Capital Games

Making a move

My blog is moving to a new platform at http://blogs.northjersey.com/blogs/capitalgames/ and this will be my last post at this site.

Thanks for taking the time to read this stuff, and please update your bookmarks to the new site.

Rothman's week

Sharing reminiscences with a foreign ambassador, a jet ride with the president and dinner with the secretary of state were all part of the week Rep. Steve Rothman just had.

Photo supplied by Rothman's office

Rothman and Israeli ambassador Michael Oren.

Normally, much of the work of Congress is far from glamorous. Lawmakers run from hearings to meetings to votes to receptions, as tag teams of harried staff members provide quick briefings about what to expect and say before each stop.

Sometimes there’s a photo op or press conference with a pretty celebrity touting his or her pet issue, but just as often you’re sitting down with the doctors or the accountants or the teachers or school kids from your district who are working the Hill on their issues.

Most members also spend too much of their time phoning strangers to ask for money so they keep can keep their taxpayer-funded jobs.

Christie on CNN

(Transcript provided by CNN)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR:      New Jersey, as all of you know, went for President Obama in the presidential election a year ago, typically votes largely for Democrats,
not necessarily always, though.  Will the voters this time oust the Democratic governor?  Could there be voter backlash against the president, who's getting ready to speak in New Jersey for Corzine right now?

    Our senior political analyst, Gloria Borger, is here.  Our CNN correspondent Joe Johns is here.  Our chief national correspondent, John King, the anchor of CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," is joining us.  And the man who hopes to defeat Jon Corzine, Chris Christie, the Republican challenger, is here as well.

    Mr. Christie, thanks very much for coming in.  We all have some good questions for you.

    But it's -- how tough is it when the president of the United States, who's very popular in New Jersey, comes into your state at this moment to try to beat you?

    CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE:  Well, listen, Wolf, it's a great day for New Jersey whenever the president of the United States comes here and our citizens get to see him.  And, so, I think it's a great day for the state to have the president here.

    But here's one thing the people of the state of New Jersey know.  They know that Air Force One is leaving tonight and that, if they vote for Jon Corzine, President Obama is not going to come to the statehouse and run the state.  We're going to be stuck with Jon Corzine.

Obama at Corzine rally

(Transcript provided by the White House press office)

6:17 P.M. EDT
 
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, New Jersey! (Applause.) It's good to be back in the Garden State! (Applause.)
 
AUDIENCE: Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama!
 
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you. It's good to be here. I want to make some quick thank-yous here. First of all, to the president of this outstanding university, Dr. Michael Adams. (Applause.)

Political Stile Wrap Corzine in Obama glow

To my dear friend, Caroline Kennedy. (Applause.) To our lieutenant governor candidate, State Senator Loretta Weinberg. (Applause.) My dear friend, Frank Lautenberg, senator from New Jersey. (Applause.) Two outstanding congressmen who supported me early in my race for the presidency, Steve Rothman and John Adler. Give them a big round of applause. (Applause.) One of the finest mayors not just in New Jersey, but in the country, Cory Booker is in the house. (Applause.) To all the other elected officials, to all the labor leaders and religious leaders that are in the house, and to all of you who are just -- just leaders, period. (Applause.)
 
I am so proud to be here on behalf of a man who is absolutely committed to fighting for New Jersey's families and New Jersey's future, your governor, my friend, Jon Corzine. (Applause.)
 

Adler tops $1 million; Pallone nearly 4x that

Freshman Rep. John Adler, a Democrat from Cherry Hill who captured what had been a Republican-held seat last year and is on the GOP's early hit list for 2010, has socked away more than $1 million for re-election already, new Federal Election Commission reports show.

But that's only one-quarter the bankroll amassed by Rep. Frank Pallone, D-Long Branch, whose more than $4 million gives him the biggest campaign cash balance in the entire House, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Pallone is chairman of the House health subcommittee and helped write one of the health care reform bills pending in the House. One report he filed this week shows that lobbyists for community pharmacists alone helped him raise more than $21,000, but his report for the July-September quarter is also full of donations from political action committees involved with health care.

