They came with strollers and strong opinions…moms converged on Capitol Hill demanding universal coverage for kids.

Pamela Shaw, Senior Policy Consultant of the Children’s Defense Fund said, “Without significant changes children will be worse off rather than better off. We say that children must be better off after health reform.”

Today opponents of health care reform stage their own rally.

Representative Steve King of Iowa said, “There are buses that are coming in from state after state after state.”

GOP critics are encouraging them to storm lawmakers’ offices and demand “no” votes on overhaul plans.

Representative Michael McCaul of Texas said, “You have the power to defeat this government takeover of the health care system and to take over one-sixth of our economy.”

To Democrats, it’s obstruction of change they promised.

Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio said, “My Republican colleagues have become the party of no.”

The stakes are monumental for President Obama.

He said, when it comes to healthcare, families can’t afford “no change”.

President Barack Obama said, “We had an obligation to create a better healthcare system that works for our people, our businesses and our government alike.”

The President leans on lawmakers in person Friday, to try to close the deal for Democrats.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – Response in North Carolina to President Obama’s speech Wednesday night to a joint session of Congress didn’t appear to eliminate the sharp divisions on the most vocal sides of the health care issue.

While Democrats who watched the president speak on television or in person praised Obama for laying out principles for his health insurance changes, many of the more than 1,000 people at a conservative rally said Obama still lacks credibility.

Obama spoke in favor of but didn’t insist upon a government program to sell insurance in competition with private industry. But people at the Americans for Prosperity event remain convinced the president and Democratic leaders in Congress want to phase out private insurance by pushing employers to put them on the public plan.

“He is still speaking without details,” Ralph Dean, 54, of Raleigh, a hardware store salesman, said at the Americans for Prosperity event at the State Fairgrounds. “There are sensible solutions to the problem and most of them don’t involve government.”

Many of the rally participants held signs saying “Hands Off My Health Care,” sometimes booing when Obama made a comment of which they disagreed.

Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips said the American public can’t believe Obama when he said he wouldn’t sign a plan into law that would raise the deficit now or in the future because other government programs have put the country more in debt.

“He’s lying. I think he’s lying,” said Tim Genest, 47, of Garner, who works for a phone company. “How do we trust him?”

Democrats and Obama supporters who heard his speech, many of them meeting at scores of homes and restaurants in smaller “watch parties” across the state, said his comments on the moral imperative to reduce the rolls of the uninsured were effective.

“This is a defining moment in the character of our nation,” said Charles Coble, 67, of Chapel Hill, who held a watch party that attracted nearly 20 visitors to his home. Coble said he was glad to hear Obama speak squarely against some accusations made by opponents this summer, calling one a “lie, plain and simple.”

“This thing has become so politicized,” Coble said. “It was important that (he) calls it like he sees it.”

State Democratic Party Chairman David Young said Obama made a compelling case about the need to pass health insurance reform this year, adding that Republicans in North Carolina have opposed reform to hurt the president politically.

“Opponents of reform have a choice,” Young said in a statement. “They can either stop playing partisan games and come up with their own reform proposal, or they can start explaining to the American people why it’s better to stand by and do nothing at all as thousands more North Carolinians face skyrocketing costs and lose their coverage every day.”

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., who has introduced his own health care bill that would provide tax credits to help consumers pay for their own insurance, said he agreed with the president that the Congress needed to do something to improve health care but warned against rushing through legislation.

“I am hopeful that my colleagues will realize the need to pass responsible health care reform on a bipartisan basis, not just push legislation through without proper debate and consideration of the
consequences for all Americans.” Bill Pully, executive director of the North Carolina Hospital Association, sat in the House gallery Wednesday night, just as he did 16 years ago this month when President Clinton gave a similar speech. In 1993, he was a guest of then-U.S. Rep. Tim Valentine.

This time, it was Rep. Bob Etheridge.

While there remains division on the health care issue, Pully said he felt an energy in the House chamber that he couldn’t remember back in the Clinton administration to fix health care.

“The country is eager for something,” Pully said.

RALEIGH, N.C. –  In the halls of the General Assembly, the phrase “tax reform” is like a mantra.For years, state legislators have been repeating those words, pursuing a goal that nearly everyone agrees on in principal: an overhaul of North Carolina’s outdated tax system.

The system was created in the Great Depression, when factories and farming were the main engines of the state’s economy. Now, with the economy based more heavily on services, the state tax system tends to cause sharp year-to-year fluctuations in state revenues. In times of economic downturn, that pattern amplifies the state’s budget problems.

