2009 - The Year Of Obama

And unfortunately, 2010 probably will be too.......

Let's start from the beginning of the year and list the many ways that Obama has made 2009 notable:

• He became the first half-Black President (I never did buy into that whole Bill Clinton thing)
• He announced an ill-advised closure of Guantanamo Bay in 2009 (and thankfully hasn't met his own deadline)
• He appointed the most tax-cheats, degenerates  and Communists to his cabinet and other high offices
• He unilaterally destroyed the rights of the GM and Chrysler bond-holders
• He allowed his Treasury Secretary (and tax-cheat) to use the Tarp funds to bail out the Auto companies and prop up the UAW pension plans
• He used the "stimulus" money promised for "shovel-ready" jobs to pay for teachers and police salaries that would have been paid anyway by their local municipalities....in Democrat districts - of course
• He promised 8% unemployment and we're way over 10%
• He announced a new strategy and authorized additional troops for Afghanistan
• He fired Gerald Walpin as Inspector General of Americorps because Walpin blew the whistle on Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson an Obama supporter.
• He allowed his Attorney General to drop the voting rights case against the Black Panthers
• He appointed the first "Latina" Supreme Court Justice despite her clear and significant history of bias 
• He's overseen the fall of the dollar to new lows
• He initiated the "Cash for Clunkers" program that cost the American taxpayer $226 Billion to buy cars in the Summer instead of in the Fall, at a net cost $24K to the taxpayers per car sold, and all accomplished with borrowed money so that we'll be paying interest on it for years
• Allowed millions of civilian Federal employees to get a 2% wage increase, raising the average pay to $71,206 Vs. $40,331 in the Private sector, all while millions of taxpayes were losing their jobs
• He's overseen raising the debt ceiling by $1.8 Trillion
• He has pushed an agenda so far to the Left that even the Liberal mayor of Chicago, Wm. Daley has penned a year-end op-ed admonishing Obama to move back to the Center
• He was the first American President not to voice support for an oppressed people when he ignored the opportunity and the injustice done to the Iranian people, by not speaking out and supporting their call for justice during the election.  His silence supported the oppressor regime
• He became the first Amrican President to bow before foreign Heads Of State
• He ostracized and marginalized Honduras because they prevented a Chavez-like overthrow of their Democracy
•  He turned off a news-ticker that annoyed Castro
• He showed his own bias against white police officers
• He has denigrated our Intelligence services and put us at a disadvantage
• He killed the missile defense for Poland and Eastern Europe to placate Russia, lost the trust in the U.S. by our allies, and gained the scorn of  our enemies
• He undermined the freedom of the press by pursuing a war against FOX News
• He has proposed massive unilateral disarmament that would make us vulnerable
• He has politicized Art Funding
• He sabotaged his own Afghan war strategy, ignored the issue, dissed his own hand-picked General, devalued Karzai, and portrayed America as weak
• Has allowed Iran to continue it's nuclear weapon program, and invited their scorn
• He has insulted our strongest allies
• He has weakened our borders
• Has been shown to not be the author of the books that he claimed to have written
• He embarrassed the United States and the Office of the President by his ill-timed and advised participation in losing the Olympics for the U.S.
• Was awarded the Nobel Prize for being not-Bush
• He played a lot of golf
• He blamed Bush for everything
• He did not celebrate the reunification of Germany and the U.S. role in making it happen
• He has presided over the dismantling of our exceptional healthcare system, and the government takeover of one-sixth of our economy
• He has presided over the establishment of a government command and control of our energy sector through the pursuit of cap-and-trade legislation, and/or EPA regulations on CO2
• He has alienated both the left and right 
• And worst of all, he has diminished the flame freedom, tarnished America's image around the world, and created the impression of a weak country, which as every school child knows, invites the school-yard bully to test you.  We can expect more difficult situations everywhere, even with our "friends"

There were many more actions that could be listed and attributed to our "Dear Leader", but we just don't have the time to be that detailed.  

As we look forward to 2010, Obama has planted the seeds of many bitter fruits that may indeed sprout.  However, there is hope that real change can still appear in time to prevent them from flowering.

I wish all a healthy, safe, and prosperous new year.  God bless us all.

A Thousand Wordsworth....

The road to serfdom........

President Obama!

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.........

President Obama hosted a conference today with  business and labor leaders and economic advisers to serve up “every demonstrably good idea” for creating jobs that they could think of.

