Obama administration again delays deadline for canceled plans

The Department of Health and Human Services had already given insurers the option of continuing through 2014 health plans facing cancellation. The agency now says those policies can remain in effect an additional two years.

“We’re extending this to give people an opportunity to make a judgment about what works best for them and their families,” a senior administration official said.

Although the administration is framing the change as a way to boost flexibility for consumers and insurers, conservatives counter that the administration is unilaterally making decisions that should require legislative approval. And Republicans contend that the White House is trying to protect Democrats from political damage around November’s midterms.

“This reeks of politics,” said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

“Instead of working with Congress to prevent Americans from losing the plans they like and can afford, the president is unilaterally rewriting laws around the election calendar,” he added. “You have to wonder if he’s more interested in keeping his promise or keeping seats in the Senate.”

Many Democrats, already on the defensive after the rocky rollout of the new insurance exchanges, feared that a wave of Americans losing their coverage could hurt them in the elections.

Administration officials say the change was crafted in consultation with lawmakers, such as Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., both facing tough re-election fights in November.

— Brian Hughes, White House Correspondent

 

CHRISTIE RECEIVES WARM RECEPTION AT CPAC

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was greeted with a standing ovation from a packed ballroom at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, his reputation apparently undented — or only lightly so — by his “bridgegate” scandal at home.

Christie opened with an anecdote about remarks he once delivered to firefighters, who booed him before he won them over. The lesson, Christie said, is that Republicans must speak not only to those who agree with them, but to everyone.

To do so effectively, Christie said, “We have to start talking about what we’re for, and not what we’re against. The reason is because our ideas are better than their ideas, and that’s what we need to stand up for.”

He focused on themes familiar to and safe with a conservative crowd: the value of being pro-life, support for free markets, the evils of labor unions and, of course, the shortcomings of President Obama.

Christie slammed the president in particular for not working with Congress toward positive outcomes, as with the budget “super committee.”

“If that’s your attitude, Mr. President, what the hell are we paying you for?” Christie said. “Leadership is about getting something done and making government work. Leadership is not about standing on the sidelines and spitballing.”

— Rebecca Berg, Political Correspondent

 

SENATE REJECTS OBAMA’S JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CIVIL RIGHTS PICK

The Senate rejected President Obama’s controversial pick to head the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, as Democrats bucked their party’s leadership and joined Republicans in opposing the nomination of Debo Adegbile, who once represented cop-killer Mamia Abu-Jamal.

The nomination failed despite a controversial move in November by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to change the chamber’s rules to make it easier to overcome Republican filibusters and confirm White House nominations.

Adegbile’s nomination fell two votes short, despite Democrats controlling 55 seats and only a simple majority needed in the 100-seat chamber for confirmation. Eight Democrats voted no, joining all Republicans.

The finally tally was 47-52 after Reid switched his yea vote to nay in a parliamentary maneuver that allows him to revisit the nomination in the future. Sen John Cornyn, R-Texas, was the only no-show.

Obama called the vote a “travesty.”

“The Senate’s failure to confirm Debo Adegbile to lead the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice is a travesty based on wildly unfair character attacks against a good and qualified public servant,” Obama said.

“Mr. Adegbile’s qualifications are impeccable,” he continued. “He represents the best of the legal profession, with wide-ranging experience, and the deep respect of those with whom he has worked.”

The nomination sparked controversy because of Adegbile’s involvement in the legal representation of Abu-Jamal, a black nationalist who was convicted in 1982 of murdering Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner.

As part of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Adegbile helped to permanently commute Abu-Jamal’s death sentence to life in prison, a move opponents say makes him unfit to serve in the Justice Department.

— Sean Lengell, Congressional Correspondent

 

SENATE BLOCKS GILLIBRAND’S MILITARY SEXUAL ASSAULT BILL

The Senate rejected a bill aimed at curbing military sexual assault by stripping military commanders of prosecutorial authority.

The vote was 55-45, and fell short of the approval of 60 lawmakers needed to end debate on the legislation authored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.

Gillibrand’s bill would have given the power to prosecute sexual assault cases to independent military lawyers who are not part of the alleged victim’s chain of command.

Gillibrand authored the bill in response to testimony from sexual assault victims in the military, who said their cases were not taken seriously by commanders. Gillibrand said her bill would provide better protection to victims by turning sexual assault cases over to independent prosecutors.

“Disappointed we were unable to overcome a filibuster today,” Gillibrand tweeted after the vote. “I will not stop fighting for survivors of military sexual assault.”

