#674 (10/18) "Senate Deal Fixes Nothing"

URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS:

 "Syrian Christians Brace for Strike, Ask for Prayer," - by Gary Lane, August 31, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/Syrian-Christians-Brace-for-Strike-Ask-for-Prayer/"As Syrians brace themselves for a possible U.S. military attack, many of the county's Christians are praying for divine intervention. They say military action against the Assad regime will only bring them greater hardship and suffering and they're asking Christians worldwide to pray that God intervenes to bring peace to their nation. They believe the collective prayers of Christians around the world could reverse an escalating conflict..."

Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]  

 Update on Kenneth Bae: "US Ready to Bargain with N. Korea for Bae's Release,"-  CBNNews.com,  Aug 14, 2013  http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/S-Ready-to-Bargain-with-N-Korea-for-Baes-Release/  - The United States is willing to engage North Korea to secure the release of imprisoned American Christian Kenneth Bae. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the United States is "willing to consider a number of different options" to bring him home.In a video recently released by a North Korean newspaper, Bae requested the United States send a high-ranking official to North Korea to seek his pardon. It is unclear if he spoke of his own volition in the video. Bae, 45, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for sharing his faith. He suffers health problems such as diabetes and is currently hospitalized.[PRAY for 1) God's healing of and presence with Pastor Bae, 2) His earliest release by the North Korean government, and 3) God's comfort for his family and friends.] 

Oct. 14 -"Kenneth Bae, Mom Meet; Release Not Guaranteed, "- CBNNews.com, 
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/October/Mother-Visits-Missionary-Jailed-in-North-Korea

Vigils Mark One Year Imprisonment of Pastor Saeed - CBNNews.com, Thursday, September 26, 2013 - Today marks one-year that American pastor Saeed Abedini has been held in an Iranian prison. He is serving an eight-year sentence because of his Christian faith. It has been a year of torment as he has suffered beatings, physical pain from untreated medical conditions, and separation from his wife and two children... The suffering has not dampened his passion for Jesus. Pastor Abedini has led more than 30 prisoners to Christ during his time in prison. This afternoon, thousands of Americans from coast to coast will pray for his release. Events will be held in 40 states at capitols, city halls, parks and churches. Thousands more will join from 15 nations around the world

PRAY: - For comfort and peace for Saeed’s wife and children here in the U.S.

- For a strong witness and testimony from Pastor Abedini in the prison where God has placed him

- For Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ

- BOLDly (Beside Our Leaders Daily) for leadership from the White House and State Department in defending the freedoms of Abedini and other Americans

- GO TO SaveSaeed.org to sign a petition over 600,000 others asking for his immediate release.

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"Senate Deal Fixes Nothing,"-by Romina Boccia, October 16, 2013 http://blog.heritage.org/2013/10/16/senate-deal-fixes-nothing/print/

The Senate announced a deal today to protect the status quo in Washington. As pundits debate the political winners or losers of this deal, one thing is awfully clear: The American people are once again on the losing end.

The Wall Street Journal [2] reports: "Senate leaders on Wednesday struck an 11th-hour agreement to avoid a U.S. debt crisis and fully reopen the federal government, putting lawmakers on track toward ending a stalemate that worried investors world-wide and provided striking evidence of congressional dysfunction."

To truly avoid a spending and debt crisis, today and in the future, Congress should cut spending and enact entitlement reforms that put the budget on a path to balance. But, far from avoiding a U.S. debt crisis [3], the deal fails on two main fronts.

First, it locks in Obamacare’s implementation with no relief in sight for those Americans who are seeing their premiums increase [4], their working hours cut, and their job opportunities diminished [5].

Second, the deal does not address the existing massive entitlement programs—Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—which, together with Obamacare, remain on track to consume half of the U.S. budget by the end of the decade.

According to the Congressional Budget Office [6] (CBO), the debt subject to the limit would grow by $7 trillion over the decade on the current trajectory—from nearly $17 trillion today to more than $24 trillion by 2023. During this time period, Obamacare adds $1.8 trillion in spending [7].

Debt Ceiling Suspension. Based on news reports, the deal would raise the debt ceiling without any offsetting spending cuts through a suspension to February 7, 2014. This means that the deal fails to place any fiscal restraint on lawmakers [8], allowing them unrestricted borrowing authority until a set date.