Numerous committees and experts, both within and outside the legislature, have studied the issue, and there is broad agreement on the solution. The tax base should be expanded, tax rates should be lowered, and loopholes and deductions should be minimized.

But last week, legislators adjourned for the year, ending yet another legislative session in which tax reform got lots of buzz but ultimately was tabled.

“What we designed in a horse-and-buggy day is self-defeating, and not serving our purpose,” said Richard Vinroot, a former mayor of Charlotte and former candidate for governor.

“We need to have a revenue stream that’s consistent with where we are in our economy.”

Vinroot, a Republican, is on the board of the Institute for Emerging Issues, a group led by former Gov. Jim Hunt, a Democrat. The institute promotes better public policy, and it has urged state legislators to enact tax reform.

But no tax reform plan has ever come up for a vote in the General Assembly. This year, Democratic leaders in the N.C. Senate released a long list of proposed tax changes and tried to get those changes incorporated into the state budget.

The changes, however, were never put into a formal bill, and Democrats in the N.C. House balked at the Senate’s proposal. House Democrats said that tax reform should not be rushed into law in the midst of a budgetary crisis.

Legislators do plan to continue holding meetings this fall to try to come to agreement on a plan.
“They will travel the state, hopefully, in different locations, to allow the public an opportunity to speak and weigh in with their thoughts,” said Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare. “And if the House and the Senate agree to recommendations, we will be called back in for a special session on taxation. Hopefully that occurs.”

House leaders are considerably cooler to the idea of a special legislative session to address tax reform.

House Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange, said he would support a reform plan if it is revenue-neutral and has bipartisan support. Neither of those things was true of the changes that Senate Democrats were pushing this year. Those changes would have raised a significant amount of new revenue in the first year.

“That was a tax increase masquerading as tax reform,” said the Senate’s Republican leader, Sen.
Phil Berger, R-Rockingham.

What Democratic budget writers ultimately settled on in the 2009-10 budget was a different set of tax increases: a $1 billion package of tax increases that the Democrats said was necessary to help close a budget shortfall. Most notably, they raised the sales tax to 7.75 percent from 6.75 percent.

Raising the sales tax is a strategy that legislators have used before to solve short-term budget shortfalls.

The problem, experts say, is that raising the sales tax undercuts the reform that everyone agrees is needed. In the long run, raising the sales tax exacerbates the problem because it increases the state’s reliance on a narrow revenue stream that responds harshly to the ups and downs of the economy.

The reason is simple. During recessions, people stop buying things, and the state collects less sales tax.

Proponents of large-scale tax reform say the state should lower the sales tax rate but also broaden it so that it applies to many more goods and services. Many states charge sales tax on a variety of services, but North Carolina’s sales tax is generally limited to tangible goods.

During economic downturns, people might not buy a new car, but they’re still likely to take their old car to the mechanic. If North Carolina charged a sales tax on those visits to the mechanic, the state’s revenues would likely not be hit as hard by a recession.

Proposals vary on which specific services should be taxed. They include a wide range of service providers, from exterminators to hair dressers to lawyers.

The same reasoning applies to corporate and personal income taxes. A tax reform plan might lower income tax rates while simultaneously expanding the base by eliminating deductions.

Any plan is sure to be controversial, because some interest groups are likely to be hurt and others would likely be helped.

Vinroot said it would take “backbone and courage” to pass a sweeping plan — which explains why no plan has ever come close to passing despite years of studying the issue.

“I think legislators and political people — of which I’ve been one — don’t like to deal with hot issues,” Vinroot said. “We’d rather deal with God, mom and apple pie.”

RALEIGH, N.C. – Gov. Bev Perdue today announced the location of the Regional Health Reform discussion she will lead on March 31.  The discussion will be held at the Alumni Foundation Event Center on the campus of North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro.

“It’s important that North Carolinians will have a voice in shaping the nation’s health care reform,” said Gov. Perdue.  “Our best and brightest have the opportunity to speak up and be a part of a process that will help bring health care that is high-quality, affordable and accessible to all.”

A website containing details on the Regional Health Reform discussion has been set up.  Citizens can go to www.healthforum.nc.gov to learn more about the event.  New information will be posted as it becomes available.

Dr. Daniel Gitterman, recently named senior advisor on health and human services on a part-time basis, will help coordinate planning for the Regional Health Reform discussion.

