This Applies Equally to Frank Wolf and John McCain

Wolf Reality Check

From the Feder campaign, a bit of reality for Frank Wolf.

Wolf Reality Check: Still Supports the Largest Tax Increase on the Middle Class in History...and Cuts in Medicare Too!

On Thursday Oct. 16, 2008 Congressman Wolf said: I think the proposal that has been made with regard to Senator McCain and many others. With regard to a $5000 tax credit: Most people receive their health insurance through their place of employment, that would also help employers large and small to do it. Also, the $5000 tax credit would allow you to take it some other place. For realtors to band together, for small businesses to band together. Also for the portability to take place. [Prince William County 100 Candidate Forum, 10/16/08]

Tuesday Oct. 21, 2008 Wolf's campaign manager Dan Scandling said: What Congressman Wolf has said is that tax credits are something to look at because they provide portability. No where, no way, in no shape did he say that "I support taxing your health care benefits." [Northern Virginia Daily, 10/21/08

Wednesday Oct. 22, 2008 Wolf's campaign manager Dan Scandling said: Wolf spoke well of McCain's tax credit idea, but "he hasn't endorsed any plan" [Northern Virginia Daily, 10/21/08]

REALITY CHECK: You can't support the McCain health care tax credit and not support taxing employee health care benefits and cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. The McCain plan specifically ties them together by proposing to pay for the tax cuts by taxing employee health benefits and cutting Medicare:

"John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid, a top aide said, in a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government programs...In the months since Sen. McCain introduced his health plan, statements made by his campaign have implied that the new tax credits he is proposing to help Americans buy health insurance would be paid for with other tax increases. But Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Sen. McCain's senior policy adviser, said Sunday that the campaign has always planned to fund the tax credits, in part, with savings from Medicare and Medicaid." [McCain Plans Federal Health Cuts, Wall Street Journal, 10/6/08]

"McCain's plan would cost $3.6 trillion over 10 years, the campaign said. McCain would pay for the program by eliminating the tax break employers get for offering insurance." [Tax Credits at the Heart of McCain's Health Care Proposal, CNN]
"Taxes on insurance benefits would be offset by a refundable tax credit: $5,000 for families and $2,500 for single people. At first, those credits are expected to cover the additional taxes for workers in most tax brackets. Over time, rising insurance costs could outstrip the credit." [Health care plans: Obama vs. McCain, USA Today]

"The Wolf campaign is trying to have it both ways, they want to claim the tax credits without explaining how they plan to pay for it," said Feder campaign manager Luke McFarland. "The bottom line is that for almost a week now the Wolf campaign has been twisting itself into knots trying to claim it supports one without the other. Either Congressman Wolf doesn't understand what he's endorsing or he's just not being honest with the voters about how they plan to pay for this. The record is very clear: they're going to raise taxes and cut Medicare and Medicaid."

Debate Transcript Proves It: Wolf Supports McCain Health Benefits Tax!

Moderator: What Measures would you suggest to improve the availability—and I'm going to include affordability—of health care without the system becoming socialist?

Congressman Wolf: We have to make health insurance more accessible and more affordable, we also have to make sure we keep it between the doctor and the patient and not involve the federal government.

I think the proposal that has been made with regard to Senator Kaine…Senator McCain and many others.

With regard to a $5000 tax credit: Most people receive their health insurance through their place of employment, that would also help employers large and small to do it.

Also, the $5000 tax credit would allow you to take it some other place. For realtors to band together, for small businesses to band together. Also for the portability to take place.

[Wolf goes on to talk about legislation he's supported for research and mental health parity]


Judy Feder: Let me talk a little bit about it, since you seem to favor it, Mr. McCain's plan.

Mr. McCain has said he want to deregulate the health insurance industry the way we so successfully deregulated the banking industry. I think that is not the way we want to go and let me tell you why:

He wants to tax our health care benefits. The experts tell us that when he does that, it's going to leave 20 million people losing the insurance they now have.

And he's going to send them to the market place with a $5000 tax credit for insurance that for a family costs $12,000. And it's not going to protect anybody from discrimination based on pre-existing conditions…

[Judy goes on to talk about McCain not being able to get health care and that she does not advocate a government takeover]


Moderator: One minute for rebuttal, Congressman Wolf would you like it?

Congressman Wolf: No

Again, note that Frank Wolf had the opportunity at the debate to deny that he supported John McCain's huge tax on health care benefits, but he said "no." Just as Wolf says "no" to the middle class in general, while he's saying "yes" to Big Oil and Big Pharma. Priorities, priorities...

Frank Wolf Supports Largest Middle Class Tax Increase in History!

