Thursday, January 3, 2013

Barrasso: Obama ‘slowing down’ fiscal talks

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) on Monday accused President Obama of being disengaged from negotiations on avoiding the “fiscal cliff” as lawmakers race for a deal.

Barrasso, speaking on CBS’s “This Morning,” said that Obama was refusing to address the nation’s spending problems, hampering efforts on Capitol Hill to broker an agreement

"The president is, I think, slowing down the process, not helping," Barrasso said on the show.

Barrasso's comments come as legislators have less than 24 hours before the end-year deadline to prevent tax-rate rises and spending increases from taking effect.

On Sunday, although both chambers of Congress reconvened in anticipation of a deal, Democratic and Republican negotiators were unable to agree on a number of sticking points such as the estate tax and how to offset the cost of the sequester. 

"The bottom line is the president's the only one with a pen who can sign into law something and he ought to be very involved with making sure that he gets something that he can sign that can pass a Republican-controlled House and a Democrat-controlled Senate," Barrasso said. 

In an interview aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Obama placed the blame for the protracted negotiations on Republicans and said he had made a concerted effort to reach a deal. 

"I offered not only a trillion dollars in — over a trillion dollars in spending cuts over the next 10 years, but these changes would result in even more savings in the next 10 years and would solve our deficit problem for a decade," Obama said in the interview.

Barrasso, though, said Monday that Obama had shown little interest in pushing meaningful deficit reduction. 

"The president doesn't seem too eager to actually get involved and find solutions to deal with the number one problem in our country,” he said.

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Hillary Clinton admitted to hospital after doctors discover blood clot

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was hospitalized on Sunday after doctors found a blood clot.

Clinton is receiving treatment at Presbyterian Hospital in New York where doctors will monitor her for the next 48 hours, her spokesman Philippe Reines said in a statement. 

The clot, resulting from a concussion she suffered earlier in December, was found during a follow-up exam on Sunday, according to the State Department.

"Her doctors will continue to assess her condition, including other issues associated with her concussion. They will determine if any further action is required," Reines said.

Clinton fainted and suffered a concussion earlier in the month when she was suffering from a stomach virus. At the time, the State Department said that she would continue her recovery at home and was being monitored by her physicians.

The illness forced the secretary to cancel a trip to the Middle East and an appearance before Congress.

Clinton was due to testify before Congress on Dec. 20 about the investigation into the September attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four Americans.

Two senior aides to Clinton testified on her behalf, but Republicans, who have been sharply critical of the administration’s handling of security for the Benghazi mission, have said they still expect Clinton testify in person.

Clinton has said she will step down from her post as the nation’s top diplomat, and President Obama has nominated Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) to succeed her.

— Amie Parnes contributed to this report.

— Updated at 10:03 p.m.

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U.S. FDA chief urges action on drug compounding safety

* Agency has met with many stakeholders to press its plan

* Meningitis outbreak infects 620, killing 39

* House Republican accuses FDA of withholding documents

WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The top U.S. drug regulator on Wednesday urged state officials to help close regulatory loopholes involving the safety of compounded drugs, such as the tainted steroid injections at the center of a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak.

At a day-long meeting with officials from all 50 states, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg called for new regulations to head off future public health disasters.

Health officials should have clear authority to monitor drug compounding operations and act before problems that endanger public safety erupt, she said.

"We have all been stunned and horrified by the magnitude of the devastation," Hamburg told state delegates.

"Clearly, it's imperative that we close the gaps in oversight," she added. "The fungal meningitis outbreak is the most tragic but not the only example of why we must act now."

In one of the biggest U.S. public health crises, 620 people in 19 states since mid-September have contracted fungal meningitis traced to epidural injections for back and joint pain produced by Massachusetts-based New England Compounding Center. Thirty-nine patients have died and as many as 14,000 other have been exposed to the tainted drugs, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection.

The state health and pharmacy board officials made up the latest gathering of stakeholders FDA has approached with a plan the agency hopes Congress will turn into legislation.

In the weeks before Wednesday's meeting, the FDA held discussions about the regulatory landscape with over 50 groups representing pharmacies, consumers, hospitals, clinics and medical professionals.

But states could be most central to the questions about regulation because they currently serve as the main regulators of drug compounders.

Drug compounding is a traditional pharmacy practice that occurs when a licensed pharmacist alters or recombines drug products in response to a physicians' prescription for a specific patient, who may be unable to take the standard version of a treatment due to age, allergies and other conditions.

In recent decades some compounding pharmacies, including the now-shuttered NECC, have dramatically expanded into large-scale production that rivals those of full-fledged manufacturers but escapes the stringent safety and efficacy standards that FDA imposes on drug makers.

ILLEGAL MANUFACTURING

The FDA plan would leave states with responsibility for overseeing traditional compounding pharmacies but impose new federal standards on large-scale compounders that could be carried out by the agency, or in partnership with states, with clearer congressionally mandated authority.

Experts say some state governments could be ill-equipped to take on large-scale compounding oversight, especially at a time of tight budgets.

State officials at the FDA meeting appeared to be divided, with some saying they are adequately funded and staffed while others said a new federal role may be necessary to ensure regulatory consistency across state lines.