Here's a full rundown of the delegation [Senators don't file electronically, so their data isn't as easy to grab]:

Congressman	Net receipts 7/1/09 thru 9/30/09	Cash on hand 9/30/09
ADLER	$404,406	$1,193,061
ANDREWS	$124,942	$195,211
HOLT	$142,351	$590,708
PALLONE	$355,662	$4,012,918
PASCRELL	$125,592	$1,373,321
PAYNE	$40,056	$1,154,070
ROTHMAN	$25,212	$1,759,842
SIRES	$65,339	$234,247
DEMOCRATS	$1,283,559	$10,513,378
FRELINGHUYSEN	$70,498	$494,810
GARRETT	$131,472	$267,587
LANCE	$107,661	$314,775
LOBIONDO	$101,562	$1,162,467
SMITH	$56,330	$120,481
REPUBLICANS	$467,524	$2,360,120

Rothman identity stolen

Fraudulent charges
Bethesda Court Hotel	$1,359.51
Peapod groceries	$657.54
Domino's Pizza	$161.54
Citibusiness Platinum Select Card	$64.60
Total	$2,243.19

Rep. Steve Rothman blazed a new trail with the Federal Election Commission when his campaign credit card number was used by someone this summer to run up more than $2,200 in fraudulent charges.

The tab included $1,360 for a Bethesda, Md., hotel, $660 worth of groceries and $185 worth of pizza.

“We called the hotel when we saw this. They said the person stayed there a week or two weeks, and they were getting movies, pizzas,” said Bob Decheine, Rothman’s chief of staff. “Somebody got ahold of the number somehow and they were able to charge everything without having the card.”

Decheine was surprised Citibank wasn’t more excited about the fraud, and simply credited Rothman’s account after the campaign filed a statement saying the charges were bogus.

Then came the question of what to do with the FEC, which requires Rothman, D-Fair Lawn, to report all expenditures and credits on the account.

“It screws up the reports,” Decheine said. “They said they’d never dealt with it before.”

The decision, shown on Rothman’s quarterly FEC report filed Tuesday, was to list the charges as expenditures with a memo indicating they were fraudulent, then list the amounts credited back by Citibank as receipts in a separate section.

Garrett tries to revive Water Gap panel

Rep. Scott Garrett is trying again to extend the life of a citizens advisory commission that has worked with the National Park Service since 1988 on issues near the Delaware Water Gap.

The federal government used eminent domain powers to buy the land along the river in the mid-1900s to build a dam, but ultimately decided against it. The land in Pennsylvania and New Jersey became a national recreation area, Garrett said on the House floor.

“Residents in the area were upset by the creation of the recreation area,” Garrett said, so the advisory commission was created with a 10-year lifespan, that was extended another decade in 1998.

In September, the House unanimously passed Garrett’s bill to extend it another 10 years, but that bill died in the Senate with no action. Garrett’s latest effort, HR-3476, was adopted by a 384-1 vote on Tuesday. Rep Ron Paul, R-Texas, was the only “no.”

“Communication is the key to addressing and resolving citizen concerns, and it is clear that residents and park users value the opportunity to respond to park decisions, as well as propose alternative ideas,” said Garrett, R-Wantage.

Pascrell: Keep fire safety pressure on

 
Rep. Bill Pascrell called on Congress to renew its commitment to ensuring parents and students at colleges have the information they need about fire safety on and off campus.

Pascrell spoke on the House floor today before a unanimous voice vote passed his resolution endorsing the goals of National Campus Fire Safety Month.

The resolution, H.Res. 167, encourages towns and school administrators to promote fire safety in September “and throughout the school year.”

A law enacted last year that will not likely take effect until next year called on colleges to report fire safety information to the U.S. Department of Education which must make it available to parents and prospective parents.

In a statement, Pascrell noted the fire at a Seton Hall University dormitory that killed three students and injured 50 more in January 2000.

“We cannot allow our vigilance to relent against this danger,” he said.

Garrett: Lawsuit provisions too much

Rep. Scott Garrett is warning that Congress may be overreacting to the role credit rating agencies such as Moody’s played in the economic meltdown by making it too easy to sue the agencies.

Garrett, R-Wantage, spoke out Wednesday at a hearing of the capital markets subcommittee, which was reviewing a draft bill to revise regulations governing credit agencies.

“Unlike many of my friends across the aisle, I do not believe the solution to all of society’s ills is simply more lawsuits,” Garrett said in his opening statement.

Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., the subcommittee chairman, said rating agencies “greatly contributed to our current economic problems by inappropriately issuing triple-A ratings for mortgage-backed securities  and other complex financial instruments that later failed.”

The Obama administration has proposed the Securities and Exchange Commission be responsible for ensuring the rating agencies follow their procedures. Kanjorski wants to go further and add the potential threat of being sued for not only their own actions, but also the actions of other rating agencies.

“This reform will hopefully incent participants in this oligopoly to police one another and release reliable, high quality ratings,” Kanjorski said in his statement.

Garrett questions whether that’s constitutional.

“I don’t see what positive can be attained by holding all of the [rating agencies] accountable for the bad actions of one,” he said.

Sigourney Weaver, Lautenberg discuss oceans

Photo courtesy of Sen. Lautenberg's office

Actress Sigourney Weaver and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., discussed the importance of curbing the rising acidity of ocean water at an event in the Capitol today. The two, joined by Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, spoke before the screening of an NRDC film about acidification, which Weaver narrated.

Rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is raising acid levels in ocean water, which is affecting marine life, especially shellfish. Lautenberg sponsored a bill that became law this year to provide funding for research.

Menendez joins optimist club

Sen. Bob Menendez argued today that voters next year would see Democrats were trying to solve problems while Republicans were just hurling criticism.

Speaking to reporters about his party’s prospects in next year’s Senate elections, the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee conceded he faces a tough job.

History has shown that the party of a new president nearly always loses seats in his first midterm congressional election, and next year Democrats face races in such high-cost states as New York, California, Illinois and Florida.

But to hear Menendez tell it, Republicans are the ones with the problems. He’s even optimistic about Democrats’ chances of winning a potential Senate seat in Texas.

Menendez tweets pics from health hearing

 

Pictures sent through twitpic by Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., from this morning's hearing of the Senate Finance Committee on overhauling health insurance.

Lautenberg wealth disclosed

Sen. Frank Lautenberg and wife Bonnie Englebardt had a net worth at the end of last year worth of $47 million to $101 million, according to disclosure forms released this month.

Congressional Quarterly says that ranks Lautenberg the eighth richest member of Congress.

Most of the money is Englebardt’s, the forms show. Assets owned by Lautenberg himself are worth between $10.7 million and $45.7 million, and most of that, up to $36 million, is in three blind trusts.

The true value of their assets is probably higher. Lawmakers must provide asset values in ranges, and the top range for spouses is $1 million or above, and Englebardt lists 20 different assets in that category. They include interests in office buildings in New York City, shopping centers in Texas and residential real estate in Malibu, Ca.

Sessions: Don't read anything into Fishman delay

The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee said it would be wrong to see today’s postponement of Paul Fishman’s nomination for United States Attorney as any effort to block him.

“Mr. Fishman’s a capable prosecutor,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. “I think he has the experience and ability to be the kind of United States Attorney that the state will need, somebody that’s objective, fair and strong.”

Sessions said one member of the committee asked for more time to review Fishman’s record, so Sessions asked for the a one-week delay provided for in committee rules at this morning’s hearing. He would not identify the member, or say what, if any, concerns the senator had.

Fishman would replace Chris Christie, the Republican nominee for governor. The other United States Attorneys nominated at the same time as Fishman have been cleared by the committee.

“I wouldn’t read this as any attempt to block these nominations. At this time I don't believe that's so,” Sessions said, referring to both Fishman and a nominee for U.S. Attorney in Washington State that were delayed this morning.

He did say he would like to meet personally with Fishman, but said he did not personally hold up consideration for that reason. He said he explained what happened today to Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., who had recommended that President Obama nominate Fishman.

“I talked to Sen. [Frank] Lautenberg and told him that we’re not going to, I was not going to participate, based on what I knew about his record, participate in any plan to delay his nomination,” Sessions said.

Leahy: Fishman will be confirmed

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said the delay in consideration of the nomination of Paul Fishman to be New Jersey's next United States attorney this morning was the result of what's become a standard procedure by Republicans.

Fishman, a Bergen County native and former federal prosecutor whose work as a private sector attorney included representing the developers of the Encap project in the Meadowlands and former state labor union leader Carla Katz, was nominated by President Obama to succeed Chris Christie as the state's top federal prosecutor. Christie is now the Republican candidate for governor. 

