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Indiana firms thank Hoosier Democrats for health care work

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Maureen Groppe writes this morning of the “thank you” notes that are being sent to Hoosier Democrats after they worked tirelessly on behalf of Indiana companies during the health care reform negotiations.

Indiana is also home to sectors of the health industry that tried to shape the legislation.

The state’s makers of medical devices opposed new industry fees, proposed in the Senate version of the bill to help pay the cost of expanding insurance coverage to 32 million people.

Some Indiana lawmakers, and those from other states with makers of medical devices, pushed for changes. The fees were lowered and changed to an excise tax in a package of fixes to the Senate bill.

AdvaMed, the trade association for the industry, thanked Hill, Ellsworth, Donnelly, Sen. Evan Bayh and others “who worked to improve the situation.”

We’ll echo that sentiment: Thank you, Hoosier Democrats!

Posted in Barack Obama, Baron Hill, Brad Ellsworth, Congress, Joe Donnelly | No Comments »

Hoosier Democrats hold steady in face of hateful threats

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Sad news from Indianapolis and Southern Indiana, where two great Hoosier representatives report troubling threats in the aftermath of the historic passage of comprehensive health care reform. Maureen Groppe reports:

Two Indiana Democrats are among lawmakers who have reported receiving threats or troubling phone calls related to their support for landmark legislation overhauling the nation’s health-care system.

Rep. Andre Carson, D-Indianapolis, received some “troubling, racially motivated” phone calls, and Rep. Baron Hill, D-Seymour, has received death threats, aides said.

Both lawmakers’ staffs are working with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to address the situation.

Indiana’s Democratic team in Congress has been standing up for Hoosiers against special interest groups and their lobbyists — we need to be standing up for them, too. Donate to Congressman Hill and Congressman Carson today.

Posted in André Carson, Baron Hill, Congress | No Comments »

Senator Evan Bayh donates $1 million to help Hoosier Democrats

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Exciting news yesterday, as retiring Senator Evan Bayh announced a $1 million donation to the Indiana Democratic Party to assist in holding his seat, defending our other incumbents, and fighting back against the out-of-state attack machine targeting Hoosier Democrats.

Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker said Bayh has refunded about $1 million since deciding not to seek re-election, but that means Bayh still has about $11 million left over. He could dole out more to the party, give some to charity or horde it — just in case he decides to jump back into politics.

Brian Weiss, a spokesman for Bayh, said that the senator has not decided what he’ll do with the money, but that in general he would help support “like-minded Democrats — people who want to get things done, who want to reach out and forge principled compromises.”

In a statement, Bayh called Tuesday’s check “a million dollar vote of confidence in Brad Ellsworth and Indiana Democrats.”

Thank you, Senator Bayh!

Posted in Brad Ellsworth, Congress | No Comments »

House passes health care bills, Indiana Democrats support reform

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

For those who stayed up late last night, you were witness to one of the most historic congressional votes of our lifetime. This morning, more than 30-million Americans woke up one critical step closer to real reform.

On the cusp of succeeding where numerous past congresses and administrations have failed, jubilant House Democrats voted 219-212 late Sunday to send legislation to Obama that would extend coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans, reduce deficits and ban insurance company practices such as denying coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions.

“This is what change looks like,” Obama said later in televised remarks that stirred memories of his 2008 campaign promise of “change we can believe in.”

“We proved that this government — a government of the people and by the people — still works for the people.”

All five Hoosier Democrats voted to move the proposal forward. For those currently with health insurance, this bill means one of the largest consumer protection acts in decades. For those without any coverage, cost-effective health care may finally be within grasp.

To Indiana Democrats: Thank You!

Posted in Congress | No Comments »

Former Congressman Lee Hamilton praises potential Senate candidates

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

The Hill reports that former Southern Indiana Representative Lee Hamilton has offered good praise for a few of the potential candidates for the Democratic senate nomination. Here’s what he had to say:

Hamilton told The Hill that Ellsworth, a fiscally conservative Blue Dog, “may be the strongest candidate that the Democrats could put forward.”

“He’s moderate, very centrist in voting, would not be identified with liberal wing, he’s an appealing guy, has movie star good looks just like Evan did,” Hamilton said.

Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.), another Blue Dog who is mulling a Senate run, would also be a “veteran, seasoned” candidate, Hamilton said.

