Archive for the ‘Patrick Murphy’ Category

The number of waivers the Obama administration has awarded for a provision of the year-old healthcare reform law grew by 128 in March.

With the new waivers, that means 1,168 businesses, insurers, unions and other organizations have received one-year exemptions from a healthcare reform provision requiring at least $750,000 in annual benefits.

The administration says the temporary waivers are granted to help stabilize the insurance market until a fuller package of reforms takes effect in 2014, but the growing number of waivers have exposed the White House to heavy criticism from Republican opponents of the law.

“The fact that over 1,000 waivers have been granted is a tacit admission that the healthcare law is fundamentally flawed,” said Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) last month. Upton is one of three House committee chairmen who has used new oversight powers to investigate the annual limit waivers.
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An Open Letter To Patrick Murphy And The Voters Of Bucks County
By MARK AFFLECK, For The Philadelphia Bulletin

Monday, July 12, 2010
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According to the latest Rasmussen poll, 56 percent of likely voters rate Congressional performance as poor and only 12 percent of likely voters give Congress a rating of good or above. Interestingly enough, past election results seem to indicate that the vast majority of incumbents will be reelected regardless. Why would this be? Most voters acknowledge a disconnect between the Congress and the voter but assume that their local Representative is not part of the problem.

Shall we take a look at some of Hon. Patrick Murphy’s votes and assess whether or not he is immune to this voter disconnect? Here is what your elected official voted for: Read the rest of this entry »

The contrast is stunning! Across the Delaware River in Trenton, the fresh face and straight talk of Governor Chris Christie leaves no doubt in the minds of New Jersey citizens about where he stands on any issue of substance. As a result, he is on the verge of closing a budget gap of $11 BILLION (yes with a B).

Meanwhile, on our side of the Delaware, freshman-faced congressman Cong. Patrick Murphy, D-PA08 continues to ignore important issues on a daily basis. His non-verbal response to the Gulf oil disaster, followed by an ill-conceived, job-killing, drilling moratorium? — a “Job Fair” at a local mall.

Well, silence means consent: Therefore Murphy must support the drilling moratorium by the Obama administration.

In 2009, over 42,000 metric tons of petroleum crude came into Delaware River ports.

It is far and away the largest commodity brought into our region.

That crude is refined here to heat our homes, fuel our transportation among a myriad other uses.

That commodity supports thousands of jobs here in our region.

Decisions on energy production by Interior Secretary Ken Salaszar, while making salacious soundbites for the Sierra Club, will not help in the dead of winter when shortages drive the cost of heating oil through the roof for thousands of Bucks County families.

Yet, Patrick Murphy has NO COMMENT on President Obama’s decision to place a moratorium on drilling. No one likes what is happening in the gulf, but quality of life depends on a job as much as a clean environment.

Murphy thinks silence is a safe harbor from answering hard questions about these balancing acts. So far he has been right: To twist one his favorite issue – If he “Don’t Tell”, the Bucks County media “Don’t Ask”!!

Silence means consent, so why isn’t the Bucks County media helping their readers understand whether and how much consideration Murphy has given to supporting this decision.

Politically, Murphy may believe silence is golden, but that’s what a free press is supposed to override!