Republicans and some Democrats said they believed the measure would remove too much power from military commanders and interfere with the chain of command.

After defeating the Gillibrand measure, the Senate voted to move ahead with a bill authored by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., which would require commanders confronted with sexual assault cases to consult with their Staff Judge Advocates. It would also require a civilian review of cases that commanders decide not to prosecute. McCaskill’s bill would eliminate the “good military character” clause that commanders can use when deciding whether to prosecute someone for a sexual assault.

— Susan Ferrechio, Chief Congressional Correspondent

 

SURVEY SHOWS ONLY ONE-FOURTH OF OBAMACARE SIGN-UPS WERE UNINSURED

A new survey found that just one in four people who signed up for Obamacare through mid-February were uninsured.

The report by consulting firm McKinsey & Co. estimated that 27 percent of those signing up for health care through federal and state exchanges had lacked health care coverage. Of the previously uninsured, 53 percent said they had paid their first month’s premium.

In total, just one in 10 of those lacking insurance said they had enrolled in a plan through the new marketplaces.

The central premise of President Obama’s signature domestic achievement is to provide insurance to millions of Americans lacking any form of health care coverage.

The administration has been unable to quantify how many people signing up for Obamacare have obtained insurance coverage. Senior administration officials have promised such information but have been unable to identify how they would provide it.

Republicans contend that rather than significantly shrinking the ranks of the uninsured, Obamacare is simply forcing people to ditch their old insurance plans for new ones.

Consumers have until March 31 to obtain health insurance or pay a fine. The White House has predicted a late surge in enrollment just prior to the deadline.

The president recently announced that 4 million people had signed up, an improvement from the botched rollout of the exchanges, but still off the pace needed to meet the administration’s goal of signing up 7 million people by the end of March.

The previous McKinsey report estimated that just 11 percent of those signing up for Obamacare were uninsured.

— Brian Hughes, White House Correspondent

 

DALAI LAMA TELLS SENATE TO ACT WITH ‘PURE MIND’

The “world’s greatest deliberative body” got some sage advice from one of the world’s foremost religious figures when the Dalai Lama delivered the Senate’s opening prayer.

The Buddhist monk asked those present to pray to “Buddha and all other gods.” Then, after poking fun at his broken English, he implored the Senate to “speak or act with a pure mind, and happiness will follow you like a shadow that never leaves.”

He then prayed that “there be joy in the world with bountiful harvest and spiritual rest. May every good fortune come to be and may all our wishes be fulfilled.”

Lastly, he delivered what he said was his favorite prayer, which he said gives him “inner strength”: “As long as space remains and as long as sentient beings remain, until then may I, too, remain and help dispel the misery of the world.”

About a dozen or so senators were present for the invocation, and several posted pictures with themselves and the Dalai Lama on Twitter.

Among those in the chamber for the prayer was Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, the Senate’s first Buddhist member, who tweeted that it was “special honor to say aloha to His Holiness.”

— Sean Lengell, Congressional Correspondent

 

HEATED EXCHANGE BETWEEN ISSA, CUMMINGS AFTER IRS HEARING

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa abruptly adjourned a hearing over the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups after former agency official Lois Lerner refused to answer his questions.

Issa had called the hearing to hear testimony from Lerner, who headed the IRS agency handling tax-exempt organizations. But Lerner declined to answer questions on the advice of her counsel, pleading the Fifth Amendment.

After asking questions for some 20 minutes without getting a response from Lerner, Issa abruptly adjourned the hearing, without giving Democrats on the panel a chance to make a statement.

Republicans on the committee say that Lerner waived her Fifth Amendment rights in a prior committee hearing in May 2013 when she denied any wrongdoing, but Democrats and Lerner’s attorneys disagree.

Issa’s move prompted a furious row between him and the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland. Having gaveled out the meeting, Issa and Republicans cleared the room and cut off Cummings’ microphone.

Issa could be heard in the background, calling for the room to be cleared.

“We’re adjourned,” he said. “Close it down.”

“You cannot run a committee like this. … I am a member of the Congress of the United States of America,” Cummings yelled, as Republicans began clearing the room.

“I am tired of this,” Cummings continued. “It’s absolutely un-American.”

Democrats say the IRS operation unfairly targeted both conservative and Democratic groups. But GOP lawmakers still question whether the targeting was politically motivated to help Democrats in the 2012 election.

— Tim Mak, Congressional Correspondent

 

SPRING BREAK! MICHELLE OBAMA TAKING DAUGHTERS, MOM TO CHINA

First lady Michelle Obama, her two daughters and her mother will travel to China during Sasha and Malia’s spring break this month.

