is the enforcement of the mandate through penalties for employers that do not comply. It’s still the law that large employers are required to offer affordable coverage. But if they don’t, there will be no penalty.

There’s one more potentially interesting twist to this story, one that could provide real benefit to some workers in 2014 and then highlight a big problem with the employer mandate in 2015. Workers who get health insurance through the exchanges will get coverage that is much more affordable – lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs than health insurance offered by employers. This will be particularly true for the low-wage employers most likely to not offer coverage. As a result, workers who get coverage in 2014 in the exchange may find in 2015 that they are forced to get coverage that is much more expensive to buy and use, and covers fewer health services, from their employers. The workers will want to stick with the exchanges, putting pressure on employers to pay a fine and let the employees stay in the exchanges, or to improve the coverage they offer.

- more -

http://www.nextnewdeal.net/hhs-ruling-helps-workers-spells-trouble-employer-mandate

[Nuclear Unicorn]

12. Employers have every reason to dump employees into exchanges.

The tax is cheaper than a policy and no admin hassle. But I doubt it will result in such a rosy outlook.

[ProSense]

13. You

"Employers have every reason to dump employees into exchanges."

...say that like that would be a bad thing. Still, I knew you were upset.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

14. As employers dump employees they will save plenty of money

Some might even choose to repurpose it for things like -- say -- campaign contributions.

Meanwhile, as the demands for funding and admin support increase on the exchanges due to a flood of incoming enrollees the GOP will have a field day proclaiming how those silly Dems totally lied about the true cost of OBAMAcare and how everyone lost their full-time hours and their preferred coverage and now the system is broke and overburdened. The GOP won't write a funding bill to cover the new demands but they will run plenty of campaign ads paid for by an influx of fresh contributions.

[ProSense]

17. Well,

"As employers dump employees they will save plenty of money

Some might even choose to repurpose it for things like -- say -- campaign contributions."

...screw the employers and their "campaign contributions." The goal is health care for Americans. More Americans in the exchanges will strength them.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

19. I know what the goal is. I support the goal.

That's why I'm put-off by this sham of a law that provides more GOP campaign ads than benefits to working Americans.

[ProSense]

21. Pure nonsense. n/t

[awoke_in_2003]

15. The party that has tried to repeal it 38 times...

Now wants criminal charges against Obama for delaying implementation? I swear, you can't make this stuff up.

[Brewinblue]

16. Republicans,

now so deranged they view their own political positions as criminal offenses. And it's Obama's fault.

[Skidmore]

20. Isn't that the truth.

[struggle4progress]

18. ? Headline makes no sense