RNC: Tax and Spend Fever

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Republican National Committee:

Today, President Obama Will Host A Health Care Summit:

Today, President Obama Will Host A Summit On Health Care Issues. "On Thursday, Mr. Obama will host a summit on health-care issues where a variety of stakeholders will come together with members of Congress." (Laura Meckler, "Tough Questions Dog Health-Care Overhaul," The Wall Street Journal, 3/3/09)

EVEN MORE SPENDING? HIGHER TAXES?

President Obama's Health Care Plan Could Cost More Than $1 Trillion:


Estimates Place The Cost Of President Obama's Health Care Plan At Over $1 Trillion Over The Next Decade. "Estimates put the full cost of Mr. Obama's health plan at more than $1 trillion over 10 years." (Laura Meckler, "Tough Questions Dog Health-Care Overhaul," The Wall Street Journal, 3/3/09)

The President Has Been Vague About Funding His Health Care Plan:

President Obama Has Been Vague On How His Health Care Plan Would Be Financed. "Mr. Obama has been vague about how the country's future health-care system should be structured, but he was detailed last week about how to pay for it. He proposed raising $634 billion over 10 years through tax increases on the wealthy and cuts to existing government health-care spending." (Laura Meckler, "Tough Questions Dog Health-Care Overhaul," The Wall Street Journal, 3/3/09)

In The Past, Obama Proposed Funding Health Care Reforms By Repealing The Bush Tax Cuts:

Originally, President Obama Said He Would Finance His Health Care Plans By Rolling Back The Bush Tax Cuts. "On his Presidential Transition website, President Obama said he would 'pay for his $50 - $65 billion health care reform effort by rolling back the Bush tax cuts for Americans earning more than $250,000 per year and retaining the estate tax at its 2009 level.'" (Jake Tapper, "Read His Lips: New Taxes," ABC News' "Political Punch" Blog, www.abcnews.com, 2/26/09)

But Instead, Democrats Have Already Announced Plans For Billions In New Taxes To Fund Health Care:

President Obama Still Plans On Ending The Bush Tax Cuts; But Instead Of Using Them To Fund Health Care, He Proposed A New Tax. "But as we learned yesterday afternoon, though the President is certainly planning on raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans by allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire next year -- making the top rate jump from 35% to 39.6% -- the President plans on partially funding the Health Care Reserve fund by raising another, new tax on those families making $250,000 a year, specifically from reducing the itemized deduction rate for families with incomes over $250,000, limiting it to 28 percent." (Jake Tapper, "Read His Lips: New Taxes," ABC News' "Political Punch" Blog, www.abcnews.com, 2/26/09)

President Obama Proposed A $634 Billion Reserve Fund For Health Care, That Experts Believe Will Cost At Least $1 Trillion. "President Obama is proposing to begin a vast expansion of the U.S. health-care system by creating a $634 billion reserve fund over the next decade, launching an overhaul that most experts project will ultimately cost at least $1 trillion. The 'reserve fund' in the budget proposal being released today is Obama's attempt to demonstrate how the country could extend health insurance to millions more Americans and at the same time begin to control escalating medical bills that threaten the solvency of families, businesses and the government." (Ceci Connolly, "Obama Proposes $634 Billion Fund For Health Care," The Washington Post, 2/26/09)

Democrats Plan To Pay For The Reserve Fund By Capping Tax Deductions, Amounting In A Tax Increase Of More Than $300 Billion. "About half the money for the new fund would come by capping itemized tax deductions for Americans in the top income bracket. The proposal, which administration officials characterize as a 'shared-responsibility issue,' would reduce the value of tax deductions for families earning more than $250,000 by about 20 percent, according to administration documents." (Ceci Connolly, "Obama Proposes $634 Billion Fund For Health Care," The Washington Post, 2/26/09)

Does The Obama Administration Plan On Using An Employer Tax Exclusion To Help Fund Health Care?