I heard him tell executives from American Airlines, Nucor Corp., Google Inc., Walt Disney Co. and Fed-Ex "I want to be clear: While I believe the government has a critical role in creating the conditions for economic growth, ultimately true economic recovery is only going to come from the private sector”  .

Mr. Obama then told the chief executives that he wanted to know: “What’s holding back business investment and how we can increase confidence and spur hiring? And if there are things that we’re doing here in Washington that are inhibiting you, then we want to know about it.”.

Well, Mr President, I have a suggestion for a quick way to create jobs.  Since you have such good relationship and standing with the Labor Unions, maybe you could exert some influence on them to stop holding up  much needed construction in Jacksonville, Florida.  There's a $208 Million terminal construction project that's been on hold, and is still on hold, because the ILA is trying to shake down Hanjin Shipping and get them to agree to costly and anti-competitive labor practices.  

And while we're at it, maybe you can shake the tree a bit and get the Department of Defense to finalize the decision to move one of our nuclear carriers from Norfolk to Mayport Naval Station.  Besides making us all less vulnerable to the potential disaster that could ensue by having all our carriers in one location, as we now have them, it would sure create a lot of additional jobs........

Let me know if you'd like some additional suggestions, but just working on those two would be really appreciated........

Jaxport postpones Hanjin terminal choice

Jacksonville Business Journal - by Mark Szakonyi

The Jacksonville Port Authority is holding off on choosing a firm to design the Hanjin container terminal at Dames Point because negotiations between Hanjin and the longshoremen’s union haven’t progressed enough.

The construction of Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd’s $208 million terminal, which is slated to open 2013, isn't expected to be pushed back because delays were factored into the timeline, said David Kulik, chairman of the Jacksonville Port Authority’s board. The board was originally expected to choose the terminal design firm Dec. 9, and it isn’t known when it will make its choice.

William Rooney, managing director of Hanjin’s American headquarters, said his shipping company continues to negotiate with the local International Longshoremen Association union. Part of the reason negotiations haven’t progressed as quickly is because both parties were waiting to see if a two-year contract extension for all ILA longshoremen would be approved.

The association approved the extension in late November with United States Marine Alliance Ltd. (USMX), the alliance of East Coast and Gulf Coast container carriers, despite some members’ concerns about the growing technological nature of terminals, which reduces the need for union workers. The contract will last until Sept. 30, 2012.

Hanjin’s planned terminal will be highly automated, and the South Korean company and the local unions haven’t decided how many workers per container gang will load and unload ships, said Jess Babich, president of ILA Clerks & Checkers Local 1593. His union and ILA Local 1408 normally use about 15 workers per container gang, but Hanjin wants to use seven.

Babich said local union representatives are going to Houston next week to talk to district officials on how to come to an agreement over staffing at the dock. ILA Local 1408 President Romia Johnson wasn’t available for comment.

A Thousand Wordsworth.....

Courtesy Michael Ramirez and Investor's Business Daily

"Climategate" Warning From 1961

We were warned....

Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.

The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present

• and is gravely to be regarded.

Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific technological elite.

Unfortunately, we only remember the Military-Industrial aspect of his warning to us..........

Military-Industrial Complex Speech, 

Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961

---

Public Papers of the Presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1960, p. 1035- 1040

My fellow Americans:

Three days from now, after half a century in the service of our country, I shall lay down the responsibilities of office as, in traditional and solemn ceremony, the authority of the Presidency is vested in my successor.

This evening I come to you with a message of leave-taking and farewell, and to share a few final thoughts with you, my countrymen.

Like every other citizen, I wish the new President, and all who will labor with him, Godspeed. I pray that the coming years will be blessed with peace and prosperity for all.

Our people expect their President and the Congress to find essential agreement on issues of great moment, the wise resolution of which will better shape the future of the Nation.

My own relations with the Congress, which began on a remote and tenuous basis when, long ago, a member of the Senate appointed me to West Point, have since ranged to the intimate during the war and immediate post-war period, and, finally, to the mutually interdependent during these past eight years.

In this final relationship, the Congress and the Administration have, on most vital issues, cooperated well, to serve the national good rather than mere partisanship, and so have assured that the business of the Nation should go forward. So, my official relationship with the Congress ends in a feeling, on my part, of gratitude that we have been able to do so much together.

II.