From the Feder campaign, bolding added for emphasis.

October Debate Surprise: Wolf Supports Largest Middle Class Tax Increase in History

Congressman Wolf Supports McCain's Radical Health Care Tax

McLean, VA — In a stunning reversal of his position against tax increases, yesterday Congressman Wolf endorsed the largest middle class tax increase in history. During the Thursday evening debate in Manassas, Congressman Wolf endorsed Senator McCain's plan to tax health care benefits.

"Last night, after 28 years of zero leadership on reforming the health care system, we finally heard the truth about Congressman Wolf's plan for health care reform: that while he would offer tax credits to help families pay for insurance, he would pay for them by taxing health care benefits for the first time in history," said Feder campaign manager Luke McFarland. "Even more disturbing, is that what Congressman Wolf failed to mention is that while the McCain-Wolf health care tax would come directly out of taxpayer's pockets, the tax credit would go directly to the insurance companies. It's a typical Washington bait and switch."

The McCain-Wolf health care plan would leave millions without health insurance and would shift costs to individuals and working families who are already hurting. Congressman Wolf's plan for a new tax credit for health care is paid for by taxing employees' health benefits for the first time ever. This tax punishes those who currently have real health insurance, and over time will result in higher taxes for tens of millions of middle-class families.

In addition, by taxing employee health benefits, the McCain-Wolf plan will make it more expensive for employers to provide coverage. As a result, independent analyses show that employers could drop 20 million people from coverage and force them to seek insurance in the individual market, with higher costs, fewer benefits and no protections for pre-existing conditions.

"That Congressman Wolf would support such a thing is almost stunning. Either he hasn't been up front with the voters about his position on taxes, or he simply doesn't understand the proposed plan he just endorsed," said McFarland. "Either way, it's definitely the gaffe of the campaign season given how badly this issue has gone for McCain in the presidential race. Instead of fixing health care, they want to tax it? If Congressman Wolf believes that raising taxes and taxing employees health care benefits for the first time in history are the way to win re-election in Virginia's 10th district, he's completely out of touch," concluded McFarland.

Wow. After 28 years in Congress, Frank Wolf has completely lost it.

Feder Blasts McCain on Plan to Let Health Insurance Companies "Run Wild"

From the Democratic National Committee, this event was held Sunday afternoon:

In Front of McCain's HQ, Judy Feder, Barbara Favola, and Concerned Virginians Blast McCain's New Call to Let Health Insurance Companies Run Wild

While markets reel from disastrous Bush-McCain economic policies, Republican nominee now wants to put Americans' health care at risk with the same approach Republicans took with banking

Arlington, VA--In light of this week's Wall Street upheaval, today Judy Feder, Democratic nominee for US Representative from Virginia's 10th Congressional District, Barbara Favola, Vice Chair of the Arlington County Board and a member of Virginia's State Health Board, and concerned Virginians held a press conference outside of John McCain's campaign headquarters in Arlington, VA to challenge McCain's new magazine article calling for the deregulation of the health insurance companies "just as we have done over the last decade in banking." McCain's article was just published in the September/October issue of Contingencies, the magazine of the American Academy of Actuaries. In spite of the unprecedented crisis created by Bush-McCain deregulatory policies, McCain wants to put Americans' health care at risk with the same approach.

So where does Frank Wolf stand on this? In lockstep with McBush as always, or what?

Judy Feder's New TV Ad Hits Wolf on Health Care

Why VA-10 Matters

Just in case you thought the fight for one more seat in Congress, ours, doesn't really matter, OpenLeft reminds us that it matters more than those of us actually knocking on doors may realize.

7. Feder/Wolf. This one may surprise you, because VA-10 is a very tough district, and Judy- while being a remarkable candidate and raising a ton of money- is a ways from the top of the DCCC targeting. VA is a really important state in Presidential politics, though, and winning upsets in the DC market gets lots of national media attention and shakes people up (see Donna Edwards). But I mostly have her on this list because of Judy's savvy knowledge and passion on health care- if she is in the Congress, it improves our odds dramatically of getting a good universal health reform bill passed. Given her knowledge, skill, and connections, she would be one of the highest impact freshman members of Congress of all time. - OpenLeft

Judy has always been a superstar for her fight for universal and quality healthcare. It's great to see the national blogosphere taking a notice as well. And in this case, even putting its money where its mouth is.

It's nice to know that the nation has our backs as we fight for a progressive 10th District.

(Crossposted from Leesburg Tomorrow.)

Wolf Votes Against Paid Parental Leave for Federal Employees

Yet ANOTHER day and yet ANOTHER bad vote by Frank Wolf. This is starting to get monotonous, but it's important that people know what their representative is doing for to them.

