Kochs’ GOP Senate Allies Advance Anti-Medicaid Expansion Agenda

December 2, 2015

The Koch-controlled Senate Republican Conference is going after the two billionaire brothers’ sworn enemy: the Medicaid expansion that’s broadened access to quality health care for millions of Americans.

Politico reports on the GOP’s latest assault on low-income, working American families:

This week, Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is poised to clinch the elusive 51 votes he needs to pass a repeal [of Obamacare]…the new version also would gut an expansion of Medicaid that’s put millions of Americans from low-income households on the insurance rolls.

Charles and David Koch have wanted to destroy Medicaid for years — long before the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act that enabled states to launch expansions of the program. As detailed in Bridge Project’s report, “The Koch-Backed Effort to Kill Medicaid,” Koch network groups have claimed that Medicaid disincentives people to work harder, and they’ve shilled budgets that would end the program as we […]

AFP’s BFD: Self Exposure On Killing Medicaid Expansion

August 25, 2015

The Kochs have spent an untold amount across the country to deny Americans access to health care through Medicaid expansion. It’s one of their highest “achievements” and now, they’re getting the notoriety they deserve — well, sort of…

The Tampa Bay Times is recognizing the Kochs’ political long arm, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), for their outstanding advertising, though it’s probably not the sort of praise AFP wants. According to the tongue-in-cheek editorial, AFP Florida has been running ads that educate voters on which lawmakers voted against expanding Medicaid.

From the editorial entitled, “Thanks go to Americans for Prosperity”:

[AFP] is running a new TV and digital ad featuring the names and faces of Republican legislators from Tampa Bay who blocked the state from accepting billions in federal Medicaid expansion money to subsidize health coverage for low-income Floridians. That’s very helpful, because voters should be reminded over and over exactly who voted to deny medical care […]

CWA: Against Medicaid Expansion, Says Women Can Rely On It For Repro Health

July 28, 2015

Today, at a rally to defund Planned Parenthood, the president of Koch-front group Concerned Women for America (CWA), Penny Nance, said women don’t need to rely on the group for healthcare and that “there’s certainly Medicaid for poor women.” Nance’s argument has a pretty big hole in it. Her organization’s main funders, the Koch brothers, are doing everything they can to gut Medicaid and hinder its expansion.

If the Kochs get their way, Medicaid won’t be a reliable source of healthcare for women or anyone else. The Kochs’ main political organization, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), has repeatedly attacked Medicaid. AFP has campaigned against Florida state lawmakers working to expand Medicaid to roughly 800,000 Floridians and continues to intimidate lawmakers in North Carolina to stop another 600,000 uninsured residents from receiving coverage. The Koch-funded group also supported Paul Ryan’s 2012 budget that would have cut $810 billion in Medicaid spending over 10 years.

On […]

Kochs Still Preventing 600,000 From Getting Medicaid in North Carolina

June 26, 2015

The Kochs took a hit with the announcement of an Obamacare win in the King v. Burwell Supreme Court decision, but don’t expect that to stop them from doing their damnedest to prevent more people from getting covered. In response to the decision, the Kochs’ political strong arm, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) has already released a new ad against Obamacare. AFP and the Kochs are also campaigning hard to prevent the expansion of Medicaid around the country. The latest ACA news has brought back that fight into focus, with North Carolina as one of the key decision states.
 
North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory already rejected the expansion back in 2013, but now the state has a second chance to help cover its nearly 600,000 uninsured residents. The latest calls for change have been met by AFP-North Carolina with dismissal. In a December post on their website, AFP-North Carolina Director Donald Bryson said that “refusing Medicaid […]

Kochs Attack Lawmakers Working to Expand Medicaid to 800,000 Floridians

March 30, 2015

The Koch brothers are campaigning against Florida state Senate President Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando) and 24 other senators who are working to expand Medicaid. Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity is sending mailers to Gardiner’s district and the districts of the other state senators who support the bill and has plans to ramp up its attack once the bill goes to the floor.