There Is Speculation That Democrats Will Propose An Employer Tax Exclusion To Help Fund The Health Care Proposals. "The administration, as John Cohn says, means to leave the rest of the financing question to Congress. But according to both members of Congress and the administration, that ambiguity obscures a specific solution under examination: The employer tax exclusion." (Ezra Klein, "What Obama's Budget Does -- And Doesn't - Say," The American Prospect's "Ezra Klein" Blog, www.prospect.org, 2/22/09)

-- This Is The Same Idea That The Obama Campaign "Brutalized" McCain For
Suggesting. "This is a particularly tricky policy for the Obama
administration to propose because they brutalized John McCain for
suggesting much the same thing. McCain, they said, was planning to tax
employer health care benefits for the first time in history." (Ezra
Klein, "What Obama's Budget Does -- And Doesn't - Say," The American
Prospect's "Ezra Klein" Blog, www.prospect.org, 2/22/09)

Even Other Democrats Are Beginning To Question The Amount Of Debt That President Obama's Health Care Plans Would Bring:

Rep. Jim Marshall (D-GA) Suggested Avoiding More Debt Was More Important Right Now Than Providing Universal Health Care. "One Blue Dog Democrat in the House made clear today that he is unlikely to support President Obama's health care reform plans unless it is revenue neutral and does not add long-term debt to the nation's balance sheet. In an appearance on ABC News Now's 'Politics Live,' Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga. ... suggested that avoiding additional debt is a greater priority for the country's economic health than providing universal health care coverage for all Americans." (David Chalian, "Blue Dog To Obama: Health Care Shouldn't Increase Debt," ABC News' "The Note" Blog, www.abcnews.com, 3/2/09)

-- Rep. Marshall: "Increasing Spending Without Coming Up With Revenue
That Matches That Spending Or Cutting Spending Some Place Else Is Just
Not The Direction That We Need To Head In." Marshall: "Frankly all of
us would like to see more Americans have access to health care and
there will be a lot of different arguments concerning the appropriate
plan, but I think there's a larger issue on the table now and I think
the President has a real opportunity to show some leadership with
regard to that issue, and it's the long-term fact that our budget just
isn't sustainable ... Increasing spending without coming up with
revenue that matches that spending or cutting spending some place else
is just not the direction that we need to head in. We've been doing
that too long now. We're addicted to debt, w e ran up debt
unbelievably during the Bush administration years, and I hope the
administration will show some real leadership and head this country
towards a sustainable course in the long run." (David Chalian, "Blue
Dog To Obama: Health Care Shouldn't Increase Debt," ABC News' "The
Note" Blog, www.abcnews.com, 3/2/09)

Democrats Have Already Passed And Proposed Trillions Since President Obama Was Sworn In:

President Obama Proposed Spending Between $3.5 And $4 Trillion In His FY2010 Budget. "Obama's budget overview will call for between $3.5 trillion and $4 trillion in spending in fiscal year 2010 and creates space for up to $750 billion in additional bank bailout funds this year - money that hasn't been requested and the administration hopes will not be necessary to stabilize the still-reeling financial system." (Major Garrett, "Obama's Budget Projects $1.75 Trillion Deficit," FoxNews.com, www.foxnews.com, 2/26/09)

Last Month, President Obama Signed The $787 Billion Economic Stimulus Package. "The $787 billion stimulus bill that President Barack Obama signed Tuesday was a warm-up act, an emergency provision aimed at stimulating a moribund economy." (David Lightman and Margaret Talev, "How Much Government Spending Is Ahead? Stay Tuned," The Miami Herald, 2/20/09)

Last Week, Democrats In The House Passed A $410 Billion Omnibus Spending Bill. "The U.S. House voted to boost spending on domestic programs by 8 percent, ease restrictions on travel to Cuba and kill a school voucher program in Washington, D.C., as part of a $410 billion spending bill." (Brian Faler, "House Approves $410 Billion 'Omnibus' Spending Bill," Bloomberg, 2/25/09)

President Obama Announced A $275 Billion Plan To Stave Off Foreclosures. "After a week dominated by programs that involve spending -- in addition to the stimulus package, the plan to stave off foreclosures could cost taxpayers as much as $275 billion -- Mr. Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address to chart the immediate road ahead." (Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "Obama Pledges To Seek Deficit Cuts," The New York Times, 2/21/09)

WILL A HEALTH CARE PROPOSAL INCLUDE CAMPAIGN PROMISES?

During The Campaign, Obama Proposed An Employer Mandate And Government-Organized Marketplace For Health Insurance:

Obama Proposed A "Government-Organized Marketplace" For Health Insurance. "During his presidential campaign, Mr. Obama proposed a system in which people could buy insurance through a government-organized marketplace, where private plans and a new government-run plan would compete." (Laura Meckler, "Tough Questions Dog Health-Care Overhaul," The Wall Street Journal, 3/3/09)

Obama Proposed Forcing Businesses To Cover Their Employees Or Pay Into A Fund. "During his campaign, Mr. Obama proposed that large businesses be required to offer coverage or pay into a fund, while small businesses that offer coverage would get a tax credit." (Laura Meckler, "Tough Questions Dog Health-Care Overhaul," The Wall Street Journal, 3/3/09)

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