This one is a classic, with Wolf voting with his party against H RES 1277, "Providing for Consideration of H.R. 5781, to Provide That 8 of the 12 Weeks of Parental Leave Made Available to a Federal Employee Shall Be Paid Leave." The bill passed the House yesterday by a 222-197 margin, but no thanks to Republicans like Frank Wolf.

It's strange, aren't Republicans the ones who always claim that they're the "family values" party? Yet here, they're voting against paid leave for new parents? As if that's not bad enough, Frank Wolf is voting against the interests of federal employees, a large voting bloc in his district. What IS he thinking?

Obama, Daschle and Feder Bring us Universal Health Care in '09?

Now here's some food for thought: Tom Daschle as Secretary of Health and Human Services in an Obama administration? Congressman Judy Feder, one of the leading experts in America on health care helping Daschle and Obama guide universal health care legislation through Congress? How does that sound for you? Or, we could have John McSame, his soulmate Frank Wolf, and four more years of no universal health care coverage in this country.

Tough choice, huh?

P.S. By the way, Feder has a quote on the jacket of Daschle’s new book on health care reform. Interesting.

Wolf Votes Against Mental Health Equity

Yesterday, Frank Wolf cast yet another terrible vote, this time against the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act. The bill, which passed the House by an overwhelming 268-148 margin, would "require equity in the provision of mental health and substance-related disorder benefits under group health plans." Why Frank Wolf opposed this, it's hard to say, but 47 of his fellow Republicans (including Tom Davis) voted for it. Wolf joined hard-right hardliners like Virgil Goode and Eric Cantor in voting "nay." For more background on what has been called a "historic moment for [former Sen. Paul] Wellstone's addiction and treatment crusade," click here.

Advocates of the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act say it would end the stigma of mental illness by treating it on a par with physical maladies. "We're no longer going to allow people to languish in the shadows," said Kennedy, who has had his own bout with an addiction to painkillers.

While the congressional debate is far from over, champions of the Wellstone bill celebrated the House vote as the culmination of 12 years of activism on the issue.

Said Ramstad: "We know that Paul Wellstone is smiling down on us today."

Paul Wellstone may be smiling, but Frank Wolf is frowning. Apparently, he doesn't believe that people with mental illness should be treated the same as those with physical illness. Why not? Can anyone ever get an explanation out of this guy? Suggestion to media: ask him about it and don't keep hiding behind the "he's a moderate" malarkey.

Congress Needs More And Better Democrats

Our nation is in need of a government and leadership that can repair the damages wrought by the past seven years of misgovernance in Washington. That means providing our next President with a Congress which has the numbers and confidence to act quickly and thoroughly on issues like restoring civil liberties, ending the war in Iraq, healthcare reform, curbing handouts to large corporations, and returning competence to the agencies responsible for our health, welfare and safety.

A better Congress means electing more and better democrats. Holding the line on civil liberties and passing SCHIP are just two examples of issues that directly impact our way of life which are at risk because our Democratic majorities in Congress are thinner than they might appear. A union of Republicans and conservative Democrats can, and has, blocked progress for the past year on a variety of issues. The logical response is to expand our majority where we can in order to dilute the strength and influence of those members of the Democratic caucus who defect to the Republican side of critical votes from time to time.

Furthermore, in districts which are overwhelmingly Democratic (MD-04, for example), we need to make sure that they are represented by truly progressive and dedicated Democrats, since they are "safe" seats for our party. This is the reason so many people in the netroots are supporting Donna Edwards against Al Wynn, for example, or Mark Pera against Dan Lipinski.

What this means for Virginia, and the 10th District, is that we need to alter the make-up of our state delegation by supporting and electing strong Democrats to Congress. That will give our next President the support he or she needs to fix the problems of the past seven years. We have a unique opportunity this year to make great inroads in Virginia. We have no fewer than five great candidates challenging for seats held by Republicans in Virginia.

• VA-02: Glenn Nye is challenging Congresswoman Drake. Glenn has stepped up to challenge one of hte most Bush-friendly Republicans in Virginia. His experience providing development assistance in Iraq, along with his wealth of diplomatic experience would bring a consensus builder to Congress to replace the bomb-thrower that is Thelma Drake.


• VA-05: Tom Perriello is challenging Congressman Goode. Tom represents Virginia's true values of community and progress against the bigot and xenophobe currently representing the 5th District.


• VA-06: Sam Rasoul is challenging Congressman Goodlatte. Sam Rasoul is one of the youngest candidates for Congress in America, but do not confuse youth for inexperience. He is a highly successful entrepreneur who has done more than talk about bringing jobs to the valley, he has actually created them himself.


