Navigating the ObamaCare Rules

By Greg Scandlen Filed under Health Insurance on January 16, 2013 with 10 comments

Okay, I admit it. I am completely baffled. Maybe one of you smart folks can help me out here.

I am reading a new Kaiser Family Foundation issue brief on “Implementing New Private Health Insurance Market Rules,” and scratching my head. Is it the summation from KFF that is the problem? The rules themselves? Or have I just grown a lot dumber in my dodderage? (I’m perfectly willing to fess up to the latter if that’s what it is.)

In either case, this doesn’t make any sense to me. Where to begin –

First, it seems the new rules effectively do away with association plans. Employers in such associations will now be subject to all the same regulations and choices as other independent employers. This is puzzling because I thought small business associations had worked to get a so-called “SHOP” provision in the law to encourage the efficiency such associations provide.

Next, while health plans are now guaranteed issue, individual coverage may be subject to an open enrollment period while employer coverage is not, and the minimum contribution and participation rules for small employers may still apply. It isn’t clear what, if any, limits will be placed on these provisions.

Carriers will have to have a single risk pool for all its individual market plans for rating purposes. So, if an insurer offers a plan that is highly efficient (say an HSA program or an HMO), the enrollees of that plan will not be allowed to benefit from their economizing behavior. This is puzzling because I thought one of the purposes of this law was to encourage cost containment. This does precisely the opposite.

Premiums will be “modified community rated,” which means no consideration of health status, gender, or occupation, but geography, age, and tobacco use are still allowed. Age rating may vary by 300%, but must be set at one-year bands from age 21 to 64 (unless a state bans age rating altogether.) This should be interesting for small employers like restaurants with very high turnover. Every month the age profile of their employees could vary substantially, and so would their premium payment. Annual budgeting for company expenses may become a thing of the past.

The tobacco adjustment gets even more interesting. The overall adjustment is limited to a factor of 1.5, but it may vary according to age. KFF writes -

…insurers could apply a lower tobacco premium surcharge for younger individuals and a higher one for older individuals. Using the example in the proposed rule, a younger smoker might pay a few dollars more each month while the older smoker could be charged hundreds of dollars more each month.

Now, the regulation does not define tobacco usage, or explain how a carrier is to find out about it.

But even more curiously, KFF comments that lower-income people are more likely to use tobacco, but the law says that, “people who would have to pay more than 8 percent of family income for coverage are excused from the requirement to have health insurance because the cost is deemed unaffordable.” It doesn’t explain 8% of what? Gross income? Net income? AGI? But 8% of $100,000 is only $8,000. Good luck finding a family policy for $8,000 under this law.

Plus, deductibles may not exceed $2,000 per individual and total out-of-pocket for in-network services is limited to $6,500 for an individual and $13,000 for a family, after which the plan must cover expenses at 100%.

But the real puzzlement kicks in in the discussion of “essential health benefits (EHBs).”

The law lays out 10 categories of services that must be covered –

Ambulatory patient servicesEmergency servicesHospitalizationMaternity and newborn careMental health and substance use disorder services including behavioral health treatmentPrescription drugsRehabilitative and habilitative services and devicesPreventive and wellness services and chronic disease managementPediatric services, including vision and dental care

Never mind that individual (nongroup) coverage doesn’t typically cover some of these things today (such as Rx, dental, and maternity), so such an expansion will substantially raise costs. That isn’t a puzzle.

More enigmatic is how these things will be defined within these categories. The regulations require each state to identify a “benchmark” plan from its existing private health plans. KFF writes –

Once the benchmark is established, issuers in a state must offer benefits that are substantially equal to the EHB benchmark plan. However, issuers have some flexibility to modify the EHB benchmark plan benefits. Under the proposed rule, within a category of EHB, issuers could substitute benefits or sets of benefits that are actuarially equivalent to those being replaced. Issuers that make such substitutions would be required to submit evidence of actuarial equivalence to the substituted benefits, to the state.

Separate rules apply to coverage for prescription drugs. For each therapeutic category or class of prescription drugs (for example, as defined by the United States Pharmacopeia or USP), health plans must cover the greater of one drug per class or category, or the same number of drugs per class or category as covered by the benchmark plan. Drugs in a class or category must be therapeutically distinct (for example, different doses of the same drug are counted as one drug, as are brand drugs and their generic equivalents.)