"Do the states have the ability right now to provide oversight if you consider what an entity like NECC was doing?" said Cody Wiberg, executive director of the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy. "The answer to that question is that it depends on the states."

FDA officials say their current authority is limited by conflicting federal court rulings over the years that prohibit the agency from inspecting company records and facilities in some U.S. states but allow it in others.

But critics, including many Republican lawmakers, say FDA has enough authority and instead fell down on the job.

Last month Hamburg came under withering attack during a House of Representatives committee hearing from Republicans who accused FDA Of failing to exercise its authority to act against NECC, despite problems dating back a decade, including earlier instances of contaminated steroids.

On Wednesday, the Republican chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee accused FDA of failing to provide requested internal documents dealing with meningitis outbreak.

"Without this information, we are unable to identify any possible weaknesses and as a result, the necessary corrections," committee chairman Fred Upton said in a statement.

Some critics also claim that Hamburg's plan could jeopardize drug safety, if new rules allow large-scale production to go forward under safeguards less strict than those now applied to drug manufacturing.

"The FDA's proposal for oversight of 'non-traditional' compounding, if implemented, would decriminalize what is now illegal drug manufacturing conducted under the guise of pharmacy compounding," Dr. Michael Carome of advocacy group Public Citizen's health research group said in a statement.

The window of opportunity for legislation is closing, but some experts remain optimistic about the prospect for action in 2013 given the scale of the meningitis outbreak and ongoing investigations in the House and Senate.

"They're working very hard on this," said Allan Coukell, medical programs director for the Pew Charitable Trusts. "All the signals are that this will be an issue for them to focus on in the next Congress."


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Obamacare Tax Hikes May Just Be Getting Started

New taxes are coming Jan. 1 to help finance President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Most people may not notice.

But they will pay attention if Congress decides to start taxing employer-sponsored health insurance, one option in play if lawmakers can ever agree on a budget deal to reduce federal deficits.

The tax hikes already on the books, taking effect in 2013, fall mainly on people who make lots of money and on the health care industry. But about half of Americans benefit from the tax-free status of employer health insurance.

Workers pay no income or payroll taxes on what their employer contributes for health insurance, and in most cases on their own share of premiums as well.

It's the single biggest tax break the government allows, outstripping the mortgage interest deduction, the deduction for charitable giving and other better-known benefits.

If the value of job-based health insurance were taxed like regular income, it would raise nearly $150 billion in 2013, according to congressional estimates. By comparison, wiping away the mortgage interest deduction would bring in only about $90 billion.

"If you are looking to raise revenue to pay for tax reform, that is the biggest pot of money of all," said Martin Sullivan, chief economist with Tax Analysts, a nonpartisan publisher of tax information.

It's hard to see how lawmakers can avoid touching health insurance if they want to eliminate loopholes and curtail deductions so as to raise revenue and lower tax rates.

Congress probably wouldn't do away with the health care tax break, but limit it in some form. Such limits could be keyed to the cost of a particular health insurance plan, the income level of taxpayers or a combination.

Many economists think some kind of limit would be a good thing because it would force consumers to watch costs, and that could help keep health care spending in check.

Obama's health law took a tentative step toward limits by imposing a tax on high-value health insurance plans. But that doesn't start until 2018.

Next spring will be three years since Congress passed the health care overhaul but, because of a long phase-in, many of the taxes to finance the plan are only now coming into effect.

Medicare spending cuts that help pay for covering the uninsured have started to take effect, but they also are staggered.

The law's main benefit, coverage for 30 million uninsured people, will take a little longer. It doesn't start until Jan. 1, 2014.

The biggest tax hike from the health care law has a bit of mystery to it. The legislation calls it a "Medicare contribution," but none of the revenue will go to the Medicare trust fund.

Instead, it's funneled into the government's general fund, which does pay the lion's share of Medicare outpatient and prescription costs, but also covers most other things the government does.

The new tax is a 3.8 percent levy on investment income that applies to individuals making more than $200,000 or married couples above $250,000. Projected to raise $123 billion from 2013-2019, it comes on top of other taxes on investment income.

While it does apply to profits from home sales, the vast majority of sellers will not have to worry since another law allows individuals to shield up to $250,000 in gains on their home from taxation. (Married couples can exclude up to $500,000 in home sale gains.)

Investors have already been taking steps to avoid the tax, selling assets this year before it takes effect.

The impact of the investment tax will be compounded if Obama and Republicans can't stave off the automatic tax increases coming next year if there's no budget agreement.

High earners will face another new tax under the health care law Jan. 1. It's an additional Medicare payroll tax of 0.9 percent on wage income above $200,000 for an individual or $250,000 for couples. This one does go to the Medicare trust fund.

Donald Marron, director of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, says the health care law's tax increases are medium-sized by historical standards. The center, a joint project of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, provides in-depth analyses on tax issues.

They also foreshadow the current debate about raising taxes on people with high incomes.

"These were an example of the president winning, and raising taxes on upper-income people," said Marron. "They are going to happen."