The expansion plan, known as the Florida Health Insurance Affordability Exchange program (FHIX), “includes conservative, free market guardrails that will control the cost and growth” of Medicaid in Florida, said Gardiner. In addition to the income requirements from the Affordable Care Act, FHIX has work and premium requirements:

30 hours a week for childless adults and 20 hours a week for parents of children under 18. Unemployed adults could qualify by spending that time searching for employment, participating in job-training activities or furthering their education. Disabled […]

Pat McCrory’s Medicaid Expansion Conundrum

January 16, 2015

Back in 2013, Gov. Pat McCrory roundly rejected the call for Medicaid expansion in North Carolina, leaving 500,000 constituents uninsured. The bill for the program would have been footed almost entirely by federal dollars, but that wasn’t going to stand in the way of McCrory asserting his categorical opposition to the Affordable Care Act.

At the time, the Koch brothers’ political arm, Americans For Prosperity, applauded McCrory for his denial of expanded health care access. That’s not overly surprising — McCrory has extensive ties to the Koch brothers, from doingrobocalls for AFP in 2011 before he was technically a gubernatorial candidate, to hiring long-time Koch-crony Art Pope as his budget director.

But it turns out denying people healthcare to prove one’s ideological purity isn’t overly popular. McCrory started to waffle on the issue after facing significant political pressure to accept Medicaid expansion. Of course, that didn’t sit too well with […]

Time and time again, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan has proposed budgets that would gut Medicaid and take health care away from millions of Americans. The Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity has repeatedly been right by his side.

AFP supported Rep. Ryan’s 2013 budget proposal, which would have turned Medicaid into a block grant program and cut spending by $810 billion over ten years. They also supported his 2012 budget plan, which would have turned Medicaid into a block grant program and eliminated federal coverage mandates.

The Kaiser Family Foundation estimated that under that plan, 14 to 27 million Americans would have lost Medicaid coverage, and the Congressional Research Service warned that costs would have been shifted back to the states, making it difficult for states to maintain their current Medicaid programs.

When examining AFP’s record on this issue, it’s important to bear in mind the groups of people served by Medicaid: Almost half of its recipients are children, and another quarter are either elderly or disabled.

The Koch brothers’ Americans For Prosperity group congratulated Gov. McCrory on his decision to reject Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act and deny health care to 500,000 North Carolinians at almost no cost to the state. AFP’s national president, Tim Phillips praised the governor for “trying to save American taxpayers from the federal government.”

As for the 500,000 low-income Tar Heel residents who were denied health insurance by the maneuver, AFP and the Koch brothers aren’t too concerned about them.

New Report: The Kochs’ Carolina Takeover

October 20, 2016

American Bridge Project is releasing a new report on the Koch brothers’ influence in the Tar Heel state, called, “The Kochs’ Carolina Takeover.”

From the anti-LGBTQ HB2 law to public education and environmental protections, the Kochs and their political cronies, like “third Koch brother” Art Pope, have worked tirelessly to turn North Carolina into their very own “model state.” Using puppets Governor Pat McCrory and Senator Richard Burr, the Kochs manipulated the system to their bottomline’s benefit at the cost of hard working families.

In the last six years, the Kochs have poured nearly half a million dollars into North Carolina state senate and house races in their efforts to protect Koch Industries’ special interests. The Koch company and its subsidaries have several locations in the state making it part of the frontline to defend their profits — no matter what the costs:

Art Pope and the Kochs helped re-segregate […]

Koch Network Program Sets Sights On Social Safety Net

August 23, 2016

Koch network groups are joining forces to go after the social safety net. Freedom Partners, Americans For Prosperity, the LIBRE Initiative, Concerned Veterans for America, and Generation Opportunity, are teaming up to go after the social safety net with a new “Stop, Cut & Fix” initiative, innocuously billed as “A simple plan to reduce spending and provide certainty.”

But it turns out “Stop, Cut & Fix” is code for “stop America’s working families from accessing vital programs, cut their earned benefits, and fix, well, nothing.”

Charles and David Koch have been trying to kill Medicaid and other social safety net programs for years. They’ve been unsuccessful to-date, but that doesn’t mean they’re taking “no” for an answer. On the contrary, the “Stop, Cut & Fix” launch shows Charles and David are as geared-up as ever to go after essential programs upon which millions of Americans rely.

Stop, Cut & Fix states its primary objective as […]

Rubio’s Re-Election Would Be A Win For The Kochs

June 23, 2016

The Koch network’s admiration of Marco Rubio is well documented. During the GOP presidential primary, the career politician was a top pick for Koch puppet-in-chief. With a presidential bid out of reach (for now), the Kochs’ best bet is to get one of their favorites re-elected to the Senate.