Okay, got it? Well, not so fast. KFF continues –

Some areas of ambiguity remain regarding how essential benefit rules will work in practice. For example, the proposed rule does not specify how services in the benchmark plan should be assigned to categories, within which insurers can modify and substitute benefits on an actuarially equivalent basis. Certain categories ? such as “maternity and newborn care” ? are quite specific and self- explanatory. However, others ? such as ambulatory care ? are broad and not well defined, leaving questions about which services are included. For instance, would home health or durable medical equipment best be categorized as ambulatory services or rehabilitative services? What category would apply to organ transplants? Also, some plans today cover expensive injectable drugs (such as chemotherapy drugs) as a medical service, not under their drug benefit.

But the fun is just beginning. KFF goes on to explain, “plans must not design covered benefits in ways that discriminate against individuals based on age, health status or related factors.”

Hoo, boy! That opens up a whole lot of work for the trial bar. Any denial of anything could be seen as discriminatory.

Okay, I don’t want to belabor this. What we’ve written so far is just the beginning. We never even got to the section on “Wellness Benefits.” (Speaking of discriminatory ? spending money on health club memberships sounds like it is discriminating against people who are too feeble to make use of a gym.)

There is a more immediate observation I want to make.

What about Medicare?

All of these rules (and many more) apply to private health insurance. None of them, not one, apply to the government’s own program ? Medicare.

Medicare doesn’t cover dental and vision.Medicare doesn’t have limits on out-of-pocket spending.Medicare doesn’t limit its deductible to $2,000.Medicare doesn’t vary premiums based on age and tobacco use.Medicare has higher premiums for people who delay enrolling.

I find it more than a little curious that all the rules the federal government has established for the private sector do not apply to the federal government’s own favorite program.

Welcome to the world of Animal Farm, where the pigs are a little more equal than the rest of us.

View the original article here

Notice -- Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Terrorists Who Threaten to Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

NOTICE

- - - - - - -

CONTINUATION OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO
TERRORISTS WHO THREATEN TO DISRUPT THE MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS

On January 23, 1995, by Executive Order 12947, the President declared a national emergency pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States constituted by grave acts of violence committed by foreign terrorists who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process. On August 20, 1998, by Executive Order 13099, the President modified the Annex to Executive Order 12947 to identify four additional persons who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process. On February 16, 2005, by Executive Order 13372, the President clarified the steps taken in Executive Order 12947.

Because these terrorist activities continue to threaten the Middle East peace process and to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States, the national emergency declared on January 23, 1995, and the measures adopted to deal with that emergency must continue in effect beyond January 23, 2013. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency with respect to foreign terrorists who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process.

This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.

BARACK OBAMA

Watch Hinna, Taejah, Julia and Grant read the letters they wrote to President Obama, asking him to do something about gun violence.

Editorial pages across the country today are lauding the President’s broad approach to address curbing gun violence in our nation

Learn more about the new Health Insurance Marketplace, which will kick in come October and mark the beginning of new health insurance and tax credits for millions of Americans.

view all related blog posts

View the original article here

White People And Hiphop: Tourists, Expats, Or Colonists?

Chicago rapper Chief Keef’s major-label debut “Finally Rich” has sparked verbal sparring among rap critics about cultural tourism and hiphop. This valuable conversation began with a glowing review by Jordan Sargent, and an angry response from RapRadar’s Brian “B.Dot” Miller. The central controversy is over the responsibilities we have when we talk about hiphop, and who should be allowed access to and influence over those conversations. Sargent is white, and Miller is black. Miller insisted on the New York Times ArtsBeat podcast that his distinction between tourism and legitimate participation in hiphop culture is based upon tenure and not melanin, and the disagreement over Chief Keef does not break along simple racial lines at all. But there is a natural suspicion of white voices in hiphop discourse.

The controversy over Keef is in many ways about the age-old lyrics vs. music wrestling match over how to value hiphop. Craig Jenkins has already eviscerated the “community of gatekeepers” who insist Keef’s lyrical content removes him from serious consideration or threatens to destroy hiphop. I’ll try to add something to the parallel thread about cultural tourism, white privilege, and good intentions.

Suspicion of white folks in conversations about hiphop is natural, and more valid than most acts of cultural gatekeeping. American history makes this inescapable. We’re a superpower built in record time thanks to 400 years of stolen labor and stolen lives, and another 150 of systematic oppression of the descendants of that thievery. (That that oppression is now abstract rather than legislated does not make it disappear.) This makes white appropriation of black cultural output inherently more problematic than, say, a Greenwich-born Bentley-driving 17-year-old who finds her angst validated and channeled in the music of impoverished Appalachia. Or a dentist’s son pouring the pain money can’t treat into an identification with music by blue-collar drug-addicted pop geniuses. The honky-tonk bar crowd might be wary of the rich girl, and the punk club might be angry to learn the mosher among them is going home to financial security and a nuclear family. But class divisions may go unnoticed, and even if they don’t the gap in privilege that financial class breeds is limited, and most of all, impermanent. Progress for the rich is, to borrow a phrase, fragile and reversible.

