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Georgia Chamber Insight: U.S. Senate Moves on Health Care Legislation

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

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Dates to Remember
January 11, 2010: Annual Meeting Dinner
Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta
Purchase tickets here January 12, 2010: Eggs and Issues Breakfast
Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta
Purchase tickets here January 12, 2010: Georgia Employers' Association Workshop
Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta
Website




U.S. Senate Moves on Health Care Legislation
Senate Democrats opened debate on November 30 on their version of sweeping health care legislation already passed by the House -- and have been tacking on costly amendments ever since. Under the direction of Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), the work of two Senate committees has been combined into the 2,074-page "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" (HR 3590). The bill includes: Like the House bill, it also includes the so-called "public option," a new government-run health plan, although it allows states to opt out of the plan in certain circumstances. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the bill would cost $196 billion a year by 2019 -- yet would leave 24 million people uninsured and push millions of Americans off of private coverage. Independent estimates have put the bill's cost as high as $6 trillion over the first 10 years. An alternative approach revealed last week would drop the public option altogether in favor of opening the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program to most Americans and allowing them to enroll in Medicare beginning at age 55 (the current threshold is 65). The CBO has estimated that these alternatives would cost trillions of additional dollars. Democrats hope to secure the 60 votes needed to approve the bill by the end of the year.




House Passes Comprehensive Financial Regulation Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 11 approved a bill imposing new regulations on the financial sector and creating a new federal agency with broad powers to enforce them. The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (HR 4173) establishes a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency that would investigate lenders charged with abusive lending practices and levy hefty fines against them. The bill defines a wide variety of financial institutions as "lenders" but fails to spell out which practices count as "abusive." As a result, banks, financial institutions and other companies that offer credit cards, mortgages and other loans would see a dramatic increase in reporting and compliance costs -- an increase that would ultimately be borne by consumers. Other provisions in the bill would create an oversight board charged with micromanaging financial firms deemed "too big to fail"; expand regulation of investment advisers, insurers and other firms; and give shareholders the power to approve executive compensation. The legislation passed by a 223-202 margin, with all Republican House members and 27 Democrats voting against it. The Senate is not expected to vote on its version of the measure until early next year.




Don't Forget to Get Your Tickets for the Annual Meeting Dinner and Eggs & Issues Breakfast
Don't forget to get your tickets to the Georgia Chamber's Annual Meeting Dinner and Eggs & Issues Breakfast before taking off for the holidays! Held on January 11 & 12 at the Georgia World Congress Center, these events are your chance to hear what's on tap for the upcoming legislative session. Number-one rated weekend television host and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will be the featured speaker at the Annual Meeting Dinner, and top legislative leaders will be speaking at the Eggs & Issues Breakfast. Tickets purchased on or before December 18 will receive preferential seating at both events, so get yours today! To purchase tickets/tables for the Annual Meeting Dinner or Eggs and Issues Breakfast, click here.




Water Contingency Planning Task Force Works Towards Final Recommendations
Earlier this year, Governor Sonny Perdue put together a task force in response to a U.S. District Court ruling that Lake Lanier should not be used as a water supply source for Georgia, and that water use from the lake would cease in 2012. With this ruling, the 3.5 million Georgians who currently depend on Lake Lanier as a water source would be short an estimated 251 million gallons of water each day. The Governor's Water Contingency Planning Task Force, led by Georgia Chamber members Tim Lowe (Lowe Engineers) and John Brock (Coca-Cola Enterprises), focused on three main categories of solutions: enhancing current conservation efforts, increasing ability to capture rain and ground water and reviewing current control and management policies. To review the Water Task Force's three presentations, click here.




Georgia Employers' Association to Host Seminar Following Eggs & Issues Breakfast
The Georgia Employers' Association will host its fifth-consecutive executive update seminar following the Georgia Chamber's annual Eggs & Issues Breakfast on January 12. This year's seminar will begin at 9:45 a.m. and run until 12:15 p.m., with a focus on preparing for the challenges and changes in 2010. Click here for more information about this seminar.




Welcome New Members
The Georgia Chamber of Commerce welcomes the following new members to our organization: Those in bold denote new Cornerstone members.
Happy Holidays!
Insight will be taking a short break over the holidays and will resume publication on Tuesday, January 5. We look forward to seeing you in 2010!




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Do you have good news to share about your business? Please contact Jennifer Yarber at 404.223.2272 or jyarber@gachamber.com with your news topics for inclusion in an upcoming newsletter.
   
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