Individuals and groups who wish to participate can go to the website, fill out a form and email it to Dr. Gitterman and members of the event planning committee at healthforum@nc.gov or call 1-888-818-8058.

The North Carolina discussion on health reform is one of five regional discussions across the country the Obama administration is conducting.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama approved an order Wednesday to overhaul the way the U.S. government awards contracts for work to be done by the private sector, reversing a Bush administration policy.

Obama joined Republican Sen. John McCain, his presidential campaign rival, and other congressional figures to announce an executive memorandum that commits his administration to a new set of marching orders for awarding contracts. Obama said “the days of giving government contractors a blank check are over” and said changes could save up to $40 billion a year.

One area in particular that is targeted is no-bid contracts, which the administration is seeking to change so that there will be more competition for government-paid work.

“Even if these were the best of times, budget reform would be overdue in Washington,” Obama said.

Obama’s presidential memo changes government contracting procedures. It directs Peter Orszag, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, to work with Cabinet and agency officials to draft new contracting rules by the end of September. Those new rules, White House aides say, will make it more difficult for contractors to bilk taxpayers and make some half-trillion dollars in federal contracts each year more accessible to independent contractors.

Obama said the package of reforms could save up to $40 billion each year.

“We will stop outsourcing services that should be performed by the government and open up the contracting process to small businesses,” he said. “We will end unnecessary no-bid and cost-plus contracts that run up a bill that is paid by the American people. And we will strengthen oversight to maximize transparency and accountability.”

From the Winston-Salem Journal
The 2009 General Assembly convenes today in Raleigh amid what may be North Carolina’s biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. If ever North Carolinians needed wisdom and good judgment from their legislators, this is the time.

Various estimates put the current year budget shortfall in the range of $1.2 billion to $3 billion. But this budget is no longer the responsibility of legislators. It is up to Gov. Bev Perdue, the manager of the budget, to make sure that spending and income balance by June 30, the end of the budget year.

The challenge for legislators is to craft a 2009-11 budget, which will take effect July 1, that is balanced despite the economic downturn. North Carolinians must demand that the top priorities of public education, essential medical care for our most vulnerable citizens and public safety are protected.

But the budget is not the only challenge facing legislators. The year opens with a wide-ranging legislative agenda.

The health-insurance plan for state employees and teachers is in serious trouble, possibly hundreds of millions of dollars in the red. Legislators can patch that hole with reserve funds, but they must redesign the system to fix the underlying problems at hand or else the problem will recur.

Similarly, the state’s mental-health system is so severely deficient that the federal government has refused to pay for some patients at state hospitals. While the fix is primarily a job for Perdue’s administration, legislators must assure that necessary changes to law are made.

The same holds true for the state’s troubled probation and parole system. It needs revamping in aspects ranging from technology upgrades to management practices. The legislature cannot allow such poor management of this system because public safety is very much at risk.

Many North Carolinians complain that the state’s city-annexation laws need changes. They are right to a degree. The state’s municipalities have offered a reasonable and practical series of reforms that will deal with some citizen concerns without abandoning the state’s very successful approach to urban sprawl.

Although a reform plan for insuring beach property may not sound of importance this far inland, it is. North Carolina’s beach-insurance plan is, in the words of the state insurance commissioner, “a ticking time bomb.” If it explodes, insurance companies and customers will be harmed statewide. Legislators must deal with this highly politicized issue so that the next coastal hurricane doesn’t send everyone’s insurance premiums skyward.

Finally, Perdue has fulfilled a promise at the N.C. Department of Transportation. She has told her board members that they can’t decide which projects get built. But now the legislature needs to encode that policy in state law. Otherwise, the next governor can go back to the bad old practices.

Each of these issues poses major challenges to our state legislators. If there is ever a year the people need them to meet those challenges, this is it.

CHICAGO – President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday named three veteran regulators to round out his economic team and vowed to revamp regulatory rules to prevent a repeat of the financial and economic debacles the country is now suffering through.

He wouldn’t weigh in on whether he would support a decision by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to tap the second $350 billion installment of the $700 billion financial bailout program. Major auto companies are pleading for emergency aid, which could come from that pot.

“I think it’s important for the Treasury, the Fed and all of us to do whatever is required to make sure our financial system is stable and secure,” Obama said. But he added: “We cannot afford a collapse of our financial system. Main Street can’t afford it.” He said he would evaluate any Paulson signals about what is necessary.