A spokeman for the Koch network, James Davis, also told The Hill that they would support his re-election:

“Sen. Rubio has been a strong leader in the Senate on a number of issues, including fighting against the [Export-Import] Bank and opposing wasteful spending increases.”

Yesterday, executive director of the LIBRE Intiative Daniel Garza was quick to tweet his excitement after Rubio announced his flip-flop. “The race for Senate in Florida just heated up. Welcome @marcorubio. Latinos to play major role in deciding this one.”

For months, Koch network leaders have been publicly praying for Rubio’s return to the Senate. American Commitment President Phil Kerpen tweeted in […]

When the Kochs’ Americans For Prosperity “Wins”, Floridians Lose

March 14, 2016

The Florida chapter of David and Charles Koch’s primary political front group, Americans for Prosperity, is being hailed as a “winner” of Florida’s 2016 legislative session. Victory for the Kochs almost always comes at the cost of average working Americans, and this time is no different. Wielding their political power over the Florida legislature, the Kochs successfully denied 1.1 million Floridians health insurance when they blocked Medicaid expansion in 2015. At the beginning of the 2016 session, AFP kicked off another round of “accountability” mailers to lawmakers — bullying their way to victory.

State director Chris Hudson called on lawmakers to “commit themselves to pushing free-market health care reforms that will yield more positive results for Florida’s most needy.” Predictably, significant reforms to Florida’s broken healthcare system failed to come to fruition during the session. AFP’s opposition to Medicaid expansion–coupled with its failure to provide […]

Koch Support Pays Off For Washington Republican Joe Heck

March 1, 2016

American Bridge 21st Cenutry Press Secretary Katie Lewallen released the following statement in response to the Koch backed “veterans” group, Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) recent ad buy backing Congressman Joe Heck:

“Koch support has paid off for Washington Republican Joe Heck, who has advocated special interests over representing Nevadans. Joe Heck and the Koch created CVA push policies that would privatize the VA and could result in one-fifth of future veterans being ineligible for VA care. Those who served in uniform deserve to receive the care they were promised, and Joe Heck has proven that he will not represent working and military families in Nevada.”

Read more about the Concerned Veterans for America here, “The Vets Group That Fights Against Veterans.”
 
Read more about Heck’s record on voting against legislation to protect veterans’ healthcare from being turned in to a voucher program and opposing increased funding for PTSD treatment and awareness:

Heck’s Record On Veterans’ Healthcare

2011: VOTED AGAINST A BILL TO […]

“Persuasive, Timely And Necessary” — New Details From Jane Mayer’s Book On The Kochs

January 13, 2016

The Kochs’ fortune has allowed them to control much about their world, unfortunately they can’t hide the complete truth about their history and agenda. Out next week, a new book on the Kochs by the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer, Dark Money, is already picking up praise in a new review.

The New York Times calls the book “a persuasive, timely and necessary story of the Koch brothers’ empire.“ Here are some of our favorite highlights from the review:

The Kochs’ first and foremost interest is in their own bottom line. They’ve manipulated the Republican Party for their benefit

“To protect their investments in coal and oil pipelines and refineries (somewhat pared down in the last decade), the Koch brothers have, Ms. Mayer points out, funded think tanks committed to raising doubt about climate change. They have also spent tens of millions of dollars to roll back environmental regulations and defund or abolish the federal agencies that […]

In An Off-Year Election, The Kochs Remain As Invested As Ever

November 3, 2015

It’s Election Day 2015 — and the Kochs have a lot of money on the line. It may be an off-year election, but Charles and David Koch are as invested as ever. Though they downplay the extent of their influence and impact of their machinations, up and down the ticket — from Colorado and Utah, to Kentucky, Mississippi, and Virginia — Charles and David Koch are using sizable investments and politically-weaponized front groups to influence electoral outcomes and advance their selfish agenda.

The Kochs get a lot attention — deservedly — for their massive investments in congressional, gubernatorial, and presidential elections, but they aren’t afraid to get local, either. The Koch’s Americans for Prosperity dropped big money in Jefferson County, Colorado, turning the school board election into “a money-soaked proxy war.” In Douglas County, CO, AFP’s spent more than $130,000. And over in Utah, AFP’s been lobbying hard against a gas tax ballot initiative.