When it comes to hiphop, the privilege gap between the outsider and the insider is based on hundreds of years of brutality. When suburban white privilege comes to the rap show, it’s crossing a hell of a lot more space, and that space is going to be enforced by society far into the future. (To steadily decreasing effect, inshallah.) Straight, white, and male is the easiest difficulty setting in life. Even the white kids who were dealt a bad socioeconomic hand are holding it at a damn good table. And again, history: However sincerely we participate in hiphop culture, we’re beneficiaries of systematic oppression finding an outlet in the anthems of the systematically oppressed. This is the source of the suspicion that sometimes greets white hiphop heads, and which lingers to some extent even after we succeed in proving our sincerity and depth of knowledge or curiosity about the culture. This is why some people call us tourists even after we’ve stayed awhile and taken up residence in hiphop culture.

There are a lot of us expats, in an ill-defined space between those raised on black music and culture and those just-visiting dilettantes. We think we’ve earned some standing (and some codeswitching). But some folks regard us more as colonists. And that’s not a crazy sentiment, especially as regards white folks’ interest in violent drug rap. Dave Bry’s New Republic piece does a nice job of explaining why:

For me, a white person, a rap fan who does in fact enjoy Chief Keef’s album, for musical reasons, much the same as I enjoy Waka Flocka Flame’s music, even as I find the lyrics banal and deplore much of their message—a person who likes to think that I can compartmentalize various elements of artistic expression, and appreciate music without any agenda—it’s worth giving hard thought to what it means that a black person is saying that she can’t. It’s worth ruminating on how deeply and insidiously white privilege and the black lack thereof infect every aspect of life in America—even something as simple as enjoying a good pop song. […] We want it to be different, us well-meaning white people. Maybe that’s even part of why we listen to rap music, or part of why we started to, anyway, because we want to do our best to make amends, to bridge the divide. We don’t want to be outsiders; we don’t want for there to be such a thing as outsiders. We want it to be different, but it’s not.

We want it to be one way, but it’s the other way. (Quoting “The Wire” sagely is another primary identifier of us would-be expats.) I don’t agree with Bry about Chief Keef on artistic grounds – based on two spins of “Finally Rich” and video evidence of his formulaic plug-and-play vapidity as an emcee, I want badly to side with Keef’s critics – but he’s dead on that it should be impossible to consider the Keefs and Flockas and Gunplays of the world completely outside of moralized critique, no matter how much serious white fans of their music might wish it so. Still, I think Bry missed a spot.

When he says he enjoys thuggish rap “even as I find the lyrics banal and deplore much of their message,” he’s pleading innocent of partaking in ign’ant shit as escapist fantasy. This seems disingenuous. Part of the appeal of everybody from Keef to Nate Dogg is that they give us access to a synthetic blend of toughness, indomitability, and limitless sexual potency that most of us don’t actually enjoy. Those banal lyrics and deplorable messages aren’t just part of the fun– they are the fun. That folks like Bry or myself aren’t enjoying this stuff in a mocking or ironic way does not make it completely above-board. We’re getting sincere enjoyment from something that makes us feel more alive, but as his piece notes so eloquently, we don’t live with the consequences when the music stops. Insofar as we white sojourners praise and download this stuff because it lets us play gangster, we’re taking advantage of the privilege gap Bry discusses.

And that gap puts the lie to the expat aspirations of even the most sincere and versed of white hiphop heads. Jamelle Bouie’s recent piece on his decision not to carry a flatscreen TV to his friend’s house alone, for fear of being taken for a thief, reminded me that my tourist status can’t be erased by my own actions. It’s imposed by the culture around us that assumes the worst about a black face – an attitude with much deeper roots than rap music, but which has been drawing strength from rappers for decades.

But Chief Keef can’t be responsible for that attitude. Neither can any other rapper. Images of black virility, self-determination, and power have scared white folks since long before Ice Cube nailed the motives of white cultural reactionaries in an interlude on his 1992 album “The Predator.” Every white hiphop head should check their privilege almost constantly. That privilege does not oblige us to be silent about our tastes or criticisms– much the opposite, in fact. It obliges us to speak a lot, because it obliges us to speak carefully and inquisitively, and recklessness always takes fewer words than consideration. Just playing good rap for our friends isn’t being down for any cause unless we’re also participating in the conversation about systems of oppression. Hiphop kickstarted that conversation long before we got here, and however much time we’ve put in learning this culture we should always acknowledge that we’re guests.

