Members of U.S. House lining up to pull rug from under president's nationalization

By Bob Unruh
(c) 2010 WorldNetDaily

U.S. President Barack Obama makes remarks about the leaked Afghan war documents in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, July 27, 2010. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS)

The November election is getting closer. And so is the possibility that Obamacare - with its so-called "death panels," government intervention in health-care decisions and mandates for all consumers to buy the insurance the government specifies - simply will be repealed.

The effort has been assembled by U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, whose discharge petition would call for a new House vote on the proposal.

Share your thoughts about the Obamacare nationalization of health-care decision-making.

It needs 218 signatures of House members, and since that constitutes a majority in the 435-member House, the goal of the discharge petition likely would be accomplished, he has explained. The effort now has 173 signatures, only a few dozen short of the number required.

The plan had collected 170 signatures before the summer congressional break, but since members of Congress returned to Washington, three more names - Jim Gerlach of Pennsylvania, Gene Taylor of Mississippi and Steve Buyer of Indiana - have been added.

King also this week released a statement about Obamacare, noting that it has been six months since its adoption.

"Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi once said that Congress had to pass Obamacare so that Americans would know what was in it. Americans have now had six months to review this unconstitutional legislation, and the majorities seeking repeal continue to grow," he said.

He said more than 20 states already have filed lawsuits against Obamacare, and voters in Missouri have passed a law protecting themselves from Obama's "unconstitutional 'individual mandate.'"

"A recent survey by Rasmussen Reports concludes that 61 percent of the American public wants Obamacare repealed," King said. "Americans should urge their representatives to sign Discharge Petition No. 11 and should also insist that members of Congress pledge to withhold funding for Obamacare's implementation in future Congresses."

Review the names on the discharge petition to see whether your representative is aboard with the plan.

House members who previously endorsed King's plan are:

