Tagged: President Barack Obama

The decision by President Obama to stop the expulsion of immigrants who came to the U.S. as children is being praised by U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., as a solution Congress should adopt.

From Yarmuth's office:

"As a supporter of the DREAM Act, I applaud the president's decision and am glad to see renewed pressure on Congress to address critical immigration reforms that will benefit our country.

In a fiercely worded speech, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., accused President Obama of violating citizen's First Amendment rights and denounced legislation that would require Super PACs to disclose the names of contributors.

The conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute hosted McConnell on Friday, where he addressed First Amendment rights in light of the Supreme Court’s much argued Citizens United case. The decision rejects spending limits in federal elections for companies and unions.

McConnell has been supportive of the controversial 5-to-4 ruling  and has urged the justices to reaffirm the decision in the face of a pending legal challenge.

Democrats have pushed the Disclose Act in response to the ruling that would mandate third party groups reveal who donated to pay for election ads, but the measure has failed to move forward in Congress.

McConnell says the measure amounts to harassment and an attempt to intimidate conservative donors and organizations.

"What this bill calls for is government-compelled disclosure of contributions to all grassroots groups, which is far more dangerous than its proponents are willing to admit," he says. "Because if disclosure is forced upon some but not all, it’s not an act of good government, it’s a political weapon…This is nothing less than an effort by the government itself to exposes its critics to harassment and intimidation."

U.S. Sen. Dan Coats, R-In., says President Obama is overstepping his authority by halting the deportation of young immigrants.

On Friday, the president ordered his administration to stop expulsion of immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, which bypasses Congress and implements parts of the DREAM Act. The policy change takes effect immediately and gives younger immigrants immunity and the ability to apply for work permits as long as they have no criminal history and meet other criteria.

Coats says the decision grants amnesty to illegal immigrants and was made to benefit the president's re-election campaign.

From Sen. Coats' office:

"The Obama administration’s announcement today is an obvious political move five months before Americans decide if the president deserves a second term. This new immigration policy effectively grants amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants. The administration is overstepping its authority and bypassing Congress to implement the goals of the proposed DREAM Act. Unfortunately, this move – ignoring the Constitution and legislating through federal bureaucrats – has become standard operation under this president.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is pleading with President Obama to deliver new ideas on the sluggish economic recovery.

The president is scheduled to deliver a major economic address Thursday, which will be the first of the general election campaign and in the swing state of Ohio.

But observers expect Mr. Obama won't offer any new jobs proposals and instead continue to push lawmakers to pass his "to-do" list.

McConnell says Democrats are getting anxious about economic stagnation and the nearing election.

"We can expect more of the same: more government, more debt and higher taxes to pay for it all," he said on the Senate floor Wednesday. "Now, according to the news reports, some Democrats are starting to get a little wary of this approach. A number of folks who worked in the Clinton Administration have suggested something more positive. But others are pleading with the president to double down on the message that government is the answer."

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., released the following statement tearing into President Obama for claiming that the private sector is "doing fine" during a press conference to address economic concerns.

From McConnell's office:

“Whether the President wants to acknowledge it or not, we are now living in the Obama Economy, and no ‘post-it note’ proposal can reverse the damage done by his policies over the past three and a half years. It’s baffling that in the face of all evidence to the contrary, this President still believes that spending money we don’t have to inflate the government is the answer to America’s economic problems.

The economy would respond much more favorably to providing the tax certainty Americans deserve by extending all the tax rates and assuring employers they do not have to budget for the largest tax increase in American history next year. The Obama Economy is even slower now than when we extended the rates in 2010—raising taxes on job creators in this slow economy is simply not the elixir for his failed policies.”

Republican congressional candidate Brooks Wicker called on Democratic incumbent John Yarmuth to vote against the medical device tax in the president’s healthcare law on Thursday. 

The Affordable Care Act includes a 2.3 percent tax on certain devices to pay for the legislation with an anticipated $29 billion over the next decade. Despite a veto threat from President Obama, the GOP-controlled House passed legislation to repeal the fee by a 241-to-173 vote.

Supporters of the repeal cite a study from the healthcare industry that warns about higher prices and the loss of  manufacturing jobs.

Speaking in front of Humana Inc., Wicker told a handful of supporters the tax makes pacemakers and knee replacements more expensive, and Yarmuth needs to explain his support of President Obama’s law.

"I’m calling on him to explain to the citizens of the Third District why he continues to support legislation– Obamacare—which the overwhelming number of people in this community do not support,” he says.