As Obama spoke at a Chicago news conference, the White House said it is considering “orderly” bankruptcy as a way of dealing with the desperately ailing U.S. auto industry. But President George W. Bush, asked about an auto rescue plan during an appearance before a private group, said he hadn’t decided what he would do.

More broadly, Obama blamed regulators for the financial debacle, saying they “dropped the ball.” Regulators, he said, “have been asleep at the switch.”

Americans, as they watch their investments tank, are frustrated that “there’s not a lot of adult supervision out there,” Obama added.

As part of his plan to prevent future crises, Obama said he was naming Securities and Exchange Commission veteran Mary Schapiro as chairwoman of that agency, former Treasury official Gary Gensler to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and law professor Daniel Tarullo to fill an empty Federal Reserve seat. All three will need to be confirmed by the Senate next year.

In making the announcements, Obama pointed to Wall Street money manager Bernard Madoff, under investigation in an alleged $50 billion fraud, and said the scandal underscored the need for tougher regulators. The scandal “has reminded us yet again of how badly reform is needed,” he said.
 
The president-elect said his new team will help put in place new rules that will help “crack down on the culture of greed and scheming.”

“There needs to be a shift in ethics on Wall Street,” he said.

Schapiro, who would be Obama’s top Wall Street regulator and investor protector, said that investor trust “is the lifeblood of financial markets.” She called for tough enforcement action by incoming regulators.
 
If confirmed by the Senate:

-Schapiro, who served as an SEC commissioner in Republican and Democratic administrations and is currently the head of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, would take over an agency that faces growing criticism for its failure to protect investors and detect trouble brewing on Wall Street.

The SEC stands at what could be one of the most difficult times in its history, buffeted by criticism for failing to detect signs that major Wall Street banks were in trouble before the financial crisis erupted and for lax oversight and enforcement in other areas.

As the scandal involving Madoff continues to stun the financial world, revelations have surfaced that staff at the SEC repeatedly failed over the course of a decade to fully investigate credible allegations against him. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox on Tuesday ordered the agency’s inspector general to investigate what went wrong.

-Gensler, a former Treasury official in the Clinton administration, would lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is an independent agency created by Congress to regulate trading in the commodity futures and option markets.

-Tarullo, a Georgetown law professor who also worked for President Bill Clinton, would fill an open seat on the Federal Reserve board in Washington.
 
His selection would allow Obama to begin to put his imprint on the Federal Reserve. All the present board members, including chairman Ben Bernanke, were hand picked by Bush. Tarullo would fill one of two vacant seats on the seven-member board. A third seat – now held by Fed governor Randall Kroszner – also will become available.

As a member of the Fed board, Tarullo would have an important voice in deciding policy to help jolt the economy back to life. He would vote on decisions about interest rates as well as ways to help break through the credit clog. He would also have a hand in shaping new regulations.

Obama’s moves come amid incredible economic strife. The unemployment rate is at 6.7 percent, a 15-year high. The economy has lost nearly 2 million jobs since the recession started last December, and the recession is on track to be the longest since the Great Depression. Stock markets are sinking, the housing market is in disarray, and credit is hard to get.
 
The announcements came on Obama’s fourth straight day of appearances to unveil top nominations. Transition officials say they expect more nominations this week before Obama leaves on a holiday vacation to his native Hawaii.

Obama also intends to nominate Republican Rep. Ray LaHood of Illinois as transportation secretary, Democratic officials said. Obama has yet to announce choices for the Labor Department, senior intelligence positions or the Office of U.S. Trade Representative. Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., had been penciled in as trade representative, but he announced Tuesday that he intends to remain in the House.

In addition, numerous sub-Cabinet posts remain unfilled. Dr. Gail Russeau, a Chicago neurosurgeon, is a leading contender to become surgeon general, officials said.

In the glow of his election victory in fall 2002, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich stood on the stage at the victory celebration held in the steel mill where his father had worked and promised “reform and renewal,” and an “end to business as usual.”

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Pat McCrory says state employees should be barred from making contributions to state candidates.
 
Charlotte’s mayor and Republican candidate for governor unveiled the idea Thursday as part of his “Open Government Plan” that he intends to carry out if elected.

McCrory said a donation prohibition is designed to protect employees from being coerced to give to politicians. He cited a 1997 complaint filed by several advocacy groups in which workers were told to give to campaigns.

The plan also would create an “Office of Open Government” to speed up response to public records requests and train executive agencies on following the law.
 
Democratic candidate Beverly Perdue put out a somewhat similar set of reforms a couple of weeks ago. Her campaign said imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.