Higher Spending on the Horizon. The deal also leaves the door open for further attempts at undoing the non-defense discretionary spending cuts [9], a priority for President Obama and his allies. The deal would fund federal agencies through a continuing resolution until January 15, setting up another battle on sequestration.

Defense Cuts. Uncertainty also persists for the Pentagon over the continuing application of sequestration. While the deal did not reprogram the sequestration cuts, it is said to provide additional flexibility. What that means for defense is still unknown. If the flexibility extends to permitting the Administration to exchange non-defense reductions for further reductions in defense, the military would be at risk of suffering even greater cuts to the enrichment of domestic programs.

Extraordinary Measures. Also, because the Treasury would be able to access its toolbox of extraordinary measures again to borrow under the debt limit after February 7, the actual borrowing deadline will come even later. Treasury’s toolbox [10] contained $260 billion in additional borrowing authority after Washington hit the debt suspension date of May 19, 2013.

Obamacare Verification. The deal will reportedly include language requiring the Obama Administration to verify the income of subsidy applicants on Obamacare exchanges. This requirement was included in the Obamacare statute. This summer, the Administration announced it would put applicants on the “honor system [11]” for 2014—one of several delays announced [12] for the law. More recently, the Administration announced it would in fact engage in income verification of all applicants next year. Thus the CBO, when scoring similar provisions [13] in September, concluded that enacting a verification regime would not affect direct spending or revenues. A program is currently being put in place to verify income and coverage qualifications for the tax credits and subsidies, and that program appears…to be in accordance with section 1411 [of Obamacare]. Accordingly, we expect that the Secretary would certify before the beginning of 2014, when premium tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies would first be paid, that the requirements…are satisfied.

While helpful in reaffirming anti-fraud protections and encouraging the Administration to follow the law as originally written, the provision will not rein in the trillions in projected spending [14] on Obamacare’s new entitlements over the next 10 years.

While lawmakers cheer about finding a another 11th-hour deal that continues the damaging status quo in Washington, the U.S. government proceeds steadily on a course [15] of weaker economic growth and fewer opportunities for Americans today and in the future. And the Groundhog Day cycle continues. [16]

The following Heritage experts contributed to this blog: Baker Spring (defense) and Chris Jacobs (Obamacare).

[bold and italics emphasis mine]
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Article printed from The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation: http://blog.heritage.org;;URL to article: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/10/16/senate-deal-fixes-nothing/

URLs in this post:
[1] Image: http://blog.heritage.org/wp-content/uploads/3-DEM-012512-25.jpg
[2] Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303680404579139212598765046
[3] far from avoiding a U.S. debt crisis: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/09/debt-limit-options-and-the-way-forward
[4] premiums increase: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/10/enrollment-in-obamacare-exchanges-how-will-your-health-insurance-fare
[5] working hours cut, and their job opportunities diminished: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/03/08/obamacare-continues-to-restrict-hiring/
[6] the Congressional Budget Office: http://www.cbo.gov/publication/44195
[7] $1.8 trillion in spending: http://www.heritage.org/multimedia/infographic/2013/08/federalspendingbynumbers2013/page-8-chart-1
[8] fails to place any fiscal restraint on lawmakers: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/10/suspending-the-debt-a-license-for-more-wasteful-spending-sources
[9] undoing the non-defense discretionary spending cuts: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/08/30/while-debt-crisis-looms-washington-still-focused-on-undoing-sequestration/
[10] Treasury’s toolbox: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/06/06/treasury-employs-extraordinary-measures-to-spend-beyond-debt-limit/
[11] honor system: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/05/us-usa-healthcare-exchanges-idUSBRE96402X20130705
[12] several delays announced: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/07/08/morning-bell-obamacares-dirty-dozen-implementation-failures/
[13] scoring similar provisions: http://cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/hr2775.pdf
[14] trillions in projected spending: http://cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/44190_EffectsAffordableCareActHealthInsuranceCoverage_2.pdf
[15] proceeds steadily on a course: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/02/how-the-united-states-high-debt-will-weaken-the-economy-and-hurt-americans
[16] the Groundhog Day cycle continues.: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/25/boccia-breaking-the-groundhog-day-debt-ceiling-cyc/?page=all

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