The Rick Berg/American Commitment Agenda

PRIVATIZE SOCIAL SECURITY

Berg Co-Sponsored A Resolution In The ND State Legislature That Endorsed George Bush’s Plan To Privatize Social Security. In March of 2005, Berg co-sponsored HCR 3056, a concurrent resolution in the North Dakota legislature that urged “the President and Congress to reform and strengthen the Social Security system in order to ensure its viability for future generations.” According to the resolution, “the President favors voluntary personal accounts as part of a comprehensive solution to give younger workers the option to set aside a portion of their payroll taxes in an account they own and control.” [HCR 3056, 3/3/05]

American Commitment’s President Endorsed Privatizing Social Security. In 2010, the now president of American Commitment, Phil Kerpen wrote an open-editorial in the conservative National Review endorsing the privatization of Social Security: “It is possible to reform Social Security to provide a better deal for workers — without cutting benefits, raising taxes, or raising the retirement age — by harnessing the power of real investment returns. In fact, the chief actuary of Social Security found that four separate plans would do just that during the big national debate in 2005, a debate President Bush lost by focusing on unpopular benefit cuts instead of the popular prospect of using real investment returns to provide higher benefits.” [National Review, 10/7/10]

SLASH THE FARM BILL

Rick Berg Twice Voted To Gut The Farm Bill By $180 Billion. In 2011 and again in 2012, Rick Berg voted for the radical budgets proposed by House Budget Chairman, Paul Ryan that would gut the farm bill by $180 billion over ten years. [Vote 277, 4/15/11; Vote 151, 3/29/12; Great Plains Examiner, 2/13/12]

American Commitment’s President Called The Bipartisan Farm Bill – Backed By Senators Conrad And Hoeven – “Corrupt” And Called On Congress To “End Corporate Welfare For Farmers.” In reference to the bipartisan U.S. Senate version of the federal Farm Bill, American Commitment’s President, Phil Kerpen wrote in a column for FoxNews.com: “Elected on a wave of concern about out-of-control federal spending, the House should make clear that any Farm Bill provisions that create new entitlements or extend corrupt special-interest energy giveaways will be dead on arrival. … The current farm bill expires at the end of September and this should be the Congress that finally ends corporate welfare for farmers and the usual larding up of ‘must-pass’ bills. It’s time for Republicans to stand up for the free market, even when it comes to agriculture. [FoxNews.com, 5/4/12]

ALLOW INSURANCE COMPANIES TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST CANCER PATIENTS

Berg Voted to Allow Insurance Companies To Deny Health Insurance To People With Pre-Existing Condition. In 2011, Berg voted to fully repeal the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits insurance companies from denying health insurance to people with pre-existing conditions. According to the non-partisan Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: “Before the Affordable Care Act, Americans with pre-existing conditions who did not receive health coverage through their employers had few affordable options to get the care they needed. In most States, insurance companies could refuse to sell them coverage, charge exorbitant premiums, or offer them coverage that excluded benefits for their health conditions. The result has been tens of thousands of Americans with serious health conditions – like cancer and heart disease – who have been unable to afford health insurance or to pay out of pocket for their own medical care. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, people with pre-existing conditions have new options. The health reform law contains significant benefits for people who are living with pre-existing conditions, expands access to private insurance, and gets rid of the worst insurance industry practices by putting patients first. The law ends discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions. [Vote 14, 1/19/11; CMS, 2/24/12]

American Commitment’s President Opposes Requiring Insurance Companies To Provide Health Coverage To People With Pre-Existing Conditions. In a May 2012 blog post, American Commitment’s President, Phil Kerpen wrote: “There is no way to solve the pre-existing condition problem through economically destructive regulations – even if you try to pay-off the insurance companies with an unconstitutional mandate. Without the mandate, as Obama acknowledged, the pre-existing ban would put most insurance companies out of business. If the Court, as expected, rejects Obama’s unconstitutional mandate and the pre-existing condition ban he tied to it, he’ll have nobody to blame but himself. His whole corrupt approach was a dead-end, and he knew it.” [AmericanCommitment.org, 5/25/12]

SLASH MEDICARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY

Berg Voted for “Cut, Cap, And Balance” That “Would Necessitate Deep Cuts In Social Security, Medicare.” In July 2011, Berg voted for passage of the “Cut, Cap, and Balance” bill that would make an increase in the debt limit contingent upon the passage of a balanced-budget constitutional amendment. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explained that: “It is inconceivable, however, that policymakers would meet the bill’s severe annual spending caps through automatic across-the board cuts year after year; if they did, key government functions would be crippled. Policymakers would have little alternative but to institute deep cuts in specific programs. […] Reaching and maintaining a balanced budget in the decade ahead while barring any tax increases would necessitate deep cuts in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.”  [Vote 606, 7/19/11; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 7/16/11]

American Commitment’s President Characterized The “Cut, Cap And Balance” Plan – That Would Slash Medicare And Social Security – As “The Right Approach.” In a July 2011 opinion column for FoxNews.com, American Commitment’s President, Phil Kerpen characterized the radical cut, cap and balance plan as “the right approach.” [FoxNews.com, 7/19/11]

PROTECT TAX BREAKS FOR MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES

American Commitment President Opposed “Buffett Rule,” Which Would Ensure That Millionaires Not Pay A Lower Tax Rate Than Their Secretaries. In an April 2012 opinion column for FoxNews.com, American Commitment President Phil Kerpen criticized the “Buffett Rule,” which would prohibit millionaires and billionaires from reducing their tax rate below 30 percent of their annual income.  [FoxNews.com, 4/19/12]