Fishman's nomination was scheduled for action today in the Judiciary Committee, but was postponed. Committee rules allow the minority party to request a delay the first time a nomination is to be considered.

"Republicans have a right to hold it over one week. They’ve been delaying most things and I just anticipated it. That’s why we spent all of about 30 seconds on it in the committee," Leahy said in an interview.

"It’ll be back on the agenda next week, I’ll be ready to vote on it, vote up or down. He’ll be confirmed. I’m not sure why the Republicans want to hold it up, but they’ve been holding up people that have been passed with 80 or 90 votes. In 35 years here, I’ve never seen such activity."

Fishman hearing postponed

The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed action today on the nomination of Bergen County native Paul Fishman to succeed Chris Christie as United States Attorney in New Jersey.

The committee is also meeting today to act on a new “shield law” that would control the conditions when journalists can be called to testify about information gathered during reporting.

The nominees were to be considered afterward, but Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said at the start of the hearing that Republicans on the committee had an “absolute right” under committee rules to ask for a postponement on nominations and that has happened.

Fishman’s nomination and that of Jenny A. Durkan to be United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., the top-ranking Republican on the panel, said most United States Attorney nominations “should go through rapidly without objection. I think a member or two has some questions about these two.”

Fishman and Durkan will likely be considered next week, according to New Jersey senatorial aides.

RGA head: Christie made me believe in NJ

Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie’s continued lead in polls led the leader of a national Republican committee to change one of the vows he made when he took office.

Nick Ayers said this morning that when he became executive director of the Republican Governors Association, he vowed not to repeat the mistakes predecessors made by financing losing campaigns in New Jersey.

“I was never going to spend a penny on that state,” he said. But Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine’s continued weak standing in the polls convinced him to finance a major television campaign trashing Corzine’s record over the summer.

His reason, Ayers said at a panel on 2009 and 2010 races sponsored by The Hotline political newsletter, was he knew Christie would be accepting public financing and would have his spending capped at about $11 million.

Since Corzine opted not to take state funding and will likely outspend Christie by three or four times, Ayers feared he would be able to use that money during the summer to attack Christie and define him to voters while Christie had no ability to respond. The strategy, Ayers argued, helped Christie enter September still leading in the polls.

“Jon Corzine can’t spend enough money to change his record over the past four years,” Ayers said.

Nathan Daschle, Ayers’ counterpart at the Democratic Governors Association, argued that Corzine would win because of his record. He noted the budget cuts Corzine enacted, the sharp increase in property tax rebates, and improving economic conditions.

“His opponent is flawed,” Daschle said, saying Christie had provided no vision for the state or specifics about where he would cut spending.

He also said trend lines in polls show the race tightening.
“Public polling in New Jersey always gives Republicans more support than they get on election day,” he said.

Drowning bad, learn to swim, House declares

It's terrible that so many Americans drown each year, and it would be better if more minorities had access to swimming classes, the House declared Monday in a unanimous voice vote approving a resolution sponsored by Rep. Albio Sires, D-West New York.

The resolution cites how drowining is the second most common form of accidental death among children, and is more common among minority children than white children.

"Not all children receive the proper, life saving education that can play a critical role in drowning prevention," Sires said in the Congressional Record. "Minority children, more often than other children, do not participate in swimming lessons or do not have access to swimming lessons."

The resolution also cites a 2006 New York Times story that described how the descendants of slaves were told, in an effort to prevent escape, that they would drown if they tried to swim. This led to "long-existing stigmas regarding minorities and swimming," according to the resolution.

Here's what Sires said in a news release:

“Roughly 3,500 people fatally drown each year in the United States – that is about 10 people a day - and more than 25 percent of these victims are children 14 and under. In fact, drowning is the second most common cause of accidental death among children.  Fatal drowning rates are 2 to 3 times higher among minority children, and these statistics are shameful.”

Frelinghuysen sets town halls

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-Harding, will hold town hall meetings later this month and early next month.

The meetings are:

• Saturday, Sept. 26, 9-11 a.m. Montville Township High School Auditorium, 100 Horseneck Road, Montville, NJ
• Saturday, Oct. 3, 9-11 a.m., Mount Olive Middle School Auditorium, 160 Wolfe Road, Budd Lake, NJ

Seating may be limited. People requiring special accommodations should contact (973) 984-0711 at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled town hall meeting.

