Congress Plays Ping Pong 

Just before 1:00 p.m., the Senate voted 79-to-19 to end the Cruz/Lee filibuster of the House resolution that provides short-term funding for the government while defunding Obamacare. Minutes later the Senate voted 54-to-44 to restore full funding for Obamacare. Now Congress gets to play ping pong, with the Senate sending the resolution back to the House of Representatives.

What happens next is anyone's guess. Yesterday Speaker Boehner said it was "unlikely" that the House would merely accept the Senate's revised spending bill with no strings attached. 

Various ideas have been suggested for amending the Senate's resolution, including: a one-year delay in Obamacare; a one-year delay in the individual mandate; repealing Obamacare's tax on medical devices; and repealing Obama's congressional exemption. 

House Republicans are scheduled to meet tomorrow to plan their strategy. Congress has until Monday night to reach a deal in order to avoid a partial-government shutdown. Stay tuned… 

Frustration, Strikes & Rate Hikes 

As the House and Senate continue to fight over funding for Obamacare, there is more bad news about the law and its impact on jobs and our economy. 

From New Jersey comes a story about Jeffrey Scheininger, president of Flexline/U.S. Brass & Copper Corporation. Scheininger is a former chairman of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, and according to The Star-Ledger, Scheininger "supported health care overhaul." For five years he led the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce's Health Care Reform Initiative.  

What is Scheininger saying about Obamacare now? "It's monumentally frustrating. The difference between the hope they held out versus what they delivered is phenomenal." Scheininger added, "They don't know what they are implementing. When push comes to shove, they don't know what it's going to do."

Scheininger's frustration is being echoed by other Obamacare supporters, including those in Big Labor. Members of the Service Employees International Union in Columbus, Ohio, have gone on strike protesting cuts caused by Obamacare, which of course the SEIU strongly supported. 

Earlier this week, Barack Obama denied that there is any evidence that Obamacare is causing job losses. But some of his union allies disagree. Loretta Johnson, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers, said, "We are seeing employer after employer cut hours so as to avoid [Obamacare's] 30-hour definition of a full-time job." 

Obama may be blind to reality, but here's a list of more than 300 private companies and public institutions that have already cut jobs and/or hours in response to Obamacare's mandates. 

Meanwhile, Obama and his allies were celebrating the news that average Obamacare premiums in the government-run state exchanges were coming in at around $330 a month for individuals. They were celebrating because those figures were "lower than expected." 

Investor's Business Daily took a closer look at those rates and found that even with Obamacare's subsidies, many Americans will end up paying much more than they are now. Consider this example: 
 

• "A table in that White House report, for example, shows the lowest-cost Bronze plan for a 27-year-old will average $163 a month in the 36 states with federally run exchanges. Among those making $25,000, the cost will be $93 a month, after subsidies. 

  "Is that a bargain? Not when you compare it with the plans they can buy today. The average premium for the lowest-cost plan in these same states is $54 a month, according to data in a recent Government Accountability Report. 

  "In other words, even with the taxpayer subsidies, ObamaCare will be more expensive than what's available in the market today."

Join Me, Beck & Levin In D.C.! 

Join me at the 2013 Values Voter Summit, in Washington, D.C., October 11th - 13th. 

The Values Voter Summit is sponsored by American Values, the Family Research Council, AFA Action, Heritage Foundation, and Liberty Counsel. 

This year's Summit features an incredible line up of speakers, including: 
 

• Glenn Beck 
• Dr. Ben Carson 
• Lt. Gen. William Boykin (Ret.) 
• Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) 
• Former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) 
• Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) 
• Rep. Steve King (R-IA) 
• Mark Levin 
• Star Parker 
• Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) 
• Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) 
• 2012 Vice Presidential Nominee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) 
• Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) 
• Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) 
• Columnist Cal Thomas 
• Former Rep. Allen West 
• And many more outstanding conservative leaders!

There will be educational sessions on a broad range of topics including: the threat to religious liberty, radical Islam, restraining Big Government and responding to the left. 

American Values will host a special luncheon on Saturday, October 12th. (To attend the luncheon, you must purchase a separate ticket.) Later that evening, there will be a gala dinner honoring Dr. Ed Feulner, founder of the Heritage Foundation. 

To learn more or to register online, click here now. I look forward to seeing you there!