Otherwise, we’re not just tourists or commuters to hiphop, free to walk unjudged through the streets our musical heroes depict. We’re worse than that. We’re subconsciously preying on that privilege in order to enjoy feeling Like A Bawse in private. We’re colonizing the music of someone else’s struggle.

View the original article here

Statement by the President on Enhanced State Department Rewards Program

Statement by the President on Enhanced State Department Rewards Program | The White House Skip to main content | Skip to footer site map The White House. President Barack Obama Get Email UpdatesContact Us Go to homepage. The White House Blog Photos & Videos Photo Galleries Video Performances Live Streams Podcasts 2012: A Year in Photos

A unique view of 2012

Briefing Room Your Weekly Address Speeches & Remarks Press Briefings Statements & Releases White House Schedule Presidential Actions Executive Orders Presidential Memoranda Proclamations Legislation Pending Legislation Signed Legislation Vetoed Legislation Nominations & Appointments Disclosures Visitor Access Records Financial Disclosures 2012 Annual Report to Congress 2011 Annual Report to Congress 2010 Annual Report to Congress on White House Staff A Commitment to Transparency

Browse White House visitor logs

Issues Civil Rights It Gets Better Defense End of Iraq War Disabilities Economy Jobs Reform and Fiscal Responsibility Strengthening the Middle Class A Plan for Refinancing Support for Business Education Energy & Environment Ethics Foreign Policy Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Taxes Tax Receipt The Buffett Rule Rural Urban Policy Veterans Joining Forces Technology Seniors & Social Security Service Snapshots Creating Jobs Health Care Small Business PreK-12 Education Women Violence Prevention Americans Spoke Out

To prevent a $2K tax hike on middle-class families

7 Things You Need to Know

About the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012

The Administration We the People

Create and Sign Petitions Now

President Barack Obama Vice President Joe Biden First Lady Michelle Obama Dr. Jill Biden The Cabinet 2010 Video Reports White House Staff Chief of Staff Jack Lew Deputy Chief of Staff Nancy-Ann DeParle Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco Counselor to the President Peter Rouse Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett Executive Office of the President Other Advisory Boards About the White House White House On the Go

Download our mobile apps

2012: A Year in Photos

A unique view of 2012

Our Government The Executive Branch The Legislative Branch The Judicial Branch The Constitution Federal Agencies & Commissions Elections & Voting State & Local Government Resources /* Maximize height of menu features. */if(typeof(jQuery)!='undefined')jQuery.each($('#topnav'),function(i,v){var o=$(v),oh=o.height(),sh=o.siblings().height();if(oh Home • Briefing Room • Statements & Releases   The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release January 15, 2013 Statement by the President on Enhanced State Department Rewards Program

Today I signed into law S. 2318, the Department of State Rewards Program Update and Technical Corrections Act of 2012. This legislation will enhance the ability of the U.S. Government to offer monetary rewards for information that leads to the arrest or conviction of foreign nationals accused by international criminal tribunals of atrocity-related crimes, and of individuals involved in transnational organized crime.

This powerful new tool can be used to help bring to justice perpetrators of the worst crimes known to human kind.  This includes individuals such as Joseph Kony and other leaders of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), as well as certain commanders of M23 and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).  All of these individuals face charges before international criminal tribunals for horrific acts, including attacks on civilians, murder, the recruitment and use of child soldiers, and rape. We have made unmistakably clear that the United States is committed to seeing war criminals and other perpetrators of atrocities held accountable for their crimes, and today’s legislation can help us achieve that goal.

The legislation also authorizes the U.S  Government to offer rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of individuals involved in transnational organized crime, such as money laundering and trafficking in persons, arms, and illicit goods.  This important new tool will support my Administration’s Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime, bolster our fight against the scourge of modern slavery, and protect our national security.

Blog posts on this issue January 17, 2013 1:45 PM ESTWatch: Four Kids Who Want President Obama to Do Something About Gun Violence

Watch Hinna, Taejah, Julia and Grant read the letters they wrote to President Obama, asking him to do something about gun violence.

January 17, 2013 1:24 PM ESTRegional Round Up: Now is the Time

Editorial pages across the country today are lauding the President’s broad approach to address curbing gun violence in our nation

January 17, 2013 11:39 AM ESTCountdown to Affordable Health Insurance

Learn more about the new Health Insurance Marketplace, which will kick in come October and mark the beginning of new health insurance and tax credits for millions of Americans.

