The U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Job-Killing Health Act Repeal” bill last week. Everyone stand up and give them a big round of applause for wasting everyone’s time and money in doing so. Give them an encore for passing it, even though it’s title was exposed as a lie many moons ago.
What CBO actually said is that the impact of the health care law on supply and demand for labor would be small. Most of it would come from people who no longer have to work, or can downshift to less demanding employment, because insurance will be available outside the job.
“The legislation, on net, will reduce the amount of labor used in the economy by a small amount _roughly half a percent_ primarily by reducing the amount of labor that workers choose to supply,” budget office number crunchers said in a report from last year.
That’s not how it got translated in the new report from Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other top Republicans.
CBO “has determined that the law will reduce the ‘amount of labor used in the economy by.roughly half a percent.,’ an estimate that adds up to roughly 650,000 jobs lost,” the GOP version said.
Gone was the caveat that the impact would be small, mainly due to people working less. Added was the estimate of 650,000 jobs lost.
Yes, the “job-killing” in the title of the repeal bill came from a willful mis-understanding of the CBO’s report. Unless you consider old people, who were only staying at their jobs to get healthcare, deciding to leave those jobs as they get health insurance from another avenue as a “job killed” instead of a “job opening”. Ultimately, what the Republicans called “job-killing” is actually an acceleration in the turnover of the workforce, something the economy desperately needs right now.
I am not surprised the Derp, Derp Congress is voting directly against the interests of the country, and I am happy they don’t have enough power to do anything other than waste taxpayer time on this issue. Sadly, their impact on other issues could be more…actual.
They did find the time to pass two job-creating-anti-abortion-funding bills. Because, you know, federal abortion funding was a huge issue during the election…well…for some people…others realized Obama wrote an executive order banning funds in HCR being used for abortions, and the legislation itself forbade it. That did not stop Tea Party Republicans from telling people the exact opposite was happening (noticing a trend yet?) and so we get two bills focused on this non-topic.
House Republicans turned their focus to abortion on Thursday, introducing two bills to ban federal funding for the procedure.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) called the measures necessary, even though President Barack Obama signed an executive order last year that bars federal funding for the procedure.
“Clearly, there is an awful lot of doubt as to where the administration really is on this issue,” Boehner said. “I think the will of the people is that we enact this clear-cut prohibition on the use of taxpayer funds for elective abortions.”
Yes, I clearly remember abortion being a front and center issue that tha Tea Party wouldn’t shut up about. And the ties between federal-abortion-funding and job creation are too numerous to count. This legislation is essentially the long form of Joe Wilson’s “you lie”, and is just about as accurate.
But the Derp, Derp, Congress isn’t done yet. Given that NASA recently pointed out that 2010 was tied for as the hottest year on record, and that a majority of Republicans believe that thermometers have a liberal bias and are all secretly controlled by George Soros, you can guess how the Derp, Derp, Congress plans to deal with the issue.
Top staff members for key House and Senate Republicans met in a closed-door session Tuesday with energy industry interests to work on strategy to handcuff the Obama administration’s climate change agenda.
With the backing of GOP caucus leaders, aides for House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) are seeking unwavering support from a host of industries for an all-out push to block federal and state climate rules.
“The feedback we got was ‘hey, great, go for it guys,’” one Republican aide told POLITICO. “And we pretty strongly told them we do need your help to get this done. And when we walked away from the meeting the feeling was we got that.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47867.html#ixzz1ByW5Hgtk
Yes, the Derp, Derp, Congress is not only ignoring the brightest minds for the shiniest objects on this one, they are actively trying to screw stuff up. Check out the name of this other bill that will pass and then fail (since the Derpsters only control the House, derp)…
Ever since the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that the EPA had the authority to regulate greenhouses gases if they pose a danger to the public, some have criticized the prospect of government-set limits on carbon pollution from fossil fuels.
The House legislation, the Free Industry Act, introduced by Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., has 96 co-sponsors — all Republicans except Rep. Dan Boren, a Democrat from Oklahoma.
The bill would change the law so that greenhouse gases couldn’t be considered air pollution and it would tell the EPA that nothing in the law empowers the agency to regulate the pollutants that cause climate change.
See how that works? All you have to do is say that a problem is not a problem and it is solved. Derp, derp.
Or, to be more creative, you can take a solved problem (fed funds for abortion) say it isn’t solved, and pretend to solve it again. Derp, derp.
But that’s on the national stage, what about the states? We have previous coverage of the Derp, Derp, States here.
Some more…
—
From the Christian-Only State of Alabama to the Corporate States of Florida, Texas, Ohio, Nevada, Michigan, and Oklahoma. Public coffers are at all time lows, corporate profits are all time highs…time to reward the tax cutters (who created that very scenario) with lavish parties and huge cakes.
Oklahoma is also going the direct and no-questions-asked anti-science route. Considering that their Senator Inhofe is a leading “thermometers-are-a-socialist-conspiracy” proponent, this is less than surprising.
Final, bonus link…if you want to see how *actual scientists* deal with overblown rhetoric and press releases, this is a good story for you. If y0u want to see how quotes and skepticism are taken from science stories out of context and overblown, check out Inhofe’s next press release referencing the same thing.
Robot Pirate Ninja 
One thought on “Derp, Derp House of Reps Passes Lie, Debates a Few More”