Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/431927
ByDavidEspoand Andrew Taylor The Associated Press WASHINGTON Exposed to the light of day, a year-end, $1.1 trillion spending bill drew vociferous objections from liberals and milder criticism from conserva- tives on Wednesday while lawmakers readied a brief, stopgap measure to prevent a government shutdown both parties vowed to avoid. Democrats complained bitterly about a Republi- can-backed provision in the $1.1 trillion measure to ease regulations imposed on big banks in the wake of the 2008 economic melt- down. They also opposed a separate section that eases limits on campaign contri- butions to political parties. The White House de- clined to state President Barack Obama's position on the legislation, negotiated in secret over several days by senior lawmakers, in- cluding top leaders in both parties and both houses. "Putting these two things together in the same bill il- lustrates everything that's wrong with the political process right now," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. Republicans countered — correctly — that Demo- cratic negotiators initially signed off on both, and Speaker John Boehner re- buffed a request from the Democratic leader, Califor- nia Rep. Nancy Pelosi, to jettison them. "If Rep. Pelosi doesn't think her negotiators did a good job, she should discuss it with them," said Michael Steel, Boehner's spokesman. On the other side of the political spectrum, some conservatives grumbled that the measure left the administration's controver- sial new immigration policy unchallenged, at least until the end of February. That decision "makes no sense at all. We've let the Democrats set their agenda as though we lost the election," said Rep. John Fleming, R-La. Given the opposition of an unknown number of conservatives, Boehner and the Republican high command likely will need at least some Democratic support for the bill to as- sure its passage in a vote set for Thursday. Yet the political crossfire left the massive, 1,603-page bill in limbo, its prospects for passage at least tempo- rarily uncertain — and so, too, chances of a smooth ending for a Congress marked by two-years of in- tense partisanship. Other legislation awaited ap- proval as lawmakers looked to the year-end exits. One bill renews expiring tax provisions and a second would bless the adminis- tration's plan to equip and train Syrian rebels fight- ing Islamic State forces in the Middle East. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., also sought confirmation for nine more of Obama's appointees to the federal bench and confirmation of a slew of other officials in a final show of political strength before Republi- cans take control of the Sen- ate in January. Reaction to the spending bill dwarfed other issues of the day. Republican rank-and- file members of the House, meeting privately, received an 11-page document pre- pared by the leadership that said the bill "stops waste- ful spending, reins in reg- ulatory overreach, avoids shutdown, improves gov- ernment." One conservative, Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, said he was pleased. "I think we won on policy (and) the budget numbers are lower than I ever thought it would be," he said of the measure, which cited the very provi- sion relating to banks that inflamed Democrats. It would roll back regu- lations that prohibit finan- cial institutions from us- ing federal deposit insur- ance to back investments on some complex financial instruments. Supporters said that would help farm- ers and other borrowers se- cure loans, and opponents derided as a bailout. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urged by some liberals to run for president in 2016, said the measure marked government "for the rich and powerful," and would bestow a favor on the same financial institutions "that nearly broke the econ- omy in 2008 and destroyed millions of jobs." A spokesman for Hillary Clinton, odds-on favorite to win the Democratic pres- idential nomination if she runs, did not respond to a request for comment. An unlikely coalition of the unwilling was building in opposition to the legisla- tion. The AFL-CIO and the conservative Heritage Foundation both called for its defeat. So, too, Democ- racy 21, which seeks to re- duce the influence of big money in politics. America's Health Insur- ance Plans, representing in- surance companies, com- plained that another pro- vision would lead to higher premiums for consumers. The AARP, which claims a multi-million member- ship of seniors, objected to a bipartisan agreement — a Democratic priority — that will permit reductions in benefits for current retir- ees at multi-employer pen- sion funds in extreme finan- cial distress. The campaign finance changes would sharply in- crease the amount an in- dividual may contribute to various national politi- cal party accounts annu- ally. Those limits would rise from $32,400 to $324,000 for donations to finance parties' national conven- tions, election recounts and headquarters buildings. In- dividuals also would be per- mitted to give $226,800 an- nually to House and Senate campaign committees. For all the controversy, the legislation marked a re- turn to normalcy in an era of divided government. CONGRESS Liberals, conservatives gripe about $1.1 trillion spending bill J.SCOTTAPPLEWHITE—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio meets with reporters on Capitol Hill. By Ricardo Alonso- Zaldivar The Associated Press WASHINGTON Primary care doctors caring for low- income patients will face steep fee cuts next year as a temporary program in President Barack Obama's health care law expires. That could squeeze access just when millions of new patients are gaining Med- icaid coverage. A study Wednesday from the nonpartisan Ur- ban Institute estimated fee reductions will aver- age about 40 percent na- tionwide. But they could reach 50 percent or more for primary care doctors in California, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois — big states that have all expanded Medicaid under the health law. Meager pay for doc- tors has been a persistent problem for Medicaid, the safety-net health insurance program. Low-income peo- ple unable to find a fam- ily doctor instead flock to hospital emergency rooms, where treatment is more expensive and not usually focused on prevention. To improve access for the poor, the health law increased Medicaid fees for frontline primary care doctors for two years, 2013 and 2014, with Washing- ton paying the full cost. The goal was to bring rates up to what Medicare pays for similar services. But that boost expires Jan. 1, and