view all related blog posts ul.related-content li.views-row img {float: left; padding: 5px 10px 0 0;}ul.related-content li.view-all {padding-bottom: 3em;} Stay ConnectedFacebookTwitterFlickrGoogle+YouTubeVimeoiTunesLinkedIn   Home The White House Blog Photos & Videos Photo Galleries Video Performances Live Streams Podcasts Briefing Room Your Weekly Address Speeches & Remarks Press Briefings Statements & Releases White House Schedule Presidential Actions Legislation Nominations & Appointments Disclosures Issues Civil Rights Defense Disabilities Economy Education Energy & Environment Ethics Foreign Policy Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Taxes Rural Urban Policy Veterans Technology Seniors & Social Security Service Snapshots Women Violence Prevention The Administration President Barack Obama Vice President Joe Biden First Lady Michelle Obama Dr. Jill Biden The Cabinet White House Staff Executive Office of the President Other Advisory Boards About the White House Inside the White House Presidents First Ladies The Oval Office The Vice President's Residence & Office Eisenhower Executive Office Building Camp David Air Force One White House Fellows White House Internships Tours & Events Mobile Apps Our Government The Executive Branch The Legislative Branch The Judicial Branch The Constitution Federal Agencies & Commissions Elections & Voting State & Local Government Resources En español Accessibility Copyright Information Privacy Policy Contact USA.gov Developers Apply for a Job

View the original article here

Will Obamacare Go the Way of Prohibition?

akg-images/Newscom

Steve Benen on MSNBC’s “The Maddow Blog” dismisses congressional efforts to repeal all or parts of Obamacare and admonishes conservatives to get with the program. Why? He says Obamacare “is here to stay.”

What makes Obamacare untouchable? Congress considers countless pieces of legislation “to amend” this legislation or that statute. Already, Congress has just repealed Obamacare’s massive long-term care entitlement.

Consider a public policy that was so “settled” it became part of the Constitution.

Ninety-four years ago today, the 18th Amendment was added to the Constitution. It prohibited “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes.”

The 18th Amendment was enacted with far more support than Obamacare. Congress conducted no committee hearings on the proposed amendment and spent a mere six hours in debate before approving it. Three-fourths of the states ratified it a mere month later—lightning speed for an amendment to the Constitution. The then-relatively new Progressive movement was all for the change, as Progressives wanted government to solve social problems caused by wayward individuals—in this case, alcoholism.

The 18th amendment proved unworkable. Even after approving it, states were reluctant to enforce it. Plus, the policy led to unforeseen problems, including the rise of organized crime (it took over the alcohol industry) and a decline in tax revenues.

Finally, in 1933, the 21st Amendment was ratified to repeal the ill-conceived 18th Amendment, rendering prohibition an odd moment in American history.

What does this mean for Obamacare today?

Like Prohibition, Obamacare was no model of careful deliberation. Members of Congress voted for it without ever reading it. They were encouraged to pass the bill “so that you can find out what is in it,” then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously commented.

But Obamacare passed by just a few votes, a narrow partisan majority. It hasn’t been fully implemented and is already a “managerial nightmare,” according to Heritage’s Nina Owcharenko. “Administration officials have missed deadline after deadline, failing to provide crucial information,” Owcharenko writes, “because overhauling one-sixth of the economy is riddled with innumerable unintended consequences that are nearly impossible to avoid.”

And like Prohibition, Obamacare remains unpopular. It’s never enjoyed support from even half of the American people, and its positive rating is likely to go down as taxes and health care premiums go up. And next year, the feds are going to have to enforce an unpopular mandate.

In 1919, Progressives managed to enshrine one of their favorite social policies in the Constitution. It lasted for 14 years before being repealed. In 2010, liberals sidestepped the Constitution entirely and rammed a poorly written, unpopular law through Congress. That was three years ago.

Conservatives, we’ve got 11 years to beat Prohibition’s record.

View the original article here

The Dangers Of Putting More Armed Guards In Schools

The National Rifle Association outraged many when CEO Wayne LaPierre blamed the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre on violent video games, natural disasters, and corporate media. Deflecting calls for tighter gun regulations, LaPierre also attacked school security and demanded more armed guards in schools. Since LaPierre’s incendiary press conference, the NRA’s approval rating has plummeted.

Though the NRA’s image has suffered, the gun lobby’s proposal to put more armed guards in schools has become one of the most popular ideas in the gun violence debate. According to a new NYT/CBS poll, 74 percent of Americans believe more security guards would help prevent mass shootings in public places like schools, movie theaters or malls. President Obama’s comprehensive plan to prevent gun violence also called for hiring as many as 1,000 more “school resource officers,” or law enforcement officers with the power to arrest students.

About a third of all public schools already have armed security guards, and the demand for school policing has made it the fastest growing area of law enforcement. But studies have been unable to show that armed guards make schools any safer. Two of the most deadly shootings in US history, at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech, occurred on campuses with security guards.