We now stand ten years past the midpoint of a century that has witnessed four major wars among great nations. Three of these involved our own country. Despite these holocausts America is today the strongest, the most influential and most productive nation in the world. Understandably proud of this pre-eminence, we yet realize that America's leadership and prestige depend, not merely upon our unmatched material progress, riches and military strength, but on how we use our power in the interests of world peace and human betterment.

III.

Throughout America's adventure in free government, our basic purposes have been to keep the peace; to foster progress in human achievement, and to enhance liberty, dignity and integrity among people and among nations. To strive for less would be unworthy of a free and religious people. Any failure traceable to arrogance, or our lack of comprehension or readiness to sacrifice would inflict upon us grievous hurt both at home and abroad.

Progress toward these noble goals is persistently threatened by the conflict now engulfing the world. It commands our whole attention, absorbs our very beings. We face a hostile ideology -- global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose, and insidious in method. Unhappily the danger is poses promises to be of indefinite duration. To meet it successfully, there is called for, not so much the emotional and transitory sacrifices of crisis, but rather those which enable us to carry forward steadily, surely, and without complaint the burdens of a prolonged and complex struggle -- with liberty the stake. Only thus shall we remain, despite every provocation, on our charted course toward permanent peace and human betterment.

Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them, whether foreign or domestic, great or small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. A huge increase in newer elements of our defense; development of unrealistic programs to cure every ill in agriculture; a dramatic expansion in basic and applied research -- these and many other possibilities, each possibly promising in itself, may be suggested as the only way to the road we wish to travel.

But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and among national programs -- balance between the private and the public economy, balance between cost and hoped for advantage -- balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable; balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the nation upon the individual; balance between actions of the moment and the national welfare of the future. Good judgment seeks balance and progress; lack of it eventually finds imbalance and frustration.

The record of many decades stands as proof that our people and their government have, in the main, understood these truths and have responded to them well, in the face of stress and threat. But threats, new in kind or degree, constantly arise. I mention two only.

IV.

A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.

Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.

Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades.

In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government.

Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.

The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present

• and is gravely to be regarded.

Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific technological elite.

It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system -- ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society.

V.

Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.

VI.

Down the long lane of the history yet to be written America knows that this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.

Such a confederation must be one of equals. The weakest must come to the conference table with the same confidence as do we, protected as we are by our moral, economic, and military strength. That table, though scarred by many past frustrations, cannot be abandoned for the certain agony of the battlefield.

Disarmament, with mutual honor and confidence, is a continuing imperative. Together we must learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose. Because this need is so sharp and apparent I confess that I lay down my official responsibilities in this field with a definite sense of disappointment. As one who has witnessed the horror and the lingering sadness of war -- as one who knows that another war could utterly destroy this civilization which has been so slowly and painfully built over thousands of years -- I wish I could say tonight that a lasting peace is in sight.

Happily, I can say that war has been avoided. Steady progress toward our ultimate goal has been made. But, so much remains to be done. As a private citizen, I shall never cease to do what little I can to help the world advance along that road.

VII.

So -- in this my last good night to you as your President -- I thank you for the many opportunities you have given me for public service in war and peace. I trust that in that service you find some things worthy; as for the rest of it, I know you will find ways to improve performance in the future.

You and I -- my fellow citizens -- need to be strong in our faith that all nations, under God, will reach the goal of peace with justice. May we be ever unswerving in devotion to principle, confident but humble with power, diligent in pursuit of the Nation's great goals.

To all the peoples of the world, I once more give expression to America's prayerful and continuing aspiration:

We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual blessings; that those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; that the scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love.

Man-Made Global Warming E-Mails

Amazingly, the Climate Alarmists have now inconveniently "lost" the primary data they used to "Cook" "Calculate" their climate models.........

Armistice Day - Veterans Day - Surender Day ?

Hostilities Ceased!

At the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month in 1918, leaders of several countries sat down and signed an armistice - a treaty to cease warfare, and put an end to World War I.  The following year in 1919, began an ongoing commemoration of that event in the United States and across the many other countries who had participated in that war.   In 1954, President Eisenhower signed a Bill changing the name of the holiday to Veterans day in order to honor the memory of all those veterans who had served this nation in all its wars. We will celebrate that event tomorrow, thanking and and honoring all those brave men and women who have served this country in military uniforms.  We thank you for your courage, thank you for your honor, and thank you for your service to this nation and the world.

