The president came to North Carolina last week to talk about jobs, and the state of our nation’s economy. As I mentioned in my interview with WRAL this past week, I was taken-aback by the president’s implication that he was responsible for the great things taking place in our state—especially considering that our state’s government is entirely Republican-controlled. The true credit for North Carolina’s improving economic condition should be accredited to Governor McCrory and the Republican-led General Assembly—not the president and his administration.
Additionally, the president and Senate continue to hinder our nation’s chances for true economic recovery, as they refuse to act on dozens of House-passed jobs bills. According to the most recent Labor Department report, while 74,000 Americans found jobs in December, nearly 347,000 left the labor force that same month. With 91.27 million Americans currently out of the workforce, our country deserves more than just “talk” and an occasional public appearance by our president. Please take my survey at the end of this newsletter, so I can hear your thoughts on the jobs bills currently stalled in the Senate.
My time back in D.C. has been both busy and productive. In an Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing this week, I questioned HHS official Gary Cohen about misleading Obamacare numbers the administration continues to cite. Video from that exchange is linked below.
This week, I also had the opportunity to vote for H.R. 3362, the Exchange Information Disclosure Act, which requires HHS to provide the American people and Congress with weekly reports on the status of HealthCare.gov. This piece of legislation will allow Congress to hold the Obama Administration accountable for any new failures in the proposed timeline of Healthcare.gov. More information about this bill is provided below.
Tomorrow, we all will celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his work to advance the cause of civil rights. His accomplishments remind us of the real difference we can make in our communities, and I hope you will join me in recognizing this brave man for the role he played in changing our nation’s history.
I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve you. On my website, you will find many of the services my office provides to constituents of the Second District. Please contact my office if there is any way we can assist you.
President Obama Comes to NC
I released the following statement following President Obama’s visit to N.C. State University this week:
“This afternoon, President Obama travelled to North Carolina to announce new investments in energy research and technology. While I support this partnership with the private sector, I’m dismayed by his implication that he is responsible for the positive economic trends currently taking place in North Carolina.”
“Over the past year, North Carolina has seen its unemployment rate drop over two points from 9.5 percent to 7.4 percent after declining to extend federal unemployment benefits for nearly 70,000 people in July. In the three months following this decision, civilian employment in our state rose by 39,400. This was no accident. Governor Pat McCrory and the Republican-led General Assembly have instituted important economic reforms that have led to the successes President Obama is trying to take credit for.”
“Throughout the president’s speech today, there was little discussion of the attacks that continue to be waged on small businesses and millions of North Carolinians due to the president’s health care law. Back in September, we discovered that health insurance rates are expected to triple for women and quadruple for men in North Carolina once this law goes into effect. Then a week later, we were informed that virtual monopolies were being created in North Carolina to sell this poison pill to our people. We were promised lower costs and more competition. Yet Obamacare is doing the exact opposite.”
“Meanwhile, my office continues to hear stories from families across North Carolina, telling us that their health insurance plans are being cancelled and their premiums are going through the roof. In North Carolina alone, nearly 473,000 people have been impacted by cancellation notices on health insurance plans they were promised they could keep. I will continue to work tirelessly to repeal this law before it can inflict any more damage on our economy and the American people.”
After the president’s speech, I had the opportunity to talk to David Crabtree on WRAL. Click here or on the image below to see the interview.
Click here to listen to my interview with Bill LuMaye about the president’s visit, jobs and Obamacare.
Looking for Obamacare Answers
The Obama administration recently earned three “Pinocchios” from the Washington Post Fact Checkerin reference to claims they’ve made on Obamacare enrollment numbers. In an Energy & Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing this week, I questioned HHS official Gary Cohen about the misleading Obamacare figures being cited in the media.
Click here or on the image below for video of the exchange.
The Exchange Information Disclosure Act
As I mentioned earlier in this newsletter, H.R. 3362, the Exchange Information Disclosure Act, passed in the House on Thursday with bipartisan support. The bill promotes transparency in the Obamacare enrollment process by requiring HHS to provide the American people and Congress with weekly reports on the status of HealthCare.gov.The following information is from the Energy & Commerce Exchange Information and Disclosure Act fact sheet:
- To ensure transparency regarding enrollment in Obamacare, H.R. 3362, the Exchange Information Disclosure Act, requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide the American people and Congress weekly reports on the status of HealthCare.gov.
- These reports will provide key metrics regarding HealthCare.gov, including unique website visits, accounts created, qualified health plan selection, and Medicaid enrollment. This information is important for numerous reasons: it will allow policymakers and the public to assess the law’s progress, it will allow state insurance commissioners to better understand and predict future enrollment trends and prices, and it will hold the administration accountable, rather than allowing information to be released piecemeal, on a delayed basis, or not at all.
- The amended bill also would require HHS to provide data on the number of Americans who have fully enrolled in an exchange plan by paying their first month’s premium, as well as the age of exchange enrollees.
Click here for additional information.
In the News
Ellmers Blasts Obama on Economy, Health Care
CBS 5 WRAL
Republican 2nd District Congresswoman says she is “dismayed” by President Barack Obama’s remarks while announcing an economic initiative at N.C. State University, saying the president is wrongly claiming credit for North Carolina’s improving economy.
Obama focuses on economy in NC State speech, vows ‘year of action’ on jobs
Raleigh News & Observer
U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers, a Dunn Republican who didn’t attend the speech, said Obama doesn’t deserve credit for North Carolina’s improving economy, saying that belongs to McCrory and GOP legislative leaders. “I find it ironic that he would come to North Carolina when things are on the upswing … and position himself to take some credit for it when the work is being done by the state itself,” she said by telephone from Washington.
Hagan Not Only Democrat Skipping Obama Visit
Carolina Journal
Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-2nd District, took note of the president’s remarks. “While I support [the consortium], I’m dismayed by [Obama’s] implication that he is responsible for the positive economic trends currently taking place in North Carolina,” Ellmers said in a statement…This was no accident. … McCrory and the Republican-led General Assembly have instituted important economic reforms that have led to the successes President Obama is trying to take credit for,” she said.
Rep. Renee Ellmers on President Obama’s Speech
The Bill LuMaye Show – WPTF
Congresswoman Renee Ellmers talks with Bill about President Obama’s speech this afternoon at NC State.
For mentally ill, some long-awaited glimmers of hope
Op-Ed – Charlotte Observer
On the national level, U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., has introduced the “Helping Families in Mental Health Crises Act.” The bill, co-sponsored by Republican U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers of North Carolina, stands in sharp contrast with the White House’s response to mental health failures. Murphy’s bill focuses federal attention on severe mental illnesses, not mental health in general. It facilitates treatment by clearing a snarl of federal regulations that prevent a prompt and effective clinical response. For example, the bill would make it easier for providers to make psychiatric inpatient beds available in hospitals.
Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