While no discernible link between safer schools and armed guards has been established, there is one clear impact. Student arrests shot up when school resource officers became more prevalent in schools after the Columbine shooting. Even controlling for poverty level, schools with armed officers have nearly five times the rate of arrests for disorderly conduct. As states beef up their security after Sandy Hook, more students are at risk for being treated like criminals. One Pennsylvania county immediately hired armed guards who are reportedly searching childrens’ lunch boxes. Local governments in Utah, Florida, Tennessee and Texas also started hiring armed guards after the NRA speech.

A new influx of SROs into schools prompted by Sandy Hook will only worsen the nation’s already robust school-to-prison pipeline. Shortly after Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves announced a $7.5 million plan to hire law enforcement officers to patrol schools, several civil rights groups released a harrowing new report detailing Mississippi students’ abuse at the hands of these types of officers:

The report, which is to be released Thursday, found that in one Mississippi school district, 33 of every 1,000 children were arrested or referred to juvenile detention centers; that in another, such referrals included second and third graders; and that in yet another, only 4 percent of the law enforcement referrals were for felony-level behavior, the most often cited offense being “disorderly conduct.”[...] In addition to statistics, the report described episodes in which a child was taken home by the police for wearing shoes that violated the dress code, and a school where misbehaving students were handcuffed for infractions as minor as not wearing a belt.

Black students were far more likely to be punished by these officers, even in racially mixed schools. The Justice Department is currently pursuing a lawsuit against Mississippi over the abuse of these armed guards, and the state’s House of Representatives held a hearing on the report on Thursday morning. Still, Obama and state lawmakers are rushing to send in more armed guards who will likely make the problem even worse.

View the original article here

Partisanship perverts the NLRB

Partisanship perverts the NLRB - The Hill's Congress Blog @import "/plugins/content/jw_disqus/tmpl/css/template.css"; li.item435,li.item437,li.item439,li.item441,li.item443,li.item497,li.item499,li.item501,li.item503,li.item605,li.item689,li.item691,li.item693,li.item695,li.item697,li.item683,li.item685{display: none;} var _comscore = _comscore || []; _comscore.push({ c1: "2", c2: "10314615" }); (function() { var s = document.createElement("script"), el = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.async = true; s.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js"; el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el); })(); function getURLParameter(name) { return decodeURI( (RegExp(name + '=' + '(.+?)(&|$)').exec(location.search)||[,null])[1] );}(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=369058349794205"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); if (getURLParameter("set_fb_var") == '1') { jQuery.cookie('set_fb_var', 'true', { expires: 7, path: '/' }); return true; } if (!jQuery.cookie('set_fb_var') && d.referrer.match(/facebook.com/i)) { window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId : '340094652706297', status: true, xfbml: true, cookie: true, oauth: true }); }; }}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));if((navigator.userAgent.match(/iPhone/i)) || (navigator.userAgent.match(/iPod/i))) {document.write('');}if(navigator.userAgent.match(/iPad/i)) {document.write('');}if(navigator.userAgent.match(/Android/i)) {document.write('');} Follow @thehill!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");Advanced Search Options » Home/NewsSenateHouseAdministrationCampaignPollsBusiness & LobbyingSunday Talk ShowsCampaign 2012Business & LobbyingK Street InsidersLobbying ContractsLobbying HiresLobbying RevenueOpinionColumnistsEditorialsLettersOp-EdWeyants WorldCapital LivingCover StoriesFood & DrinkNew Member of the Week20 QuestionsMy 5 Min. W/ObamaAnnouncementsMeet the LawmakerJobsVideoGossip: In The Know Briefing RoomRegWatchHillicon ValleyE2-WireBallot BoxOn The MoneyHealthwatchTransportationDEFCON HillGlobal AffairsCongressFloor ActionGOP12In The KnowPunditsTwitter Room HomeSenateHouseAdministrationCampaignPollsBusiness & LobbyingSunday Talk ShowsBlogsBriefing RoomRegWatchHillicon ValleyE2-WireBallot BoxOn The MoneyHealthwatchTransportationDEFCON HillGlobal AffairsCongressFloor ActionGOP12In The KnowPunditsTwitter RoomOpinionA.B. StoddardBrent BudowskyLanny DavisDavid HillCheri JacobusMark MellmanDick MorrisMarkos Moulitsas (Kos)Robin BronkEditorialsLettersOp-EdsJuan WilliamsJudd GreggChristian HeinzeKaren FinneyJohn FeeheryCapital LivingCover StoriesFood & DrinkAnnouncementsNew Member of the WeekMy 5 Min. W/ObamaAll Capital LivingVideoHillTubeEventsVideoClassifiedsJobsClassifiedsResourcesMobile SiteiPhoneAndroidiPadLawmaker RatingsWhite PapersOrder ReprintsLast 6 IssuesOutside LinksRSS FeedsContact UsAdvertiseReach UsSubmitting LettersSubmitting Op-edsSubscriptions   Partisanship perverts the NLRBBy Trey Kovacs, Competitive Enterprise Institute-01/17/13 12:15 PM ET Tweet !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");