But, unfortunately, this years celebration and remembrance will be muted, following so closely on the heels of the tragic murder of 13 or our military members at Ft. Hood last week.  And, unless some significant action is taken, may become remembered as "Surrender Day".

The tragedy at Ft. Hood points out the difference between 1918 and 2009.  Hostilities then were between organized, uniformed national military forces; today our war is waged against an amorphous global  religious movement of Islamic assassins (ironically the term assassin is associated with the name of the "alleged" murderer Nidal Hasan), who wear no uniform, are not necessarily associated with any particular nation-state, are not necessarily centrally organized, and who are usually self-nominating.

When I was growing up, my Dad had a hand carved set of brushes on top of his dresser that were a gift from his brother who was killed when his ship was sunk in the Pacific during WWII.  The brushes were mounted behind a wooden statue of the three monkeys that represented  "See No Evil", "Hear No Evil", and "Speak No Evil".

My brothers and sisters and I were frequently admonished to follow their moral example.  But today, it appears that our government and our military leaders are following the same precepts, but applying them in an insane way.  They refuse to acknowledge our war with Islamacists, who's main tactic is terror, instead they continue to attempt to frame it as an engagement against state-centric groups that are also geographically oriented, like the Taliban in Afghanistan or Pakistan, while avoiding the global aspect of the Islamacist objectives and actions.

Nidal Malik Hasa, the perpetrator of the atrocities at Ft. Hood, was an avowed Islamacist, who was flagrant in his prosletyzing, and condemnation of the United States military actions against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, yet the Army leadership, despite numerous warnings and complaints, apparently just like the Three Monkeys, could see no evil, hear no evil, and say nothing against Maj. Hasan.

The question is WHY?  Well, apparently the Political Correctness and the Diversity Objective virus's are running rampant in the U.S. military.  The upper echelon appears to be so spaghetti-spined, and concerned about maintaining or advancing their jobs vis-a-vis espousing politically correct positions, that they are incapable of honest, cogent and rational actions.

It appears that despite multiple reporting of Maj. Hasan's alarming and seditious comments and behavior, his superior officers were reluctant to dismis him due to fear of missing their Diversity Objectives!  His email contacts with a radical Islamcist Imam were dismissed as benign by the FBI and the DOD as far back as late last year! Maj. Hasan apparently couldn't have gotten dismissed if he walked around with a poster trying to recruit for Osama Bin Laden, which it almost seems like he did.  Even his sloppy and underachieving performance, which would have kicked any other non-Muslim out of the Army, was totally ignored by the top brass at Walter Reed Military Hospital.  Instead, like many Catholic bishops in dealing with child-molesters, they decided to wash their hands of him, and transfered him out to another Command.

There needs to be a Congressional investigation into Hasan's military career, and heads should role in the Army.....all the way up to Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, who said Sunday he was concerned that "this increased speculation" about Hasan's evolving political and religious views "could cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers."  Why wasn't he concerned about radical Islamacists in the Army sabotaging our Nation's military operations and killing the people whom he was entrusted to protect?

There are thousands of Muslims serving honorably in our military; there are thousands of Muslims working honorably with our military in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries; and there are millions or Muslims who are aligned with us across the world.  We can, and should, employ common sense and rational thought when it comes to evaluating threats, and we should banish the contaminating elements of "Political Correctness" and "Diversity Objectives" to the Hell that they belong in.

(The author enlisted and served in the U.S.Army for three years, from 1967 to 1970)

Public Optionism.....

Maybe we should have a "taste" of Obama's, Pelosi's, and Reid's Public Option before we buy it....... but then again, maybe not.  There are things that you don't have to experience in order to know that they'd be deadly.

Some things never change, and government control over citizen's lives is one of them.  Here's a lesson from 1948 that's still useful....

Video

I'm A Lawyer......Trust Me

Sure you know what you're doin'?

I think I want a second opinion.....

Courtesy of Gerald Scarfe and timesonline.co.uk

Health Care Bill - 1990 Pages

1990 Pages of Health Care Regulations......What could ever possibly go wrong?

The latest bill from House Leader Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats is now available on the internet, weighing in at 1,990 pages. 

If you want to download the bill, go to http://bit.ly/3HL23Z

Here is the bill's table of contents:

TITLE I--IMMEDIATE REFORMS

Sec. 101. National high-risk pool program.