1. Steve King, Iowa
2. Connie Mack, Florida
3. Michele Bachmann, Minnesota
4. Todd Tiahrt, Kansas
5. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee
6. Tom Price, Georgia
7. Paul C. Broun, Georgia
8. Jerry Moran, Kansas
9. Tom Graves, Georgia
10. Rob Bishop, Utah
11. Joseph R. Pitts, Pennsylvania
12. Mike Pence, Indiana
13. Lynn A. Westmoreland, Georgia
14. Glenn Thompson, Pennsylvania
15. Jeb Hensarling, Texas
16. Louie Gohmert, Texas
17. Judy Biggert, Illinois
18. John Boozman, Arkansas
19. Kenny Marchant, Texas
20. Jim Jordan, Ohio
21. Jason Chaffetz, Utah
22. Gary G. Miller, California
23. Bob Goodlatte, Virginia
24. Doug Lamborn, Colorado
25. Robert E. Latta, Ohio
26. Tom Cole, Oklahoma
27. Trent Franks, Arizona
28. K. Michael Conaway, Texas
29. Jo Bonner, Alabama
30. Dan Burton, Indiana
31. J. Gresham Barrett, South Carolina
32. John Linder, Georgia
33. Bill Posey, Florida
34. Lynn Jenkins, Kansas
35. Mike Coffman, Colorado
36. Roscoe G. Bartlett, Maryland
37. Virginia Foxx, North Carolina
38. John Campbell, California
39. Mike Rogers, Alabama
40. Randy Neugebauer, Texas
41. Charles K. Djou, Hawaii
42. Pete Sessions, Texas
43. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Wisconsin
44. Howard Coble, North Carolina
45. Candice S. Miller, Michigan
46. Steve Scalise, Louisiana
47. Robert B. Aderholt, Alabama
48. Phil Gingrey, Georgia
49. Kevin Brady, Texas
50. Pete Olson, Texas
51. C.W. Bill Young, Florida
52. Tom McClintock, California
53. Joe Wilson, South Carolina
54. Mac Thornberry, Texas
55. John R. Carter, Texas
56. John Shimkus, Illinois
57. Mary Fallin, Oklahoma
58. Gus M. Bilirakis, Florida
59. John Fleming, Louisiana
60. Jeff Flake, Arizona
61. W. Todd Akin, Missouri
62. Peter Hoekstra, Michigan
63. Donald A. Manzullo, Illinois
64. Eric Cantor, Virginia
65. Scott Garrett, New Jersey
66. John A. Boehner, Ohio
67. Henry E. Brown, Jr., South Carolina
68. Kay Granger, Texas
69. Parker Griffith, Alabama
70. Ted Poe, Texas
71. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington
72. Rodney Alexander, Louisiana
73. Fred Upton, Michigan
74. Jean Schmidt, Ohio
75. John Sullivan, Oklahoma
76. Peter J. Roskam, Illinois
77. Blaine Luetkemeyer, Missouri
78. Michael C. Burgess, Texas
79. Ken Calvert, California
80. Lee Terry, Nebraska
81. Patrick T. McHenry, North Carolina
82. Mary Bono Mack, California
83. Spencer Bachus, Alabama
84. Jeff Miller, Florida
85. John B. Shadegg, Arizona
86. Gregg Harper, Mississippi
87. John Abney Culberson, Texas
88. Dana Rohrabacher, California
89. David P. Roe, Tennessee
90. J. Randy Forbes, Virginia
91. Bill Cassidy, Louisiana
92. Brett Guthrie, Kentucky
93. Denny Rehberg, Montana
94. Sue Wilkins Myrick, North Carolina
95. Tom Latham, Iowa
96. Michael K. Simpson, Idaho
97. John Kline, Minnesota
98. Ron Paul, Texas
99. Thomas J. Rooney, Florida
100. Daniel E. Lungren, California
101. Darrell E. Issa, California
102. Harold Rogers, Kentucky
103. John J. Duncan, Jr., Tennessee
104. Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania
105. Duncan Hunter, California
106. Sam Graves, Missouri
107. Bob Inglis, South Carolina
108. Edward R. Royce, California
109. Ralph M. Hall, Texas
110. Timothy V. Johnson, Illinois
111. Michael T. McCaul, Texas
112. Thaddeus G. McCotter, Michigan
113. Robert J. Wittman, Virginia
114. Lamar Smith, Texas
115. Cynthia M. Lummis, Wyoming
116. Wally Herger, California
117. Vern Buchanan, Florida
118. Christopher H. Smith, New Jersey
119. Geoff Davis, Kentucky
120. Jack Kingston, Georgia
121. Brian P. Bilbray, California
122. Zach Wamp, Tennessee
123. Jerry Lewis, California
124. Erik Paulsen, Minnesota
125. Roy Blunt, Missouri
126. Jo Ann Emerson, Missouri
127. Frank Wolf, Virginia
128. George Radanovich, California
129. Steve Austria, Ohio
130. Greg Walden, Oregon
131. Frank D. Lucas, Oklahoma
132. Adrian Smith, Nebraska
133. Jeff Fortenberry, Nebraska
134. Frank A. LoBiondo, New Jersey
135. Sam Johnson, Texas
136. Paul Ryan, Wisconsin
137. John L. Mica, Florida
138. Michael R. Turner, Ohio
139. Aaron Schock, Illinois
140. Cliff Stearns, Florida
141. Devin Nunes, California
142. David Dreier, California
143. Christopher John Lee, New York
144. Kevin McCarthy, California
145. Bill Shuster, Pennsylvania
146. Leonard Lance, New Jersey
147. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, California
148. Ander Crenshaw, Florida
149. Elton Gallegly, California
150. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, New Jersey
151. Ed Whitfield, Kentucky
152. Walter B. Jones, North Carolina
153. Vernon J. Ehlers, Michigan
154. Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin
155. Doc Hastings, Washington
156. Don Young, Alaska
157. Ginny Brown-Waite, Florida
158. Patrick J. Tiberi, Ohio
159. Mike Rogers, Michigan
160. Joe Barton, Texas
161. Adam H. Putnam, Florida
162. Dave Camp, Michigan
163. Steven C. LaTourette, Ohio
164. Dean Heller, Nevada
165. Peter T. King, New York
166. Mario Diaz-Balart, Florida
167. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Florida
168. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Florida
169. Tim Murphy, Pennsylvania
170. Charles W. Dent, Pennsylvania

King also has posted a list online divided by state delegations.

The effort in the House continues gaining momentum even though it has been reported but little in the media. Under House rules, once King's discharge petition acquires the needed number of names, it would move forward even if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vigorously opposes it.

All of the GOP representatives and 34 Democrats opposed Obamacare when it was passed on a narrow 219-212 vote earlier this year. King said 212 representatives, at least, should be in favor of overturning it, since they previously opposed it.

Then it will be up to the handful of Democrat votes that would be needed to turn from endorsement to rejection for it to advance.

He also said there are a number of Democrats who supported the nationalization plan who now are running for re-election in districts where residents oppose it.

The proposal states: "Pursuant to clause 2 of rule XV, I, Steve King of Iowa, move to discharge the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, Education and Labor, the Judiciary, Natural Resources, Rules, House Administration and Appropriations from the consideration of the bill (H.R. 4972) to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was referred to said committees on March 25, 2010, in support of which motion the undersigned Members of the House of Representatives affix their signatures."

