Lobbyists Win Again In Securing Tax Break For Home Builders

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/business/economy/15gret.html?_r=1
The New York Times's Gretchen Morgenson points out that lobbyists have won another victory that will lead to billions in taxpayer dollars being handed over to firms that helped spur the economic crisis.

The Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which President Obama just signed into law, contains "a tax break that lets big companies offset losses incurred in 2008 and 2009 against profits booked as far back as 2004," Morgenson reports. (Read the full story here.)

The administration estimates that the tax breaks will be worth some $33 billion, and home builders -- who analysts say were key players in the financial crisis by building and financing too many homes -- stand to benefit enormously.

One of the more shocking elements of Morgenson's piece is just how large a rate of return these home builders got for the money they spent on lobbying for this tax break:

Securing this tax break was a top priority for home builders, lobbying records show. The Center for Responsive Politics reports that through Oct. 26 of this year, home builders paid $6 million to their lobbyists. Last year, the industry spent $8.2 million lobbying...

...Among individual companies, Lennar spent $240,000 lobbying while companies affiliated with Hovnanian Enterprises spent $222,000. Pulte Homes spent $210,000 this year.

That's some return on investment. After spending its $210,000, Pulte will receive $450 million in refunds. And Hovnanian, after spending its $222,000, will get as much as $275 million.


Even as unemployment continues to rise and the Obama administration's foreclosure plan appears to be failing, Congress and the White House are signing off on tax breaks that reward those who are partly responsible for our financial predicament.

Washington Lobbyists Pedal Power

The equivalent of six health-care lobbyists for every member of Congress are registered for this year's biggest political battle.

http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/09/28/how-washington-lobbyists-peddle-power/

Jon Stewart blasts Democrats over public option

On the Daily Show last night, Jon Stewart blasted Senate Democrats for failing to get a public health care option through the Senate Finance Committee despite having a super majority.

Here's the clip via Comedy Central:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Democratic Super Majority
www.thedailyshow.com
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On the Take: How much were Senators paid for yesterday's health care vote?

On average, Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee who voted FOR a public option to be included in the health care overhaul took home $3 million given to them by insurance companies and other health care industry lobbyists.

Those handful of Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee who voted AGAINST the public option took home more than $10 million.

Now, we're just talking about those members on the committee. Money given to the entire Senate and House of Representatives isn't included in this amount.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus alone got about $1.8 million in campaign contributions from health care lobbyists, according to a report released by The Sunlight Foundation. The foundation is a nonpartisan organization that seeks to make the workings of government more transparent.

You can use the report below to compare how much money members of the Senate Finance Committee got from unions, which favor a public option, versus the amount of money they received from insurance companies and other industry lobbyists.

Just in case you wanted to know what members are on the take - and how much money was stuffed into their pockets - see the chart below. Using campaign finance disclosure forms that members of Congress are required by law to submit, the Sunlight Foundation compiled this report. The info is straight from the horses' mouths, so to speak.

Go ahead, take a look for yourself, and make up your own mind.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name	Party	Labor Contributions (2005-2010)	Health Contributions (2005-2010)	Ratio (Health:Labor)	Rockefeller Amendment	Schumer Amendment
Mike Crapo	R	$2,000	$243,226	121.6:1	N	N
Jon Kyl	R	$13,000	$1,188,238	91.4:1	N	N
Chuck Grassley	R	$11,500	$651,627	56.7:1	N	N
Jim Bunning	R	$2,500	$112,650	45.1:1	N	N
John Cornyn	R	$27,250	$1,226,469	44.6:1	N	N
John Ensign	R	$12,000	$521,575	43.5:1	N	N
Orrin Hatch	R	$31,100	$1,020,334	32.8:1	N	N
Pat Roberts	R	$12,000	$343,849	28.7:1	N	N
Blanche Lincoln	D	$36,100	$641,004	17.8:1	N	N
Mike Enzi	R	$26,500	$423,749	16.0:1	N	N
Maria Cantwell	D	$22,500	$353,342	15.7:1	Y	Y
Ron Wyden	D	$39,000	$370,175	9.5:1	Y	Y
Max Baucus	D	$207,925	$1,763,799	8.5:1	N	N
Olympia Snowe	R	$103,750	$367,549	3.5:1	N	N
Kent Conrad	D	$253,750	$652,178	2.6:1	N	N
Debbie Stabenow	D	$284,125	$737,243	2.6:1	Y	Y
Bill Nelson	D	$241,890	$613,594	2.5:1	N	Y
Jay Rockefeller	D	$240,800	$605,400	2.5:1	Y	Y
Chuck Schumer	D	$140,500	$298,650	2.1:1	Y	Y
John Kerry	D	$103,248	$188,558	1.8:1	Y	Y
Jeff Bingaman	D	$229,500	$366,414	1.6:1	Y	Y
Tom Carper	D	$180,010	$287,406	1.6:1	N	Y
Robert Menendez	D	$400,100	$603,343	1.5:1	Y	Y

** Both Senators Chuck Schumer and Jay Rockefeller each introduced public option plans. Both were voted down by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.

The Money Trail: Martinez follows other lawmakers straight to K Street

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27560.html
It used to be that lawmakers were coy about any ideas they had about heading for K Street, waiting until their terms ended before announcing they were beginning a more lucrative career.