Sec. 102. Ensuring value and lower premiums.

Sec. 103. Ending health insurance rescission abuse.

Sec. 104. Sunshine on price gouging by health insurance issuers.

Sec. 105. Requiring the option of extension of dependent coverage for uninsured young adults.

Sec. 106. Limitations on preexisting condition exclusions in group health plans in advance of applicability of new prohibition of preexisting condition exclusions.

Sec. 107. Prohibiting acts of domestic violence from being treated as preexisting conditions.

Sec. 108. Ending health insurance denials and delays of necessary treatment for children with deformities.

Sec. 109. Elimination of lifetime limits.

Sec. 110. Prohibition against postretirement reductions of retiree health benefits by group health plans.

Sec. 111. Reinsurance program for retirees.

Sec. 112. Wellness program grants.

Sec. 113. Extension of COBRA continuation coverage.

Sec. 114. State Health Access Program grants.

Sec. 115. Administrative simplification.

TITLE II--PROTECTIONS AND STANDARDS FOR QUALIFIED HEALTH BENEFITS PLANS

Subtitle A--General Standards

Sec. 201. Requirements reforming health insurance marketplace.

Sec. 202. Protecting the choice to keep current coverage.

Subtitle B--Standards Guaranteeing Access to Affordable Coverage

Sec. 211. Prohibiting preexisting condition exclusions.

Sec. 212. Guaranteed issue and renewal for insured plans and prohibiting rescissions.

Sec. 213. Insurance rating rules.

Sec. 214. Nondiscrimination in benefits; parity in mental health and substance abuse disorder benefits.

Sec. 215. Ensuring adequacy of provider networks.

Sec. 216. Requiring the option of extension of dependent coverage for uninsured young adults.

Sec. 217. Consistency of costs and coverage under qualified health benefits plans during plan year.

Subtitle C--Standards Guaranteeing Access to Essential Benefits

Sec. 221. Coverage of essential benefits package.

Sec. 222. Essential benefits package defined.

Sec. 223. Health Benefits Advisory Committee.

Sec. 224. Process for adoption of recommendations; adoption of benefit standards.

Subtitle D--Additional Consumer Protections

Sec. 231. Requiring fair marketing practices by health insurers.

Sec. 232. Requiring fair grievance and appeals mechanisms.

Sec. 233. Requiring information transparency and plan disclosure.

Sec. 234. Application to qualified health benefits plans not offered through the Health Insurance Exchange.

Sec. 235. Timely payment of claims.

Sec. 236. Standardized rules for coordination and subrogation of benefits.

Sec. 237. Application of administrative simplification.

Sec. 238. State prohibitions on discrimination against health care providers.

Sec. 239. Protection of physician prescriber information.

Sec. 240. Dissemination of advance care planning information.

Subtitle E--Governance

Sec. 241. Health Choices Administration; Health Choices Commissioner.

Sec. 242. Duties and authority of Commissioner.

Sec. 243. Consultation and coordination.

Sec. 244. Health Insurance Ombudsman.

Subtitle F--Relation to Other Requirements; Miscellaneous

Sec. 251. Relation to other requirements.

Sec. 252. Prohibiting discrimination in health care.

Sec. 253. Whistleblower protection.

Sec. 254. Construction regarding collective bargaining.

Sec. 255. Severability.

Sec. 256. Treatment of Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act.

Sec. 257. Actions by State attorneys general.

Sec. 258. Application of State and Federal laws regarding abortion.

Sec. 259. Nondiscrimination on abortion and respect for rights of conscience.

Sec. 260. Authority of Federal Trade Commission.

Sec. 261. Construction regarding standard of care.

Sec. 262. Restoring application of antitrust laws to health sector insurers.

Sec. 263. Study and report on methods to increase EHR use by small health care providers.

TITLE III--HEALTH INSURANCE EXCHANGE AND RELATED PROVISIONS

Subtitle A--Health Insurance Exchange

Sec. 301. Establishment of Health Insurance Exchange; outline of duties; definitions.

Sec. 302. Exchange-eligible individuals and employers.

Sec. 303. Benefits package levels.

Sec. 304. Contracts for the offering of Exchange-participating health benefits plans.

Sec. 305. Outreach and enrollment of Exchange-eligible individuals and employers in Exchange-participating health benefits plan.