Back East, […]

Scrambling To Hide Koch Commitments, GOP Field Boots “Biggest Weakness” Question

October 29, 2015

Wednesday night’s debate opened with a question that — while simple — gave the GOP field some trouble: “What’s your biggest weakness?” Each of the candidates ducked and dodged the question to the best of their respective abilities — some better than others. (To paraphrase Donald Trump, some of them “just don’t have it”: Blah, blah, blah, etc.)

But the reason the candidates struggled is no more complex than the question itself: Rubio, Bush, Cruz, and the rest of the crew couldn’t exactly go up there and tell the truth — they couldn’t admit that they’re boxed in by an inflexible fealty to Charles and David Koch and their selfish agenda. It’s not exactly voter-friendly to admit that, in everything you do, in any legislation you push, the Kochs’ agenda — and their bottom line — will always supersede the interests of the American public.

Three candidates in particular,

New AFP Ad For McCrory Ignores Slashed Education Funding

October 26, 2015

Earlier this year, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory slashed important education funding in order to cut taxes for North Carolina’s wealthiest residents — another step in making North Carolina the Kochs’ “model state.” Now, the Kochs want North Carolinians to say thank you for the budget changes that have been good for millionaires and billionaires like the Kochs but have had devastating effects on students and families around the state.

Koch front group Americans for Prosperity introduced a six-figure, 30-second ad buy yesterday evening. The ad ignores the education funding issues, saying, “People all across North Carolina are smiling a little more.” The only people smiling are the millionaires and billionaires like the Koch brothers who are benefiting from the tax cuts at the expense of public schools.

Read more about the Kochs in North Carolina and McCrory’s terrible tax policies below:

Of Course The Kochs Love The NC […]

Marco Rubio’s Energy Plan Reads Like A Big Oil And Koch Wishlist

October 16, 2015

Today, Marco Rubio released his energy plan, promising to help American “take full advantage of our energy potential.” But his plan reads like a Koch Industries wishlist: Rubio pushes to end the oil export ban, build Keystone despite environmental concerns, and phase out the Renewable Fuel Standard.

In response to Rubio’s plan, American Bridge President Jessica Mackler released the following statement:

“Marco Rubio says his energy plan will bring the country into a the 21st century. However, the ever-absent senator’s policies aren’t original or groundbreaking. Rubio is advocating for outdated practices that would take us back decades in addressing climate change. Just like Jeb Bush and the rest of the GOP field, Marco Rubio’s plan promises to protect big oil and the Koch brothers, instead of growing clean energy and protecting the environment.”
Rubio And The Kochs

AFP’s 2015 “Wish List” Includes “Approve The Keystone XL Pipeline, Repeal The Oil Export Ban, Fight The New EPA […]

NEW KOCH BOOK: Bad Profit: How The Billionaire Brothers Steering The GOP Are Driven By A Self-Interested & Self-Enriching Agenda

October 13, 2015

In his new book out today, Good Profit, Charles Koch sets out to deceive readers that the Koch family’s prominence and wealth has been built on sound, ethical, and even patriotic principles. In reality, the Koch brothers and their business empire has been built on a foundation of what Koch describes as “bad profit.”

Good Profit is just another attempt by Koch to pull the wool over the American public’s eyes and hide the fact that the billionaire Koch brothers and their profit driven business and political philosophy hurts real families and working people across the country.

If you’re picking up a copy of Good Profit today, you might want to think twice. Publisher’s Weekly gave Koch’s book a brutal early review calling it a “rambling rah-rah for his company’s operating philosophy,” “a book-length advertisement for Koch Industries’ products, and for himself as a businessman,” and “self-congratulatory and slim.”

This week as the Koch PR machine […]

Pro-“Creative Disruption” Koch Front Group: Innovate Around Laws, Kids

October 6, 2015

The Kochs’ massive failure of a youth outreach front group is still around, apparently. And Generation Opportunity’s latest effort at encouraging “creative disruption” looks suspiciously like encouraging “law breaking.”

 

With a recent blog post entitled, “How Food Trucks Are Using Social Media to Get Around Government Regulators,” Generation Opportunity cleverly taps into millennials’ well-documented weakness for food trucks, while subtly emphasizing the perils of “burdensome government regulations.”

 

Such regulations are of course also known as “laws” — and the Generation Opportunity post is all about “innovat[ing]…around” them. Or, as the practice is more popularly known: “Breaking the law.”