Its target is the $940 billion, or greater, bill adopted by the Democrat-controlled Congress in March.

King said he expects the numbers "to swell."

"Once the discharge petition reaches 218 signatures, Speaker Pelosi will not be able to prevent the repeal legislation from receiving, and passing, a vote on the floor," King's announcement said.

The congressman said the process may be a little complicated to rid the nation of thousands of pages of laws that a majority of voters oppose, but it can be done.

The discharge petition is first, which then can be used as a litmus test against Democrats in November, he said. The likelihood is that if the GOP returns to a majority in the House in November, while President Obama still could veto a complete repeal, the House simply could shut off funding for the program until a new president is elected in 2012, he explained.

In a related effort, almost 41,000 voices from across America are offering their encouragement to members of the House who have yet to sign the discharge petition offered by King.

The campaign is a petition drive that urges members of Congress to repeal Obamacare because of several problems:

* Whereas, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, approved by a narrow vote of the House of Representatives earlier this year, threatens to transform the U.S. health-care system from its roots in free enterprise and personal choice;

* Whereas, the act is unconstitutional because of its unprecedented requirement that Americans purchase a service;

* Whereas, the system the law would create is financially unsustainable, places personal medical decisions in the hands of bureaucrats and is likely to lead to rationing of health-care options;

* Whereas, the act is likely to result in forcing some 87 million Americans to drop their current health-care coverage;

* Whereas, the costs involved in complying with the law are likely to cost more Americans their jobs, inhibit the creation of new employment opportunities and suppress wages ...

The petition drive was launched by Joseph Farah, founder and CEO of WorldNetDaily, who said the results are worthy of note already.

"This is a very impressive petition, but it will be much more impressive at 100,000 or 200,000 or 1 million," he said. "We need people signing and spreading the news about this effort - news that has not been reported anywhere else expect at WND."


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MILWAUKEE, WI - For years, any weight-loss aficionado could easily tell you the best sources of dietary fiber:  whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables.  But in today's environment, things have changed.  Grocery store shelves have become crowded with traditionally low-fiber foods that are now packed with fiber, like candy, ice cream, and artificial sweeteners. 

According to TOPS Club, Inc. (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), the nonprofit weight-loss support organization, these "new fiber" foods may not yield the same health benefits as their traditional high-fiber food counterparts.

Defining Fiber

Dietary fiber - also called roughage - is defined by the Institute of Medicine as the edible, nondigestible component of carbohydrate and lignin found naturally in plant food.  Fiber is not digested or absorbed in the small intestine, and it does not contribute calories; rather, bacteria in the stomach metabolize the fibrous parts of food.  When you eat a food that contains a natural source of dietary fiber, you are said to be eating intact fiber.

Added fiber consists of isolated, nondigestible carbohydrates that have beneficial physiological effects in humans.  These fibers can be synthetically manufactured or derived from other plant or animal sources.  An example of an added fiber is pectin extracted from citrus peel and used as a gel in making jam or jelly.  Generally, added fiber is referred to as isolated or functional fiber.

Total fiber is the sum of dietary (or intact) fiber plus added (or isolated or functional) fiber.  Things can seem confusing on the Nutrition Facts panel of food packaging because "dietary fiber" includes all sources of fiber in that food, whether they are from intact or isolated sources.  This is why you can see upwards of ten grams of dietary fiber listed for a fiber-fortified flour tortilla that traditionally would have only one or two grams of fiber.

Fiber can help lower cholesterol, regulate blood sugar, and promote satiety or the feeling of fullness. 

According to The Institute of Medicine, women ages 50 and younger should consume 25 grams of fiber per day.  Women ages 51 and older should aim for 21 grams per day.  For males, those 50 and under need 38 grams per day, and men ages 51 and older should consume 30 grams of fiber per day.


Isolated vs. Intact Fiber

According to Katie Clark, M.P.H., R.D., C.D.E., Assistant Clinical Professor of Nutrition at the University of California - San Francisco and nutrition expert for TOPS, the health benefits of intact fiber are widely accepted among health professionals. 

Researchers who study the effects of fiber on health have done so largely by analyzing the dietary fiber that occurs naturally in high-fiber foods.  But do the health benefits of dietary fiber extend to synthetically manufactured or extracted fibers added to traditionally low-fiber foods?  The American Dietetic Association (ADA) maintains that, "Whether isolated, functional fibers provide protection against cardiovascular disease remains controversial."  The ADA's position paper on dietary fiber goes on to say, "Longer-term studies of fiber intake which examine the effects of both intrinsic (intact) and functional (isolated) fibers...are required."