Sec. 306. Other functions.

Sec. 307. Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund.

Sec. 308. Optional operation of State-based health insurance exchanges.

Sec. 309. Interstate health insurance compacts.

Sec. 310. Health insurance cooperatives.

Sec. 311. Retention of DOD and VA authority.

Subtitle B--Public Health Insurance Option

Sec. 321. Establishment and administration of a public health insurance option as an Exchange-qualified health benefits plan.

Sec. 322. Premiums and financing.

Sec. 323. Payment rates for items and services.

Sec. 324. Modernized payment initiatives and delivery system reform.

Sec. 325. Provider participation.

Sec. 326. Application of fraud and abuse provisions.

Sec. 327. Application of HIPAA insurance requirements.

Sec. 328. Application of health information privacy, security, and electronic transaction requirements.

Sec. 329. Enrollment in public health insurance option is voluntary.

Sec. 330. Enrollment in public health insurance option by Members of Congress.

Sec. 331. Reimbursement of Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Subtitle C--Individual Affordability Credits

Sec. 341. Availability through Health Insurance Exchange.

Sec. 342. Affordable credit eligible individual.

Sec. 343. Affordability premium credit.

Sec. 344. Affordability cost-sharing credit.

Sec. 345. Income determinations.

Sec. 346. Special rules for application to territories.

Sec. 347. No Federal payment for undocumented aliens.

TITLE IV--SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

Subtitle A--Individual Responsibility

Sec. 401. Individual responsibility.

Subtitle B--Employer Responsibility

PART 1--HEALTH COVERAGE PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

Sec. 411. Health coverage participation requirements.

Sec. 412. Employer responsibility to contribute toward employee and dependent coverage.

Sec. 413. Employer contributions in lieu of coverage.

Sec. 414. Authority related to improper steering.

Sec. 415. Impact study on employer responsibility requirements.

Sec. 416. Study on employer hardship exemption.

PART 2--SATISFACTION OF HEALTH COVERAGE PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

Sec. 421. Satisfaction of health coverage participation requirements under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Sec. 422. Satisfaction of health coverage participation requirements under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Sec. 423. Satisfaction of health coverage participation requirements under the Public Health Service Act.

Sec. 424. Additional rules relating to health coverage participation requirements.

TITLE V--AMENDMENTS TO INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986

PART 1--SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

SUBPART A--INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY

Sec. 501. Tax on individuals without acceptable health care coverage.

SUBPART B--EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITY

Sec. 511. Election to satisfy health coverage participation requirements.

Sec. 512. Health care contributions of nonelecting employers.

PART 2--CREDIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS EMPLOYEE HEALTH COVERAGE EXPENSES

Sec. 521. Credit for small business employee health coverage expenses.

PART 3--LIMITATIONS ON HEALTH CARE RELATED EXPENDITURES

Sec. 531. Distributions for medicine qualified only if for prescribed drug or insulin.

Sec. 532. Limitation on health flexible spending arrangements under cafeteria plans.

Sec. 533. Increase in penalty for nonqualified distributions from health savings accounts.

Sec. 534. Denial of deduction for federal subsidies for prescription drug plans which have been excluded from gross income.

PART 4--OTHER PROVISIONS TO CARRY OUT HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM

Sec. 541. Disclosures to carry out health insurance exchange subsidies.

Sec. 542. Offering of exchange-participating health benefits plans through cafeteria plans.

Sec. 543. Exclusion from gross income of payments made under reinsurance program for retirees.

Sec. 544. CLASS program treated in same manner as long-term care insurance.

Sec. 545. Exclusion from gross income for medical care provided for Indians.

Subtitle B--Other Revenue Provisions

PART 1--GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 551. Surcharge on high income individuals.

Sec. 552. Excise tax on medical devices.

Sec. 553. Expansion of information reporting requirements.

Sec. 554. Delay in application of worldwide allocation of interest.

PART 2--PREVENTION OF TAX AVOIDANCE

Sec. 561. Limitation on treaty benefits for certain deductible payments.

Sec. 562. Codification of economic substance doctrine; penalties.

Sec. 563. Certain large or publicly traded persons made subject to a more likely than not standard for avoiding penalties on underpayments.

PART 3--PARITY IN HEALTH BENEFITS

Sec. 571. Certain health related benefits applicable to spouses and dependents extended to eligible beneficiaries.