Garrett vs. Rothman on CNN

Reps. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, and Steve Rothman, D-Fair Lawn, faced off on CNN last night over health reform.

Among the highlights [aside from Rothman being ID'd at one point as from Connecticut and New Jersey]:

Garrett: As the president walked down the aisle last night, I reached out and extended my hand to him and handed him a packet with over two dozen Republican bills on health care that had been filed. It's on the record. It's right there for you to look at. If the president has it now, he said he would be glad to look at it. Republicans have had the suggestions out there. We're asking to have the administration be able to be open to the American public to hear the other ideas.
Rothman: You know, Scott, I looked on your website tonight. I saw that we share the same concerns and you were criticizing the Democrats' ideas, but you didn't offer one specific program on your website of how to address the problem of insurance companies dropping people with insurance when they get sick or providing competition so the insurance companies can't raise rates, double and triple, as we've seen them happen before.
***
Garrett: I guess you have to go back to your constituents and say are you with the president and what he said last night, or are you with Speaker Pelosi?
Rothman: I did 10 town hall meetings. I gathered you didn't do any.

 

Correspondent @ work

Just found an AP photo from last night where I can be seen working diligently.

Cool.

Menendez book coming

Sen. Bob Menendez has a book coming out next month.
“Growing American Roots: Why Our Nation with Thrive As Our Largest Minority Flourishes,” looks at the influence of the Hispanic population, according to a news release from publisher Penguin Group.

The book also includes “a call for sweeping social and economic legislation, immigration reform, improved health care, and an end to the discrimination and prejudice that Hispanics face.

Listed as co-writer with Menendez is Peter Eisner, a former deputy foreign editor of the Washington Post.

Lautenberg: 'Made the case'

“President Obama showed great leadership tonight and made the case for why health care reform is so important to our economy and of course, the well-being of our families.

"We need to make quality, affordable and stable health care available to every American so that no individual or family drowns in medical debt or is denied the care they need. 

"I share the President’s vision and pledge to fight for reforms that will benefit New Jersey families.”  

Menendez: 'True leadership'

Sen. Bob Menendez's take on President Obama's speech:

“President Obama stood before Congress and the nation tonight with the true leadership, vision and honesty that the American people respect. It was important for him to explain why the status quo is unhealthy for our loved ones, our family finances and our nation’s budget, and how we can fix it. He did all of that with strength and purpose, and we are on our way to healing the health insurance system.

“This is a serious matter that deserves an honest and serious approach. It is time to rise above the politics of fabrication and fear that powerful, entrenched interests have used to turn the debate into a brawl. Americans demanded a change from the cynical politics that took our nation in the wrong direction, and we are standing up for responsible policy and politics. Together with President Obama, many of us are committed to making sure that your health insurance won’t drain your finances but will actually be there for you when you need it the most. We are going to pass long overdue reform that makes ours a healthier and wealthier nation.”

Obama hugs Holt's guest; quotes Pascrell's

When 30-year-old Adira Riben of Monmouth Junction called Rep. Rush Holt to talk about her health insurance problems, he invited her to Washington to hear President Obama's speech as his guest in the House gallery.

According to Holt's office, Riben had to move back to New Jersey to live with family after losing her job in Louisiana. She tried to buy COBRA continuation coverage, but she'd been covered by a Louisiana HMO that only provided benefits down there, so she'd be buying coverage but not be able to use it.

"After the speech, we were waiting to see the president, and [Holt] pointed me out and told [Obama] my story. He shook my hand, gave me a hug, and he said, 'We can do this,'" Riben said afterward.

Riben, who has two chronic health problems, had never attended a speech like that before.

"It seemed powerful, more than seeing it on TV. It seems a lot more concrete when you hear him say it in person," she said.
Holt, D-Hopewell Towship, said he was impressed Obama spent most of his night reading off his left-side teleprompter, which meant he was speaking at the Republican side of the House.

“He was saying, I’m going to work with you, but I’m not going to take any guff. If you want to talk seriously, I’m open to it. If you want to delay, I don’t have any time for you,” Holt said. “In politics, that was pretty strong stuff.”

Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-Paterson, was also proud about the props Obama paid to his guest in the gallery. He invited Wendell Potter, a former public relations executive for the Cigna and Humana health insurance companies.

