Waxman Cancelled CEO Meeting because Information would be Embarassing to ObamaCare Supporters

“Publicly, Waxman said the investigation showed the companies’ disclosures were properly filed. But a new report from committee Republicans reveals the documents Waxman obtained included embarrassing evidence that the health-care law could drive up insurance premiums and force employers to dump employees from their health plans”

http://dailycaller.com/2010/04/28/why-waxman-really-canceled-his-health-care-%E2%80%98show-trial%E2%80%99/#ixzz0mQOVRfTQ

ObamaCare: Layoffs and Job Losses

from America’s Right:

Job Losses and Layoffs from ObamaCare:

U.S. employers have warned that President Obama’s government takeover of health care would destroy American jobs and harm our economy.  President Obama’s health care law is not yet a week old, but already we’re seeing the real-life impact that ObamaCare’s job-killing tax hikes and health care costs are having on America’s employers.

Medtronic
“Medtronic Inc. CEO Bill Hawkins also tore into the tax. ‘This will make us one of the highest-taxed regions in the world, and that’s going to have an impact on the appetite for people to invest in medical innovation,’ Hawkins told the Wall Street Journal, adding that Medtronic could wind up slashing its workforce by 1,000 to absorb the cost of the excise tax.” (Mass Device, 3/23/10)

Zoll Medical Group
“‘This bill is a jobs killer,’ said Ernie Whiton, chief financial officer of Chelmsford’s Zoll Medical Corp., which employs about 650 people in Massachusetts. Many of those employees work in Zoll’s local manufacturing facility making heart defibrillators. ‘We could be forced to (move) manufacturing overseas if we can’t pass along these costs to our customers,’ said Whiton.” (The Boston Herald, 3/25/10)

Theken
“Randy Theken, founder of a handful of Akron-based spinal implant companies that work under the Theken name, said he, too, expects the tax to slow research-and-development efforts and hurt medical device companies. ‘This could also be the first time in decades that we’ve seen medical device manufacturers having to lay off personnel,’ Mr. Theken said.” (Cran’s Cleveland Business, 3/29/10)

Sallie Mae
“The reforms passed Sunday night as part of the health-care reform package could prompt student lender Sallie Mae — which employs 700 people at a Muncie call center — to cut a quarter of its workforce or close its Muncie office outright. The student lender has estimated it could cut its 8,600-member workforce by as many as 2,500 and reduce its locations nationally from 25 to a half dozen.” (The Muncie Star Press, Sallie Mae Could Cut Workforce, Close Local Call Center, 3/23/10)

“Unless the U.S. Senate acts, the Sallie Mae facility in Lynn Haven likely will start ‘immediate’ layoffs due to health care legislation that keeps private loan providers from originating student loans, officials said Monday. ‘Quite frankly, I’m very saddened,’ said Renee Mang, Sallie Mae senior vice president in Lynn Haven.” (Panama News Herald, 3/22/10)

NOTE: Yesterday we launched the ObamaCare Flatlines highlighting how ObamaCare has forced job-killing taxes on America’s small businesses. Here is an update from last night on Prudential Financial:

Prudential Financial
“Insurer Prudential Financial Inc. said Monday that it will take a $100 million charge in the first quarter in relation to the recent health care overhaul legislation. Prudential joins a growing list of companies that have said they will take accounting charges because of the health care bills.” (The Associated Press, Prudential to Take $100M Health Care Charge in 1Q, 3/29/10)

By The Numbers: Companies Reeling from ObamaCare’s Job Killing Taxes:

$1,000,000,000: AT&T: “AT&T Inc. will book $1 billion in first-quarter costs related to the health-care law signed this week by President Barack Obama, the most of any U.S. company so far. A change in the tax treatment of Medicare subsidies triggered the non-cash expense, and the company will consider changes to the benefits it offers current and retired workers, Dallas-based AT&T said today in a regulatory filing.” (Bloomberg, 3/26/10)

$150,000,000 to $200,000,000: Medtronic: “The impact of the tax, we estimate, will be roughly $150 to $200 million on Medtronic annually beginning in 2013. We have no immediate plans to eliminate jobs at Medtronic as a result of the device tax or health care reform. We accept our shared fiscal responsibility for coverage expansion, and are very appreciative of our constituent members of Congress from Minnesota and Indiana, in particular, for having significantly tempered the size, distribution and timing of the tax.”  (Release, 3/26/10)

$150,000,000: Deere & Co.: “Farm equipment maker Deere & Co (DE.N) expects after-tax expenses to rise by $150 million this year as a result of the healthcare reform law President Barack Obama signed this week.” (Reuters, 3/25/10)