"Because we don't know to what degree the health benefits of dietary fiber are attributable to intact fibers (the additional nutrients in those high-fiber foods), most dietitians and nutrition professionals are recommending that consumers focus on eating foods that are naturally high in fiber," says Clark. 

Whole foods such as whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables are not only high in fiber, but low in salt, devoid of added sugar, and tend to be lower in calories than processed and packaged foods.  Many of the isolated fiber foods on the market are highly processed and are high in salt, added sugars, and extra calories. 

"Much like the notion that 'organic junk food is still junk food,' keep in mind that a 'high-fiber cookie is still a cookie!'" notes Clark.


Side of Package Sleuthing

To determine whether the fiber in a food product comes from an intact or isolated source, you should search the ingredients list on food packaging.

The most common isolated fibers that manufacturers use to bulk-up traditionally low-fiber foods are:
•    Maltodextrin
•    Inulin (chicory root)
•    Polydextrose
•    Oat fiber
•    Resistant start
•    Pectin
•    Gum

Keep in mind that rapidly increasing the amount of fiber in your diet can lead to gas, bloating, and other gastrointestinal discomfort.  Drinking more water alongside increasing fiber intake and slowly increasing fiber intake by a few grams per day can help alleviate symptoms.

By increasing the amount of whole grains and legumes in your diet and making sure to eat five to seven servings of fruits per day, it's quite possible to meet your dietary fiber needs without eating fiber-fortified or isolated fiber foods.  Eating whole foods that are naturally high in fiber are oftentimes more satiating - and less expensive - than foods that contain functional fiber or are fiber-fortified. 

"Fiber can be an important tool in weight loss, diabetes management, and reducing the risk for other chronic diseases," says Clark.  "When selecting high-fiber foods, look for whole fiber foods over fake fiber foods to maximize your health potential."

TOPS Club Inc. (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), the original, nonprofit weight-loss support and wellness education organization, was established more than 62 years ago to champion weight-loss support and success.  Founded and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, TOPS promotes successful, affordable weight management with a philosophy that combines healthy eating, regular exercise, wellness information, and support from others at weekly chapter meetings. TOPS has about 170,000 members in nearly 10,000 chapters throughout the United States and Canada.

Visitors are welcome to attend their first TOPS meeting free of charge. To find a local chapter, view www.tops.org or call (800) 932-8677.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Grassley:  Independent assessment needed to verify savings for hospitals and others under existing system for group purchasing

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley said today that more needs to be done to determine if Group Purchasing Organizations are helping to achieve significant savings for hospitals and others buying medical products, much of which is ultimately taxpayer funded.

"Whether Group Purchasing Organizations are able to help save money on medical supply costs, or not, impacts federal health care spending," Grassley said.  "There's no data with which to independently verify the effect, one way or another, and that's a shortcoming in the current system."

Grassley's comments came along with the release of a new review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and a report of his own staff about Group Purchasing Organizations.  Grassley requested the GAO report in January 2009, to update its earlier study on the business practices of Group Purchasing Organizations.

Grassley said the report of his staff of the Senate Committee on Finance summarizes the information he received directly from Group Purchasing Organizations, about their activities and operations, in response to the requests he made in 2009.  He said there is not empirical data available to support claims of savings by Group Purchasing Organizations.

Group Purchasing Organizations act as purchasing intermediaries that negotiate contracts between health care providers and vendors of medical products.  The GAO said that a 2009 study found that Group Purchasing Organization contracts account for an average of 73 percent of non-labor purchases that hospitals make.  Others estimate that about 98 percent of hospitals use Group Purchasing Organizations to purchase products.

-30-

 

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Finance Committee, today made the following comment on news that state insurance commissioners told the White House that insurers in several states may not be able to meet the Medical Loss Ratio requirement set for next year in the health care overhaul law, and reports that Susan Voss, president-elect of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and Iowa's insurance commissioner, asked the federal government for a gradual phasing-in of the requirement in Iowa to avoid having consumers lose their insurance if companies are forced to exit the market.

"News that Iowa is already seeking to delay some of the new insurance requirements in the partisan health care overhaul is just more proof of how poorly this law was put together.  Concerns have already been raised about how the new federal Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) standard will hinder disease management programs and efforts to reduce fraud and abuse, but now it is clear that the timeline for this new standard may also cause Iowans to lose their coverage.  Since the health care bill was written behind closed doors without public input or bipartisan support, it's not surprising that we're seeing states trying to avoid all the flawed policies that are scheduled to go into effect over the next few years."