With all of our energy re-directed to the implementation of the health reform legislation, I missed this item.
A couple weeks back I called your attention to Henry Waxman’s Energy & Commerce inquiry into the impact of HCR on the earnings of companies like John Deere, AT&T et al.
Surprise surprise…Without any of the fanfare of his initial inquest, Waxman last week canceled the testimony to give the employers additional time to assess the positive impact of the legislation. From Businessweek:
“As the committee examined the potential impact of the new law on large employers, several companies and their representatives expressed the view that the new law could have beneficial impacts on large employers if implemented properly…Companies like AT&T, Verizon and a range of stakeholder associations are hopeful that the benefits of the new law will outweigh the costs,” Waxman said in the memo, “but they cannot quantify the benefits until the law is implemented.”
Waxman’s official statement is here.
Read between the lines. The earnings pronouncements were not disputable…A + B = C, no questions asked. Lose the tax deductions, incur the taxes, reduce the earnings.
From House Minority Leader John Boehner:
House Democrats canceled this hearing because they don’t want to give America’s employers a forum to tell the public how President Obama’s new health care law is already hurting our economy and hampering job creation. Chairman Waxman thought he could intimidate businesses into keeping quiet about this new job-killing health care law, but when they called his bluff by continuing to speak out, he chose to pull the plug.
What are the chances Waxman will ever revisit the issue?