 

But then again, in characteristic Koch front-group fashion, Generation Opportunity has never had the best interests of its target audience at heart. From opposition to student loan forgiveness and Medicaid expansions, to actively discouraging young people from getting health insurance, Generation Opportunity has consistently weighed Charles and David’s priorities — and bottom […]

What Happens When You Don’t Listen To The Kochs, Ohio Edition

August 14, 2015

The Columbus Dispatch reports that half a million more Ohioans have health insurance thanks to Medicaid expansion in the Buckeye state– and it’s costing a whopping $2 billion less than anticipated.

This is exactly what happens when you don’t listen to the Kochs, who staged a full court press against expanding Medicaid. It’s clear the Kochs were only concerned about their own interests, not the half a million Ohioans who now have health insurance.

Columbus Dispatch: Ohio’s Medicaid costs $2 billion less than estimates

Hold your horses — Kochs and GOP will continue to fight ACA

June 25, 2015

More than six million Americans are breathing a sigh of relief today knowing they’ll be able to keep their affordable health insurance, but the scene at Koch headquarters is undoubtedly whipping into a frenzy. They’re gearing up for the next fight to prevent Medicaid expansion in the states and getting ready to bark orders at GOP politicians like Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush eager to follow their lead.

For people who prioritize return on investment, today’s ruling dealt a huge blow to the Kochs, who spent millions to bring King v. Burwell to the Supreme Court and to stop Medicaid expansion.  Now more than ever, they will work with conservative state governments and GOP candidates to push their extreme agenda.

With this latest defeat, the Kochs and their Republican allies are setting their sights on next year’s court decisions and, of course, the White House.

Of Course The Kochs Love The NC Senate’s Devastating Budget Proposal

June 19, 2015

North Carolina’s state Senate recently released a devastating budget proposal that — if passed — will mean dire cuts to education. And the Kochs love it. Earlier this week, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) North Carolina praised the proposal, with its the state director calling it “a responsible plan” and saying the budget reflected “priorities that Americans for Prosperity supports.” So what exactly does the brothers’ political arm consider “priorities?”

According to WRAL, some of the most egregious changes include eliminating more than 8,500 teaching assistant positions, increasing community college tuition, and getting rid of 520 pre-k spots. And because this is the state of broken promises (see: Pat McCrory), there are plenty of shirked campaign commitments mixed in as well, particularly when it comes to the education lottery. 

The Senate also refused to address the state’s low ranking in both per-student funding and teacher salary.

As WRAL reported earlier this year,

The National Education Association […]

Kochs cannibalize their own

June 8, 2015

The Koch brothers are so extreme that they’re targeting Florida Republicans who support such unholy things as providing people with affordable health care and fixing crumbling roads and bridges. The Kochs have already made sure that they’re responsible if 1.3 million Floridians lose affordable health insurance this month.

To be fair, Florida Republicans probably saw this coming. Americans for Prosperity is targeting 25 state senators for supporting Medicaid expansion that would provide 800,000 Floridians with health care. In response, one Florida Republican recently called out AFP in a hearing, saying, “Obviously you’re for prosperity for yourself and not anyone else … You people serve absolutely no purpose.” Others are trashing AFP’s motives and attempts to deceive voters.

Nationally, the Kochs are trying to get ahead of their problems with state Republicans bucking their agenda by holding auditions for the top GOP presidential contenders for a share of the nearly $900 million they’re spending this election. The Kochs have 

Republican Calls out Americans for Prosperity for Deceptive Tactics

April 17, 2015

The Koch brothers might have an uprising on their hands. For the second time in less than a month, Republicans in the Florida state Senate have called out the state’s branch of Americans for Prosperity for their manipulative tactics.

In a subcommittee hearing addressing Medicaid expansion, state Sen. Rene Garcia said the Koch-funded group was sending out misleading mailers that “deceive the voters of my district.”

AFP lobbyist Melissa Fause responded by saying “maybe our intent didn’t come through in the mailers” because the state Senate was in fact “already engaging in a lot of amazing policies.”

At that, a second Republican state senator, Lizbeth Benacquisto, asked Fause, “would you mind sending a mailer to all of our constituents that you sent the original mailer to, suggesting we’re engaged in some ‘really amazing’ policy development and follow up on your comments here at this committee?’

It’s good to see that more Republicans are starting to […]

Paid for by American Bridge 21st Century Foundation