But in recent years, members of Congress planning to become lobbyists have not been able to wait. In fact, when Florida Republican Mel Martinez this week accepted a position with the mega-lobbying and law firm DLA Piper — less than two weeks after resigning from the Senate — it brought to five the number of former lawmakers since 2007 who have abandoned their constituents midterm and almost immediately resurfaced with lobbying firms, according to data provided by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

“This used to be considered unacceptable, but it really is a growing phenomenon,” said Meredith McGehee, who lobbies for stricter lobbying and ethics regulations for the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. “The reality is that the money has gotten so big and so tempting these days, that I think a lot of these members are saying, ‘I don’t think I’ll go back into political office, first of all, and, the money is just too big to turn down.’”

Wall Street Goes to Washington

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/12/AR2009091202932.html
The banks are at it again!

Bailed-Out Financial Firms Forked Over $6 Million To Members Of Congress Since November

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/26/bailed-out-financial-firm_n_269815.html
Lobbying and the dollars they spend... Freedom of Expression, right?

Billionaires for Wealthcare: It's On!

H/T Cyd

I wondered where health care supporters were.

U.S. Insurance Companies: Friends or foes?

http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14248420&source=features_box_main
The health insurance lobby may prove to be President Obama’s most important friend this year.

Can Obama continue to bash the insurers one day and rely on them the next?

Grassly, Gingrich for "Death Panels" before they were against it? Beck hated Healthcare? Whaa??

oh dear: GOP Supported End-of-Life Counseling in 2003 Medicare Bill - Swampland - TIME.com

You would think that if Republicans wanted to totally mischaracterize a health care provision and demagogue it like nobody's business, they would at least pick something that the vast majority of them hadn't already voted for just a few years earlier. Because that's not just shameless, it's stupid.

 Yes, that's right. Remember the 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill, the one that passed with the votes of 204 GOP House members and 42 GOP Senators? Anyone want to guess what it provided funding for? Did you say counseling for end-of-life issues and care? Ding ding ding!! 

Let's go to the bill text, shall we? "The covered services are: evaluating the beneficiary's need for pain and symptom management, including the individual's need for hospice care; counseling the beneficiary with respect to end-of-life issues and care options, and advising the beneficiary regarding advanced care planning." The only difference between the 2003 provision and the infamous Section 1233 that threatens the very future and moral sanctity of the Republic is that the first applied only to terminally ill patients. Section 1233 would expand funding so that people could voluntarily receive counseling before they become terminally ill. 

So either Republicans were for death panels in 2003 before turning against them now--or they're lying about end-of-life counseling in order to frighten the bejeezus out of their fellow citizens and defeat health reform by any means necessary. Which is it, Mr. Grassley ("Yea," 2003)?

Matt Taibbi - Taibblog – Newt Gingrich Changes What’s Left of his Mind on End-of-life Care - True/Slant

More than 20 percent of all Medicare spending occurs in the last two months of life. Gundersen Lutheran Health System in La Crosse, Wisconsin has developed a successful end-of-life, best practice that combines: 1) community-wide advance care planning, where 90 percent of patients have advance directives; 2) hospice and palliative care; and 3) coordination of services through an electronic medical record. The Gundersen approach empowers patients and families to control and direct their care. The Dartmouth Health Atlas has documented that Gundersen delivers care at a 30 percent lower rate than the national average ($18,359 versus $25,860). If Gundersen’s approach was used to care for the approximately 4.5 million Medicare beneficiaries who die every year, Medicare could save more than $33 billion a year.     

via Health Care Rx: Across the Country, Some Systems Are Getting It Right – Newt Gingrich.

That was Newt Gingrich just a few months ago praising the “Advance Directives” practiced by a hospital in Wisconsin. Advance Directives are another word for the end-of-life consultations that the teabggers have been flipping out over of late. Gingrich loved them a few months ago.

Perhaps the checks from Cigna, Aetna and United Healthcare hadn't cleared yet. Or perhaps calling them Death Panels wasn't politically expedient for the sweetheart deal the industry got on that cash burning pile of shit known as Medicate Part D.

And then there's Glenn Beck's about face as captured on The Daily Show. Apparently he had a real epiphany in the past few months about us having the GREATEST HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN THE WORRRLLLDDDDD:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Glenn Beck's Operation
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This ain't 1950. We're not going to lose the tape like they lost those Honeymooners episodes. If you said it 2 years ago, there's gonna be a record.  Born again healthcare advocates, I assume? Baptized by lobbyist cash?

Top Republican Dick Armey leaves firm amid health care flap

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26128.html
Says negative attention from media of his lobby group, FreedomWorks, taints him.

Or could it be the "rucus" FreedomWorks caused at town hall meetings that tainted Armey?

Six Lobbyists Per Lawmaker

"If there is any doubt that President Obama's plan to overhaul U.S. health care is the hottest topic in Congress, just ask the 3,300 lobbyists who have lined up to work on the issue," Bloomberg reports.

"That's six lobbyists for each of the 535 members of the House and Senate, according to Senate records, and three times the number of people registered to lobby on defense. More than 1,500 organizations have health-care lobbyists, and about three more are signing up each day. Every one of the 10 biggest lobbying firms by revenue is involved in an effort that could affect 17 percent of the U.S. economy."