When former SEIU Associate General Counsel Craig Becker left his post at the National Labor Relations Board in December 2011, he quickly segued into a cushy job as the AFL-CIO’s co-general counsel. Likewise, a year later, former management lawyer Brian Hayes exited the board after his two-year term and immediately landed a plum position representing management with one of the nation’s prominent labor law firms.
 
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. In 1935, Congress established the NLRB as a body made up solely of “three impartial Government members” to represent the public interest in labor disputes. An impartial NLRB was seen as crucial because of the contentious nature of labor relations in the United States.

But 78 years later, NLRB members on both sides of the labor-management debate use the post as a stepping-stone to bigger things. The damage, of course, is decisions made while on the board could well be altered by members’ desire to increase their marketability after their service.
 
The problem goes back to at least 1953, when President Eisenhower nominated management lawyer Guy Farmer and corporate industrial relations expert Albert Beeson to the board – the first NLRB members to come exclusively from the management side and adjudicate in their favor. 
 
During a hearing before a Senate committee debating the Beeson nomination, James Carey, an official with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, said it would be impossible for him, a union leader for more than 20 years, to act impartially – and the same would go for a company lawyer. George Meany, president of the American Federation of Labor, said he worried this would give board members a “predisposition to the employer viewpoint.”
 
Today, the tables are turned, and it is Republicans who are complaining, and with good reason: All of the Obama administration appointees to the board came either from unions or union management (except for Sharon Block, who nevertheless sides with unions on every vote).
 
As a result, unsurprisingly, unions have benefited from a variety of Obama NLRB decisions. The board overturned longstanding legal precedent last month when it ruled a television station must continue to deduct union dues from the paychecks of workers who authorized such deductions even though the collective bargaining agreement those dues supported has expired. Hayes noted the union bias in the majority decision in his dissent:
 
"The bargaining process is better protected by preserving the settled rules with respect to both management rights and dues checkoff. It hardly advances collective bargaining to require that some portions of negotiated agreements — i.e., those favorable to the union — survive contract expiration, while others — those favorable to the employer — do not."
 
In January 2012, President Obama justified tossing aside the rule of law when he used recess appointments to fill vacancies on the board by saying, “the American people deserve to have qualified public servants fighting for them every day - whether it is to enforce new consumer protections or uphold the rights of working Americans.”
 
One of those “qualified public servants” was former union lawyer Richard Griffin. Maybe if President Obama wasn’t in such a rush to put Griffin on the board he would have discovered Griffin was named as a defendant in a federal racketeering case filed in October by several local union members, which accuses him of covering up the embezzlement of local union funds.
 
For decades, the NLRB has been transformed into the epitome of all that is wrong with Washington D.C.: A wasteful highly partisan agency that does more harm than good.
 
Why should the public pay $283 million in tax dollars for an agency harboring alleged criminals that inflames labor strife and confers benefit to a narrow, private interest?
 
We shouldn’t, the NLRB and its members are an arbitrary interference to expedient due process and the rule of law. Simply abolish the board then allow the 40 NLRB administrative law judges to continue hearing administrative cases and have the appropriate district court take appeals. These judges have some semblance of impartiality, serve long terms and are not as likely to seek future private-sector employment. Removing the redundant, partisan NLRB members will bring back some certainty to labor-management relations.
 
Kovacs is a labor policy analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Insttitute.

Tweet !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=369058349794205"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); View Comments Source:
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/labor/277767-partisanship-perverts-the-nlrbThe contents of this site are © 2013 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc. The Hill Archives: Senate | House | Administration | Campaign | Business & Lobbying | Capital Living | OpinionView News by Subject:
Defense & Homeland Security | Energy & Environment | Healthcare | Finance & Economy | Technology | Foreign Policy | Labor | Transportation & InfrastructureGO TO THE HILL HOME » More Videos »