$100,000,000: Caterpillar: “Caterpillar Inc. lobbied to keep the U.S. from taxing a subsidy on retiree drug benefits. It lost the battle when President Barack Obama signed an almost $1 trillion health-care overhaul into law this week. The world’s largest maker of bulldozers put a price tag on that defeat yesterday: a $100 million charge to earnings.” (Bloomberg, 3/25/10)

$90,000,000: 3M: “3M Co. will record a one-time non-cash charge of up to $90 million, or 12 cents a share, in the first quarter as a result of the U.S. health reform signed into law this week, the company said on Friday. The charge reflects lower tax deductions related to retiree drug benefits.” (Reuters, 3/26/10)

$15,000,000 to $20,000,000: Valero Energy: “Valero Energy Corp said it expects to take a charge to earnings of between $15 million and $20 million in the first quarter due to the new healthcare legislation, and said it expected further tax costs to be calculated later.” (Reuters, 3/26/10)

For article: http://americasright.com/?p=4144

Waxman will not Permit Dissent on ObamaCare: Requests Internal Documents from Corporations Claiming Obamcare Raising Costs

from Daily Caller:

In letters sent late Saturday night, Representative Henry Waxman called on the chief executive officers of AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., Caterpillar Inc. and Deere & Co. to provide evidence to support costs they said will result from the recently passed health-care reform bill. (READ WAXMAN’S SATURDAY NIGHT LETTERS HERE)

Waxman has also requested access to the companies’ internal documents, which one committee Republican says is “an attempt to intimidate and silence opponents of the Democrats’ flawed health-care reform legislation.”

In the letter to AT&T, Waxman demands the company turn over “any documents, including e-mail messages, sent to or prepared or reviewed by senior company officials related to the projected impact of health care reform on AT&T.”

AT&T had said just hours before the letter arrived that taxes related to the health-care legislation will force it to take a $1 billion non-cash charge in the first quarter. And Verizon has said the new legislation will cause the company’s health-care costs to rise.

Reports Bloomberg:

Waxman of California, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and subcommittee Chairman Bart Stupak of Michigan released letters they wrote to the executives, saying their plans to record expenses against earnings as a result of the law contradict other estimates. The lawmakers requested the executives appear at hearing Stupak plans on April 21.

“The new law is designed to expand coverage and bring down costs, so your assertions are a matter of concern,” Waxman and Stupak, both Democrats, wrote in the letters yesterday. “They also appear to conflict with independent analyses.”

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/03/28/dems-send-late-night-letters-challenging-ceos-who-talked-health-care-costs/#ixzz0jVywDZRO

Major Corporation Revise Fiscal Estimates in Light of ObamaCare

I guess this is an example of what Obama meant when he told Joe the Pumber that he wanted to redistribute the wealth:

March 26 (Bloomberg) — AT&T Inc., the U.S.’s largest telephone company, said it will take a $1 billion first-quarter charge related to the health-care law signed this week by President Barack Obama.

The non-cash charge has been triggered by a change in the tax treatment of Medicare subsidies, the Dallas, Texas-based company said today in a regulatory filing.

AT&T joins Caterpillar Inc. and AK Steel Holding Corp. in taking non-cash charges against earnings as a result of the law. Health-care charges may shave as much as $14 billion from U.S. corporate profits, according to an estimate by benefits consulting firm Towers Watson.

“As a result of this legislation, including the additional tax burden, AT&T will be evaluating prospective changes to the active and retiree health-care benefits offered by the company,” the company said in the filing.

For full article: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-26/at-t-to-take-1-billion-charge-on-health-care-reform-update1-.html

55000 Jobs Cut in a 2 Hour Period; Rush Limbaugh Challenges Obama on the Stimulus package.

     While the Senate voted to give Timothy Geithner the top job at the Treasury, 60-34, despite his failure to pay taxes for four years, 55000 employees lost their jobs in a two hour period. Those announcing job cuts today included Caterpiller, Sprint, Pfizer, and Home Depot. These follow Bank of America’s layoff announcement last week and the closing of Circuit City.

     Caterpiller’s layoffs follow this past summer’s credit problems where despite their perfect credit rating they could not get the renewal of the regular credit line.

      Rush Limbaugh, sitting in the ominous position of being a United States citizen who is under verbal attack from the President of the United States, has issued a positive challenge to President Barack Obama. Based on the 52-54% of the electorate vote that Obama received, Limbaugh has suggested that the Obama administration use that percentage of the $825 billion dollar price tag on their ideas, such as the renovations to the National Mall and the funds to stop the spread of STD’s. The balance of the package will be utilized in the manner taht the Republican’s are suggesting, primarily in tax cuts. Limbaugh says that he is positive that the Republicans will prevail.

      With all the money troubles at home, why are  we spending money in foreign lands to provide abortions!