Mar 29, 2010 Tucson, Arizona. The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) became the first medical society to sue to overturn the newly enacted health care bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). AAPS sued Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (AAPS v. Sebelius et al.).

"If the PPACA goes unchallenged, then it spells the end of freedom in medicine as we know it," observed Jane Orient, M.D., the Executive Director of AAPS. "Courts should not allow this massive intrusion into the practice of medicine and the rights of patients."

"There will be a dire shortage of physicians if the PPACA becomes effective and is not overturned by the courts."

The PPACA requires most Americans to buy government-approved insurance starting in 2014, or face stiff penalties. Insurance company executives will be enriched by this requirement, but it violates the Fifth Amendment protection against the government forcing one person to pay cash to another. AAPS is the first to assert this important constitutional claim.

The PPACA also violates the Tenth Amendment, the Commerce Clause, and the provisions authorizing taxation. The Taxing and Spending power cannot be invoked, as the premiums go to private insurance companies. The traditional sovereignty of the States over the practice of medicine is destroyed by the PPACA.

AAPS notes that in scoring the proposal the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) was bound by assumptions imposed by Congress, including the ability to "save" $500 billion in Medicare, and to redirect $50 billion from Social Security. HHS Secretary Sebelius stated that PPACA would reduce the federal deficit, knowing the opposite to be true if these assumptions are unrealistic.

AAPS asks the Court to enjoin the government from promulgating or enforcing insurance mandates and require HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue to provide the Court with an accounting of Medicare and Social Security solvency.

Congress recognized that PPACA cannot be funded without the insurance mandates, and will become unenforceable without them.

Court action is necessary "to preserve individual liberty" and "to prevent PPACA from bankrupting the United States generally and Medicare and Social Security specifically," AAPS stated.

AAPS is a voice for patient and physician independence since 1943. The complaint is posted at http://www.aapsonline.org/hhslawsuit

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, today made the following comment on media reports that the President will soon name Dr. Donald M. Berwick as his nominee to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  The programs serve nearly one-third of all Americans.  The Finance Committee will handle the nomination.

"This is always a big job, but the administration of health care reform, which includes implementing the hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicare cuts and the biggest expansion of Medicaid in its history, will make it more challenging than ever.  The Finance Committee vetting will need to explore the nominee's preparedness for the enormous challenges that face the agency."

Braley to meet with small business leaders, discuss job creation

Washington, DC - Congressman Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) will make stops in Dubuque, Clinton and DeWitt on Tuesday. Braley will visit Dubuque to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Hormel's new plant, then meet with small business leaders in Clinton and DeWitt.  

On March 18, President Barack Obama signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act into law, including Braley's small business tax cut to spur job creation. Braley's provision created a payroll tax cut for small business owners who hire previously unemployed workers.

TUESDAY, March 30

WHAT: Rep. Braley to attend Hormel Food's ribbon-cutting ceremony.

WHEN: 12:00pm CST

WHERE: Hormel Foods, 1205 Chavenelle Court, Dubuque

WHAT: Rep. Braley to meet with women-owned small business leaders in Clinton.

WHEN: 2:00pm CST

WHERE: Sedona Staffing, 2418 Virginia Ave, Suite E, Clinton

WHAT: Rep. Braley to meet with DeWitt small business leaders.

WHEN: 3:30pm CST

WHERE: Total Realty, 700 6th Ave, DeWitt

WASHINGTON - Chuck Grassley today cited a new report by the Office of the Inspector General at the Social Security Administration as further evidence that the federal government's charge card program continues to be ripe for fraud and abuse.  The report found many of the same deficiencies that have been found in other agencies, such as a lack of documentation to support transactions.

"This is more evidence as to why the House should take up and pass my legislation.  With the amount of money coming in and going out of the federal bureaucracy, it's more important than ever to ensure that the taxpayers' dollars are accounted for," Grassley said.

Grassley introduced legislation in April 2009 to require federal agencies to establish safeguards and controls for government charge card programs.  The bill also requires agencies to set penalties for violations.  Grassley said he hopes the House of Representatives will act quickly on this common-sense legislation.  The bill cleared the full Senate in October and now awaits House approval.

Grassley has done extensive oversight with the Government Accountability Office to determine how federal government employees are using government charge cards to make purchases for personal use.  He first began looking into the issue in 2001, starting at the Department of Defense.  Since then, abuses have been documented at the Departments of Defense and Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Forest Service, the Federal Aviation Administration and others.

The Government Accountability Office reports identified an inadequate and inconsistent control environment across numerous federal agencies with respect to both government purchase cards and government travel cards.

Grassley said the lack of controls have led to millions of dollars in taxpayers' money wasted.  The reports outlined purchases that were fraudulent, of questionable need, or were unnecessarily expensive, including kitchen appliances, sapphire rings, gambling, cruises, gentlemen=s clubs and legalized brothels.

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