efforts to secure even a temporary extension from Congress appear thwarted by the politically toxic de- bate over "Obamacare." Doctors probably won't dump their current Med- icaid patients, but they'll take a hard look at accept- ing new ones, said Dr. Rob- ert Wergin, a practitioner in rural Milford, Neb., and president of the American Academy of Family Physi- cians. "You are going to be paid less, so you are go- ing to have to look at your practice and find ways to eke it out," Wergin said. Medicaid covers more than 60 million people, making the federal-state program even larger than Medicare. The health care law has added about 9 mil- lion people to the Medicaid rolls, as 27 states have taken advantage of an option that extends coverage to many low-income adults. Health and Human Ser- vices Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell says expanding Medicaid in the remain- ing 23 states is one of her top priorities. But the fee cut could make that an even harder sell, since it may reinforce a percep- tion that the federal gov- ernment creates expensive new benefits only to pass the bill to states. In Penn- sylvania, where the Med- icaid expansion will take effect Jan. 1, doctors are facing a 52 percent fee re- duction, according to the Urban Institute study. The fee boost has cost federal taxpayers at least $5.6 billion so far, but Ste- phen Zuckerman, one of the study's authors, said it's not clear whether ac- cess actually improved. Many doctors did not begin to see the higher payments until the second half of 2013 because of roll- out problems. And about three-fourths of Medicaid beneficiaries are in man- aged-care plans, which may already pay doctors more for routine care and prevention. TEMPORARY PROGRAM Do ct or s fa ce c ut s in Medicaid as fee boost ends By Philip Marcelo The Associated Press BOSTON A Harvard Busi- ness School instructor who blasted a Boston-area Chi- nese restaurant for over- charging him by $4 on a takeout order apologized Wednesday for a lengthy and widely publicized email exchange with restaurant management. Associate professor Ben- jamin Edelman had threat- ened legal action and de- manded the Sichuan Garden in Brookline compensate all other customers who might have been similarly overcharged after he said it charged him $1 more on each of the four items he or- dered for takeout last week. But after facing wide criticism, Edelman posted a brief message on his per- sonal website saying he has reached out to apologize to Ran Duan, who helps man- age his parent's restaurant business: "Having reflected on my interaction with Ran, including what I said and how I said it, it's clear that I was very much out of line. I aspire to act with great re- spect and humility in deal- ing with others, no matter what the situation. Clearly I failed to do so. I am sorry, and I intend to do better in the future." Based on the prices listed on the restaurant's web- site, Edelman said he had expected to pay $53.35 for his order. In emails first made pub- lic by boston.com (http://bit. ly/1GaYqj5), Duan acknowl- edged to Edelman that the prices listed on the restau- rant's website were out of date. He promised to update them soon and offered to re- fund the overages. But Edelman, who con- sults for AOL, Microsoft, the NFL, Wells Fargo, the New York Times, among many others on "prevent- ing and detecting online fraud," according to his per- sonal website, accused the restaurant of systematically overcharging customers. He demanded a $12 re- fund, arguing that he was eligible for triple damages under the state's consumer protection statute. Edel- man, a Brookline resident, also contacted local offi- cials to demand the restau- rant compensate all other customers who might have been affected. "It strikes me that merely providing a refund to a sin- gle customer would be an exceptionally light sanction for the violation that oc- curred," he wrote in one of the exchanges with Duan. "You don't seem to rec- ognize that this is a legal matter and calls for a more thoughtful and far-reaching resolution." At one point, after a flurry of email exchanges, Duan, who generally re- mained respectful in his replies to Edelman, wrote: "Like I said, I apologize for the confusion, you seem like a smart man, but is this re- ally worth your time?" $4 OVERCHARGE Harvard professor apologizes for rant The Associated Press BAKERSFIELD Two teenag- ers accused of feeding a live cat to two dogs, videotaping the attack and posting it on- line have been arrested in central California on suspi- cion of cruelty to an animal. The Bakersfield Califor- nian reported that while the incident apparently oc- curred over the summer, Animal Control wasn't con- tacted until Dec. 4 after a person reported receiving the graphic video on a so- cial networking site. Sheriff's deputies said the video appeared to show two large dogs being fed a live cat while voices couraged the dogs to attack. Detectives arrested a 15-year-old and a 17-year- old last week. ANIMAL CRUELTY Teens accused of feeding live cat to dogs C & C PROPERTIES An Independently owned and operated Member of Coldwell Banker Residential Affiliates. 741 Main Street, Suite #2 Red Bluff, CA 96080 1-800-287-2187 (530) 527-2187 FOR 24/7 PROPERTY INFO CALL 1-888-902-7253 TEHAMA COUNTY REAL ESTATE TEAM • OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK www.redbluffcoldwellbanker.com See All Tehama County Listings at OurknowledgeableandprofessionalstaffofRealtors are here to assist you with all your Real Estate needs. *18 Months to 3 Years for Short Sales / 4 – 7 Years for Foreclosures. If you were involved in a Foreclosure or Short Sale between 2007 – 2012, YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR HOME OWNERSHIP AGAIN. Depending upon the time frame* you may be eligible to purchase a home. Stop by or call and make an appointment today! Select"Subscribe"tabinlowerrightcorner Complete information for automatic weekly delivery to your email inbox That's it! This FREE service made possible by the advertisers in TV Select Magazine Kindly patronize and thank them. Click on their ads online to access their websites! FREE online subscription to TV Select Magazine Digital edition emailed to you, every Saturday! Just go online to www.ifoldsflip.com/t/5281 (You'll only need to go there one time) N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY • Fully searchable online, zoom in, print out pages and more! • No newspaper online subscription or website access required. • Best of all ... it's ABSOLUTELY FREE! THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2014 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 5 B