• VA-10: Judy Feder is challenging Congressman Wolf. Judy is the definition of a good Democrat. She is driven, dedicated and passionate, with name recognition from her previous campaign in 2006 and unmatched expertise in one of the most important issues of the coming year: healthcare.


• VA-11: Leslie Byrne is fighting for the open seat of retiring Congressman Davis. Leslie brings a unique skill to the only open seat race in Virginia, previous experience in Congress. During her service in the early 1990s, she was a leader of her Congressional class, and serve Virginia well on many committees. Returning that experience to Congress will help our next president.

Each of these five would represent a strong addition to the Democratic governing majority in the House. Here in Leesburg, we have the privilege of supporting Judy Feder. Considering the importance of the healthcare issue in Loudoun (the new Board of Supervisors made it one of their first priorities), Congresswoman Feder would establish leadership on this issue for the 10th District. To make that happen, though, she needs our support, so do what you can, if you can, to send Judy Feder to Congress!

(Crossposted from Leesburg Tomorrow.)

Judy Feder Speaks on "Our Troubled Health Care System"

What Judy Feder's been up to recently. I'll post the speech transcript as soon as it's available.

Our Troubled Health Care System: Why Is It So Hard to Fix?
Judy Feder, Professor and Dean, Georgetown Public Policy Institute

Friday, October 19, 2007, 2:00 - 3:30 pm
Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel
801 University Avenue, Syracuse, NY

Judy Feder, Ph.D., was the 2006 Democratic nominee for Congress in Virginia's 10th Congressional District. She is one of the nation's leaders in health policy—most particularly, in efforts to understand and improve the nation's health insurance system. A widely published scholar, her policy research began at the Brookings Institution, continued at the Urban Institute, and, since 1984, has flourished at Georgetown University. Her expertise on the uninsured, Medicare, Medicaid, and long-term care is regularly drawn upon by members of Congress, Executive officials, and the national media. Feder earned her BA from Brandeis University, and her Master's and PhD from Harvard.

In contrast to Judy's expertise on health care issues, Frank Wolf has consistently voted in lockstep with his Republican leadership and their friends in the insurance industry. He voted to allow insurance companies, not doctors and patients, to make health care decisions. He supported an HMO reform bill that John McCain said “favors the H.M.O. over the patient.” He opposed legislation to help small businesses afford health care legislation by opening up the federal health care system. And he supported legislation that gutted state protections for diseases like diabetes, breast cancer and cervical cancers, and even voted to allow insurance companies to drop coverage for patients with serious illnesses.

At this time of scares about MRSA, wouldn't we rather have someone who knows a bit about health care than someone who has the record described above?

"No health care for us, no photo ops for you!"

So what's it gonna be, Congressman Wolf? Health care for the kids, or no photo ops for you? Ha.

Frank Wolf: Bad for Your Health

According to today's Washington Post, one of the big issues for Congress this fall will be health care. Aside from SCHIP, an issue on which Frank Wolf has been here, there and everywhere, Congress will also look at escalating health care costs and the need for universal health care coverage in this country. Where has Frank Wolf been on health care issues over the years? Let's review.

*In 2005, Wolf voted against a proposal to maintain state coverage mandates on a variety of medical treatments. The proposal would have maintained state coverage protections for pregnancy, child care, breast and cervical cancer screening, mental illness and diabetes.

*In 2005, Wolf voted against a plan to lower health insurance costs for small businesses. The plan allowed small employers access to state and federal low-cost health insurance plans that pool all health risks and provided subsidies to help small employers with low-wage workforces afford family coverage.

*In 2005, Wolf voted for legislation to create so-called “Association Health Plans” (AHPs) that would gut state health coverage protections like cancer screening and diabetes treatment. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that more than 75 percent of small business workers - representing over 20 million workers and their dependents - would see their health insurance premiums increase as a result of AHPs. The CBO also found that that up to 8 million workers who currently have insurance would be shifted into cheaper, lower benefit, "bare bones" AHP health plans - where their coverage would be notably less than it is right now.

*In 2004, Wolf voted against a motion that would have required the Association Health Plan legislation to prohibit plans that allow reductions in breast cancer coverage.

*Tn 1996, Wolf voted against an amendment to assure insurance portability and prohibit insurers from canceling or refusing coverage based on an employee's health.

There's a lot more in Wolf's record, but we don't have all day. Frankly (pun intended), this could be a continuing series that could last for many days. So, stay tuned for more about how Frank Wolf is bad for your health!