According to Pascrell’s office, it was Potter Obama was referring to when he was talking about insurance companies denying needed care.

“Insurance executives don’t do this because they are bad people. They do it because it’s profitable. As one former insurance executive testified before Congress, insurance companies are not only encouraged to find reasons to drop the seriously ill; they are rewarded for it. All of this is in service of meeting what this former executive called ‘Wall Street’s relentless profit expectations.'"

Obama speech calisthenics

Had a good view of two North Jersey lawmakers from the gallery tonight, Reps. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, and Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson. And when one was up, the other was sitting down almost throughout the night.

When President Obama said health reform would include a provision requiring spending cuts if promised savings do not materialize -- and pointed out that part of the deficit he faces was caused by "too many initiatives over the past decade that were not paid for" -- Democrats leaped to their feet. Some hooted.

Pascrell, who was seated on the aisle on the Republican side of the room, waved his arms at his GOP colleagues, mockingly urging them to stand too.

There also were several points during the speech when all Democrats and most Republicans, but Garrett, who was continuously checking his Blackberry during the speech, did not. Here's some of the lines Garrett chose not to applaud:

• "I will not let up until those Americans who seek jobs can find them."

• "Under this plan, it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition."

• "No one should go broke because they get sick."

• Large groups of customers bargaining with insurers is "how everyone in this Congress gets affordable insurance. And it's time to give every American the same opportunity that we've given ourselves."

On one issue -- tort reform, the bane of trial lawyers -- Pascrell was one of only a handful of Democrats to stand and applaud with all of the Republicans.

Rothman on town meetings' effect

Rep. Steve Rothman, D-Fair Lawn, discussed the impact of town hall meetings during the August recess on how members of Congress feel about moving forward with health reform:

“I was pleasantly surprised to hear from many of the freshmen and front-line members who just barely got elected in their districts that they remain committed to reforming America’s health care and health insurance system”

“I’m waiting to read the bill. I’m waiting to read the new version. … One of the things I got out of the listening tour was there was a great deal of concern about various facets of the bill that in my mind were unfounded based on my reading of the language of the bill. However, I think it is important the wording of the bill be tightened up in order to preclude any reasonable person from assigning any ambiguity or loophole in the language.
“They thought there might be death panels. They thought there might be rationing for seniors. They thought there might be abortion coverage.
“None of those things are in the bill but I have encouraged my leadership and did after the town hall meetings to tighten the language.”

Garrett aims at costs

Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, said health care costs are a major concern:

“I agree with the president that meaningful health care reform legislation is necessary to protect our nation’s long-term fiscal stability, and I stand ready to work with him on a plan that is portable, affordable, sustainable, effective, and innovative. Unfortunately, all of the proposed legislation currently in the House and Senate fail this test on multiple counts.

“When the president addresses Congress tonight, the combined unfunded liability for Medicare and Medicaid will be quickly approaching $39.8 trillion. These unsustainable programs constitute 40% of our federal budget and 9% of the nation’s gross domestic product, and will more than double within a generation.

Pascrell swings at insurers

In advance of President Obama's speech, Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson, took aim at health insurance companies in explaining his support for new laws.

“Private insurance companies are for-profit businesses.  So I can’t blame them for being in the business of denying access to needed care, avoiding and dumping the sick, and confusing consumers.  They are, after all, driven by profits—not patients.

"I, however, am in the business of looking out for my constituents—for the hard working families in New Jersey that are being tossed aside so that the insurance companies can maximize their profits. 

Garrett bill clears House

The House gave unanimous voice approval today to a bill Rep Scott Garrett co-sponsored to revise regulation of specialty insurance policies.

HR 2571, deals with reinsurance, which is coverage insurers buy on their own risks, and surplus lines, which are policies that cater to unique or hard to place risks.

For surplus lines, Garrett said the bill "will reduce regulatory overlap and clarify where the appropriate taxing authority lies" in cases where there a disputes among states or between states and the federal government. Eligibility standards set by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners would become standard for selling policies nationwide.

The bill also clarifies the responsibility for ensuring the solvency of reinsurers.

"In an increasingly complex world, it is essential that consumers and businesses be able to purchase insurance for risks outside of the traditional realm.  I believe this legislation will further increase efficiency and reduce costs for these important transaction," Garrett said.

Here's Garrett's floor speech on the bill.