Other health care law tax increases taking effect Jan. 1:

A 2.3 percent sales tax on medical devices used by hospitals and doctors. Industry is trying to delay or repeal the tax, saying it will lead to a loss of jobs. Several economists say manufacturers should be able to pass on most of the cost.
A limit on the amount employees can contribute to tax-free flexible spending accounts for medical expenses. It's set at $2,500 for 2013, and indexed thereafter for inflation.

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Letter from the President -- Chad War Powers Report

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For Immediate Release December 29, 2012 Letter from the President -- Chad War Powers Report

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)

Due to the deteriorating security situation in the Central African Republic and the potential threat to U.S. citizens, U.S. embassy personnel and several private U.S. citizens were evacuated from Bangui, Central African Republic on December 27, 2012. In addition, at approximately 5:20 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on December 27, a stand-by response and evacuation force of approximately 50 U.S. military personnel from U.S. Africa Command deployed to Chad to support the evacuation of U.S. embassy personnel and U.S. citizens from the Central African Republic. Although equipped for combat, this stand-by security force was deployed solely for the purpose of protecting U.S. citizens and property, if necessary, until the U.S. embassy personnel and private U.S. citizens have been safely evacuated from the Central African Republic.

This action has been directed consistent with my responsibility to protect U.S. citizens both at home and abroad, and in furtherance of U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.

I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148). I appreciate the support of the Congress in this action.

Sincerely,

BARACK OBAMA

Blog posts on this issue December 30, 2012 11:44 AM ESTThe Year in Review: Joining Forces to Hire American HeroesThe Year in Review: Joining Forces to Hire American Heroes

In 2012, working with Joining Forces, American businesses exceeded the President's challenge to hire 100,000 veterans and military spouses and made a greater commitment for the future.

December 29, 2012 5:45 AM ESTWeekly Address: Congress Must Protect the Middle Class from Income Tax Hike

President Obama urges Congress to meet its deadlines and responsibilities, protect the middle class from an income tax hike, and lay the groundwork for future progress on more economic growth and deficit reduction.

December 29, 2012 5:05 AM ESTA Digital Milestone in 2012: 100,000,000 Video Views

Take a look at the videos that have been viewed the most.

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Statement by the Press Secretary on H.J. Res. 122, H.R. 3477, H.R. 3783, H.R. 3870, H.R. 3912, H.R. 5738, H.R. 5837, H.R. 5954, H.R. 6116, H.R. 6223, S. 285, S. 1379, S. 2170, S. 2367, S. 3193, S. 3311, S. 3315, S. 3564, and S. 3642

Merck says cholesterol drug study failed

Dec 20 (Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc said on Thursday a major trial of its Tredaptive medicine to raise "good" HDL cholesterol showed it did not do a better job at preventing heart attacks, deaths or strokes than traditional statin drugs that lower "bad" LDL cholesterol.

Merck said it no longer plans to seek regulatory approval for the drug in the United States and is recommending that providers not start new patients on it.

The failed study had enrolled more than 25,000 patients over more than three years and is a significant setback for the drugmaker because Tredaptive was one of the most important and potentially lucrative of its experimental medicines.

Merck shares were down almost 3 percent at $42.35 compared to Wednesday's closing on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting By Caroline Humer and Ransdell Pierson)


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Schumer: Better than even odds Congress reaches fiscal deal

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) suggested that odds are better than even that legislators will come to a last-minute agreement to prevent "fiscal cliff" spending cuts and tax rate increases.

Schumer, speaking Sunday on ABC's "This Week," said that while legislators have not yet announced a compromise, a deal could still come just before the year-end deadline. 

"I've been a legislator for 37 years, and I've watched how these things work. On these big, big agreements, they almost always happen at the last minute," Schumer said. "Neither side likes to give up its position.  They eyeball each other until the very end.  But then, each side, realizing that the alternative is worse, comes to an agreement.  So while an agreement is hardly a certainty, I certainly wouldn't rule it out at this last minute.

Schumer said the odds seemed "a little higher" than 50-50. 

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), also a guest Sunday on This Week, said he didn't disagree with Schumer's assessment.

"I also would say that the way you opened the program does not under- or overstate the consequences," Kyl said. "If we are not able to reach an agreement, it will be dire.  And that's from everybody, from the Congressional Budget Office, which is nonpartisan, as you know, to the Fed chairman, probably at least another million jobs lost, an unemployment rate over 9 percent, and putting us back into recession.  So responsible people on both sides of the aisle do need to try to come together, and there is a significant effort underway right now."

Schumer and Kyl's comments come as Senate leaders continued negotiations this weekend on a deal to avoid the tax rate increases and spending cuts taking effect in January. Reports suggested that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) were focusing on a plan to prevent rising taxes on most families.

Schumer said that one reason for optimism is that both Democrats and Republicans want to extend the Bush-era tax rates for income up to $250,000 a year. Republicans, though want to raise the rates for income-earners above that cut-off, while President Obama and Democrats insist that the wealthy pay more in taxes.

"Nobody wants to raise taxes on people below $250,000," Schumer said. "And that will be the impetus and why both of us have some degree of optimism that we can avoid this fiscal cliff in the next 24 hours."

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