The trip will stretch from March 19-26. Sidwell Friends School, which the Obama daughters attend, has its spring break that week.

The White House plans to encourage school children to follow the family trip online.

Sidwell has ties to China, including a field work program in the country for students.

— Paul Bedard, Washington Secrets Columnist

 

PENTAGON WARNS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ‘THREAT MULTIPLIERS’

The effects of climate change are “threat multipliers” that will force the Pentagon to rethink how it engages in training, missions and humanitarian aid around the world, the Defense Department said in its Quadrennial Defense Review.

The review, released every four years, steps up the calls it made in the last version to address climate change. It noted climate change would “aggravate stressors” such as “poverty, environmental degradation, political instability and social tensions — conditions that can enable terrorist activity and other forms of violence.”

Curbing greenhouse gas emissions is tantamount to alleviating competition for resources and land, home, and infrastructure destruction caused by extreme weather that has been associated with climate change, the review said. That also could affect the military’s installations and operations.

The Truman National Security Project, an advocacy group that aims to end oil dependence, said the Quadrennial Defense Review hit on the risks more strongly than the version released in 2010.

“The 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review clearly articulates that climate change is a threat multiplier that is already contributing to a less stable and more dangerous world,” said Michael Breen, the group’s executive director and a former U.S. Army captain. “The QDR also outlines proactive steps that the military will continue to take to meet this threat.”

The Pentagon is planning a new humanitarian aid strategy with the effects of climate change in mind, the review noted. And it is trying to balance the military’s role in the Arctic, where climate change has opened new shipping lanes and exposed more oil and gas resources for development in the fragile ecosystem.

The review said investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy and water security would help mitigate some of the challenges.

— Zack Colman, Energy & Environment Writer

 

OBAMA PUSHES DOMESTIC PRIORITIES IN 2015 BUDGET

The White House rolled out a $3.9 trillion budget for fiscal 2015 that would boost spending on domestic priorities, raise taxes on the rich and shrink the military — in effect, a statement of the Democratic Party’s election-year priorities.

The plan would raise taxes by almost $1 trillion over the next 10 years, mostly on the wealthy. Revenues would climb to 19.9 percent of GDP by 2024, while spending would increase to 21.5 percent.

President Obama called the budget a “road map for creating jobs.”

But it faces no chance of being adopted by the House and Senate, which struck a bipartisan deal in December that already set spending levels for 2015. Nor is it intended to resolve the long-term mismatch between federal spending and revenues.

Rather, it de-emphasizes the politically difficult choices needed to address the nation’s fiscal problems, and instead highlights a number of plans for boosting low- or middle-income Americans while closing tax preferences for high-income earners, with the clear goal of providing campaign material for Democrats in the fall elections.

The budget did not include one of the most controversial features of the 2014 version, a plan to adopt a different measure of inflation, the chained Consumer Price Index, that would have reduced Social Security benefits and led to higher tax collections.

One major provision would be to ramp up the Earned Income Tax Credit, a refundable tax credit meant to increase the rewards of work for poor Americans. Having already expanded the EITC for larger families in 2009, the administration also would boost its value for single, childless workers.

Another key feature would be $302 billion in spending on infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges. Those funds would be offset by increased revenue from a corporate tax reform plank that would lower rates and expand the tax base for businesses.

The budget, which calls for $26 billion in added defense spending, would rearrange the Pentagon’s priorities. It would shift resources toward addressing cyberterrorism, and would shrink the size of the Army to its lowest level since World War II by 2019, retire the A-10 Warthog attack aircraft and reduce some military benefits.

The spending would be paid for by closing a variety of tax credits, deductions, benefits and preferences for high-income Americans.

— Joseph Lawler, Economics Writer

 

OBAMA PUSHES NETANYAHU ON ‘TOUGH DECISIONS’ FOR PEACE

President Obama pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Mideast peace talks, saying that both sides had to make “tough decisions” and would need to compromise to reach an accord.

“Tough decisions will have to be made,” said the president alongside Netanyahu before their meeting in the Oval Office. “It is still possible to create two states, but it is difficult and requires compromise from both sides.”

Secretary of State John Kerry has made the Mideast peace process a central focus of his tenure, but the talks have slowed amid mistrust between Israel and the Palestinians.

Kerry hopes to complete a framework for continued talks before a U.S.-imposed April deadline for the current round of negotiations.