Congress Blog
Most Popular StoriesMost ViewedDon't wait for President Obama to act on immigration reformPreserving the Medicare Hospice BenefitA modest proposal: Bill fine-tunes nation's anti-trafficking toolsPresident's overreach on guns must be stoppedCongress must step in to resolve Puerto Rico's future statusEmailedPreserving the Medicare Hospice BenefitMeasuring support for Puerto Rico statehoodNLRB nominee should be judged on meritsForeign aid: A Beltway outsider perspectiveCongress must step in to resolve Puerto Rico's future statusDiscussedChristian Armenia and Islamic Iran: An unusual partnership explainedTime to settle Puerto Rico's statusForeign aid: A Beltway outsider perspectiveBlog Home »Most Viewed RSS Feed »  More Labor HeadlinesNLRB nominee should be judged on meritsOn the political football issue of immigration, the Republican Party must not squander their first and goal opportunityAnti-union Right’s alternate reality on NLRB election ruleMore Labor Headlines » Labor News RSS feed »  Congress Blog Topics Campaign » Cardoza's Corner » Civil Rights » Economy & Budget » Education » Energy & Environment » Foreign Policy » Healthcare » Homeland Security » Judicial » Labor » Lawmaker News » Politics » Presidential Campaign » Religious Rights » Technology » The Administration »Briefing RoomPoll: Hillary Clinton retires with 69 percent job approvalOn first lady's birthday, new poll shows strong supportIn op-ed, Obama urges lawmakers to ‘act soon’ against gun violence
More Briefing Room »Congress BlogThe Second Amendment is a fundamental rightDon't wait for President Obama to act on immigration reformPresident's overreach on guns must be stopped
More Congress Blog »Pundits BlogThe NRA is mentally unbalanced — no, just plain crazySoothing the liberal conscienceMemo to the NRA
More Pundits Blog »Twitter RoomTwitter has 100 percent participation by new SenateObama gathering online support for gun violence planFirst lady's office launches new Twitter account @FLOTUS
More Twitter Room »Hillicon ValleyAmb. Kramer: US eliminated '80 to 90 percent' of objectionable proposals for UN treatyHouse to investigate wasteful technology spendingDem lawmaker introduces bill to ban sales of violent video games to minors
More Hillicon Valley »E2-Wire (Energy)DOE names new Bonneville Power Administration chiefGOP governors, Canadian leader press Obama to approve Keystone pipelineGroups battle on Keystone XL pipeline
More E2-Wire (Energy) »Ballot BoxNRA fundraising email says Obama wants to 'reduce your freedom to ashes'NRCC chairman refuses to back Mark Sanford for HouseObama campaign urging supporters to back gun control push
More Ballot Box »On The MoneyRyan: House GOP discussing short-term hike to debt ceilingAudit: More work needed to keep refunds from prisonersHousing construction hits nearly five-year high in December
More On The Money »HealthwatchHELP panel to hold hearing on mental health Hospitals push White House to back change in healthcare lawHHS announces $1.5B for state exchanges
More Healthwatch »Floor ActionNY, Idaho lawmakers urge USDA to reclassify Greek yogurt as a proteinRep. Brady says Obama gave 'free pass' to Hollywood on gun violenceCoburn says he won’t filibuster gun bills, wants an open debate
More Floor Action »TransportationSpirit Airlines invokes Manti T’eo girlfriend controversyMediator: Dockworkers, East Coast ports making ‘progress’ in labor negotiationsDC Metro Silver Line extension 87 percent complete
More Transportation »DEFCON HillInhofe, Panetta trade shots over gridlock on sequestration cutsReport: US drones deployed to Algeria to monitor hostage crisis Panetta backs weapons ban, says only military needs 'armor-piercing bullets'
More DEFCON Hill »Global AffairsAlgerian hostage drama ends with air strike, unknown casualtiesObama administration warns of Mali violence spillover across western AfricaPuerto Rican Alliance VP José L. Arbona: Congress must step in to resolve Puerto Rico's future status
More Global Affairs »In The KnowRove signs multi-year deal to stay with FoxShe bangs — new hairdo for Michelle Obama?Manti Te'o saga reached House floor
More In The Know »RegWatchMine safety rule prompted by deadly explosion faces industry blowbackTreasury battles another Mexican drug cartelPeter King calls Obama’s executive directives on gun violence 'hype'
More RegWatch » Blogs News FeedCongress Blog RollCapital GamesDaily KosDCCCDNCDrudge ReportDSCCJudicial WatchNRCCNRSCPolitical AnimalRNCThe ChamberPostThe CornerThe Huffington PostThe NoteThe Plank COLUMNISTSLanny DavisVietnam lessons, legaciesA.B. StoddardMcConnell free to dealMore Columnists »

Get latest news from The Hill direct to your inbox, RSS reader and mobile devices.

Home/NewsNews by SubjectBlogsBusiness & LobbyingOpinionCapital LivingSpecial ReportsJobsVideo Home | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Contact | Advertise | RSS | Subscriptions

The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax

The contents of this site are © 2013 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

View the original article here