Posted in Baron Hill, Brad Ellsworth, Congress | No Comments »

Grandstanding 101

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

You’d think, given the fact that state lawmakers will reconvene next month to pass a state budget after failing to do so in the regular session, that Senate Republicans would be hard at work meeting with the Guv to work out a GOP-backed plan, especially considering their last try netted zero Republican votes in the Indiana House.

Instead, they’re sending letters about something over which they have absolutely, positively no control and that doesn’t, in any way, affect the daily operation of state government. And Republicans wonder why they’re headed for the wilderness among moderate voters?

Thirty-one Republican state senators have asked U.S. Sens. Evan Bayh and Dick Lugar to oppose the nomination of an Indiana University law professor nominated by President Barack Obama for a senior position in the U.S. Department of Justice.

In a letter May 15, the state senators said Dawn Johnsen’s advocacy of abortion rights “is more than simply pro-choice — she is pro-choice in an extremely radical way.”

The letter, citing statements and writings by Johnsen, asks Bayh, a Democrat, and Lugar, a Republican, to oppose Johnsen’s nomination to be assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department.

“It’s a statement from a very strong pro-life caucus,” said Indiana Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne. “It is not based on the fact she is pro-choice, it is based on the fact that she is radically so.”

Johnsen, in response to an e-mail from The Associated Press seeking comment, replied with an e-mail saying that as a nominee she was not to talk with the media.

White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said Johnsen “will bring unquestioned integrity and a commitment to non-partisan interpretation of the law to the Office of Legal Counsel, and we’re pleased that both of Indiana’s senators have expressed support for her nomination.”

Posted in Congress, IDP News, Indiana General Assembly, National Politics, Quality Of Life, White House | No Comments »

Senate Republicans Rewrite Daniels’ Budget

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

You know you’re living in a new political world when Senate Republicans buck the wishes of a Republican Governor by relying on stimulus money put in place by Democrats in D.C. to fund a two-year state budget. The Associated Press reports:

Indiana’s public schools, colleges and universities would get spending increases under a two-year budget proposed by Senate Republicans on Wednesday, but only by relying in large part on federal stimulus dollars.

The $28.1 billion spending plan includes nearly $2 billion in federal stimulus money — dollars that likely will run out in two years.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said that likely would result in a spending gap at the end of the next biennium, but one that could be filled if needed by preserving a $1.3 billion surplus. The plan would spend $823 million in stimulus money on schools and higher education, and about $1.1 billion on Medicaid, the state and federal health care program for the poor and disabled.

“If we did not have the federal stimulus dollars, we would be facing significant cuts in every single area of state government,” Kenley said. His committee is expected to approve the plan on Thursday and send it to the full Republican-controlled Senate.

It is almost sure to pass that chamber, setting up negotiations with House Democrats who broke from tradition and proposed just a one-year budget that would spend about $14.5 billion.

Under the Senate Republican plan, basic funding for schools would be increased by 1.9 percent in fiscal year 2010 that begins in July, and 2.1 percent in 2011. A 1 percent cut in operating expenses for universities imposed this year by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels would be restored, and basic spending for higher education would be raised by 0.6 percent the first year and 1.4 percent the second.

The House Democrat budget would increase basic spending for schools by 2 percent next year, with a 1 percent increase for higher education.

Daniels had recommended a two-year budget that due to the recession and lagging state revenues would make several spending cuts from funding levels approved in the current two-year budget.

Posted in Congress, Indiana General Assembly, Mitch Daniels | 2 Comments »

Feds Take DWD To Task Over Jobless Benefits

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

UPDATED: After the original story broke, the Guv’s Office issued this response in today’s Indianapolis Star:

Jane Jankowski, a spokeswoman for Gov. Mitch Daniels, considered the report standard for all states and said its insights into Department of Workforce Development procedures were helpful.

“The agency will no doubt become more efficient,” she said, “and provide better service.”

Here are more details from the updated AP story:

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development also broke federal laws and rules in writing and awarding contracts, including a rushed $7 million deal with Ivy Tech Community College last June that should be canceled immediately, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration said.

The March 9 report, obtained this week by The Associated Press, found 41 instances in which Workforce Development did not comply with federal regulations for activities such as delivering services and managing grants and programs. It identified 31 areas of concern over how the agency administers federal employment and training programs.

A Workforce Development spokesman said Wednesday the agency was reviewing the report and had made some changes, including canceling the Ivy Tech contract.

The report comes at a pivotal time for Indiana. Workforce Development distributes jobless benefits and coordinates retraining for unemployed Hoosiers, who numbered 324,000 in February, giving the state a 9.4 unemployment rate - the highest in 25 years.