Netanyahu has said he will not be pressured by the U.S. and that his sole concern will be Israel’s safety. He says the Palestinians must take tougher steps to prevent violence and assure him that they accept Israel’s right to exist.

Netanyahu addressed those concerns at the White House, saying that “Israel has been doing its part and I regret to say that the Palestinians have not.”

“What we want is peace. Not a piece of paper, but real peace. Mr. President, I think it is about time for the Palestinian people to recognize a state for the Jewish people,” he said. “In the Middle East, the only peace that can endure is the peace we can defend.”

“The people of Israel expect me to stay strong for the future of the only Jewish state,” Netanyahu said.

Obama sought to soothe those tensions, reassuring Netanyahu that “we do not have a closer friend than Israel.”

The two leaders have had a rocky relationship, highlighted by disagreements over a slew of issues, including Iran, Syria and responding to the Arab Spring.

— Meghashyam Mali, Assistant Managing Editor

 

SHUTDOWN COST PARK AREAS $414 MILLION, INTERIOR DEPT. SAYS

The 16-day government shutdown in October caused a $414 million economic loss for communities that host and surround national parks, the Interior Department said.

Those figures are a preliminary estimate based on 7.88 million fewer park visitors in October compared with the previous three years.

“[O]ur national parks help propel our nation’s economy, drawing hundreds of millions of visitors every year who are the lifeblood of the hotels, restaurants, outfitters and other local businesses that depend on a vibrant and reliable tourism and outdoor recreation industry supported by our public lands,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said.

Environmental groups have indicated they plan to press Republicans during the 2014 midterm cycle on the shutdown, especially when it comes to parks. Polls have shown that a majority of voters blamed House GOP lawmakers for the shutdown, though many Republicans pointed fingers at the White House.

Jewell has blasted Republicans as well because the shutdown hurt the National Park Service’s 16,000 employees.

The Obama administration has pushed national parks as an economic driver. The Interior Department released a separate report showing that the parks generated $26.75 billion in revenue while supporting 243,000 jobs — more than 200,000 of which were in neighboring communities — in 2012. That amounted to $10 in benefits for every dollar spent, noted National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis.

— Zack Colman, Energy & Environment Writer

 

LAWMAKERS WANTS PROBE OF VA’S PURGING OF MEDICAL TEST ORDERS

Two key House members have called for an investigation into reports published by the Washington Examiner that the Department of Veterans Affairs purged thousands of medical appointments to hide backlogs of tests and consultations dating back 10 years.

House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Rep. Dan Benishek, R-Mich., said in a joint letter sent to Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki that they want the findings probed by the VA’s Office of Medical Inspector, a unit within the agency that monitors health care issues.

Benishek, a former VA surgeon and chairman of the House Veterans Affairs health subcommittee, reiterated his concerns about the practice in a meeting with Shinseki.

McCarthy, the third-ranking Republican in the House, led previous calls for an investigation by the Government Accountability Office that last year found patient appointment dates were manipulated to make it appear medical visits were being scheduled within agency deadlines.

Performance reviews and bonuses of top VA officials are based partly on meeting those deadlines.

The Examiner reported Feb. 25 that the VA mass-purged thousands of medical appointments by declaring them “administratively closed.”

That means the patient did not receive the care that had been ordered because the orders for the follow-up procedures were simply canceled.

Citing congressional hearings and internal VA documents, the Examiner identified 40,000 cancellations at veterans’ medical centers in Los Angeles and another 13,000 in Dallas.

Agency officials refused to provide information on when the mass cancellations began, whether medical appointments were administratively closed at other VA facilities across the country or the total number of procedures that were canceled nationwide.

— Mark Flatten, Watchdog Reporter

 

OBAMA BUDGET WOULD RAISE DUCK STAMP FEES BY $140 MILLION

Hunters beware: President Obama’s budget proposal would increase duck stamp fees by $140 million over the next decade.

Federal duck stamps are issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and are required for anyone older than 16 who wants to hunt migratory waterfowl. A new $15 stamp must be purchased each year.

Among the increases in taxes and fees in Obama’s fiscal 2015 budget request, the proposal seeks to raise an additional $14 million a year from hunters. The White House Office of Management and Budget projected that this would raise $140 million from 2015 to 2024.

The additional federal revenue raised by duck stamp sales is intended for funding conservation efforts.

The White House budget proposal did not say how much the stamps would cost after the increase, but a group of Democratic senators proposed a $10 increase in January, the first in 20 years.

— Charlie Spiering, Commentary Writer