At the same time, the state’s unemployment fund is paying out millions of dollars more in benefits than the employer taxes it takes in.

Sure seems like the Guv and his people were asleep at the switch on this one.

EARLIER: Someone needs to call Mitch Daniels to the front of the class for an explanation of this still-developing story about the Department of Workforce Development’s shoddy track record. This is aiming higher? The Associated Press has the exclusive:

The U.S. Department of Labor says Indiana’s unemployment agency broke federal rules in writing and awarding contracts, including a rushed $7 million deal with Ivy Tech Community College last June that it says must be canceled immediately.

A labor department report also says the Indiana Department of Workforce Development miscalculated jobless benefits at a rate five times the national average.

The March 9 report obtained by The Associated Press says the state agency might be contributing to the insolvency of the state’s unemployment insurance fund by ignoring a federal mandate to check a national database for newly hired workers.

A Workforce Development spokesman says the agency is reviewing the report and has begun implementing some suggested improvements.

Posted in Congress, IDP News, Indiana General Assembly, Mitch Daniels, State Agencies, White House | 2 Comments »

Help Is On The Way

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

It’s somewhat amazing that the Governor who, just a few months ago, was talking nonstop about how Indiana’s economy is a diamond in the rough Midwest is now throwing open his arms to money from Democrats at the federal level that will help create jobs and shore up our dwindling — yes, dwindling — coffers. WTHR-TV reports:

Governor Mitch Daniels appeared on national television Sunday, sharing his plan to put billions of dollars in federal stimulus money to work in Indiana.

“I’ll just say that, in our case, they send a check, we’ll cash it,” Daniels said.

Revered as a savvy and conservative spender, Daniels appeared on Chris Wallace’s FOX News Sunday and asked why he’s accepting almost all of the federal stimulus money allotted for Indiana, when many other Republican governors are threatening to refuse most of it.

“Our approach to this, Chris, is very simple jobs, speed and lasting value and will it put people to work,” Daniels said.

Without hesitation, the governor has already started putting the $4 billion to work.

“We’ve already released our first three lists of road projects, for instance, first two lists of clean water projects, we’ve launched a program to conserve energy in Hoosier households that will employ a fair number of people before it’s over and this week, I’ll announce a program for some of our younger unemployed people,” Daniels said.

Of course, Daniels has steadfastly refused to weigh in on the issue of Indiana’s unemployment insurance fund, which went bankrupt on his watch. While he’s spent a lot of political capital lobbing for government reform and constitutional tax caps, he’s said the unemployment fund is strictly a legislative issue.

We also haven’t heard much from him on the issue of our unemployment rate, which rose to 9.4 percent last month.

It’s stunning that Daniels can continue to talk out of both sides of his mouth when hard-working Hoosiers are suffering. Then again, his idea of leadership has always been more talking point-driven than results-oriented.

Posted in Barack Obama, Congress, Indiana General Assembly, Mitch Daniels | 2 Comments »

Study Shows Staggering Number Of Hoosiers Uninsured

Friday, March 27th, 2009

Think access to health insurance isn’t a major issue in our state and nation right now? Check out this survey, reported in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, that shows almost one-third of Hoosiers under 65 didn’t have health insurance at some point over the past two years:

Twenty-nine percent of Hoosiers younger than 65 lacked health insurance at some point during 2007-08, according to a report released Thursday.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports the number of people who don’t have health insurance for the full previous calendar year. But the data collected by Families USA, an advocacy group that promotes universal health insurance, also include those who were uninsured for a portion of the 2-year period studied.

Based on this calculation, about 1.6 million Hoosiers were uninsured, including 1.1 million who were uninsured for six months or more.

Nationally, one in three people younger than 65 was uninsured at some point during 2007-08, or about 86.7 million Americans. That compares with 45.7 million people who were deemed uninsured for the entire 2007 calendar year, according to Census Bureau data.

“At this point, almost everyone in the country has had a family member, neighbor, or friend who was uninsured,” Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said in a statement “and that’s why meaningful health care reform can no longer be kept on the back burner.”

Ethnic minorities were disproportionately affected. In Indiana, 53 percent of Hispanics and 42.3 percent of blacks were uninsured, compared with 26.4 percent of whites, according to the report by Families USA.

Lower-income Hoosiers were more likely to be uninsured, and most uninsured Hoosiers in the report – 77.4 percent – came from working families.

Posted in Barack Obama, Congress, Quality Of Life, White House | 3 Comments »

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