The Buck Stops Where?

        In his commencement address at Kalamazoo Central High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan on June 7, President Obama focused on the theme of personal responsibility:

“Don't make excuses. Take responsibility not just for your successes, but for your failures as well.  The truth is, no matter how hard you work, you won't necessarily ace every class or succeed in every job. There will be times when you screw up, when you hurt the people you love, when you stray from your most deeply held values.  And when that happens, it's the easiest thing in the world to start looking around for someone to blame. Your professor was too hard, your boss was a jerk, the coach was playing favorites, your friend just didn't understand. We see it every day out in Washington, with folks calling each other names and making all sorts of accusations on TV.”

        Rather than passing the buck, President Obama urged the class of 2010 to accept that it is their actions and their actions alone that will determine the directions of their lives, and that they are responsible for their choices; they are the makers of their own destinies.

      
Ironically, President Obama has spent his entire tenure in office playing Monday morning quarterback and blaming anyone and anything but himself and his administration – including former President Bush, Vice President Cheney, the Bush administration, conservatives on Capitol Hill, Fox News, and members of the tea party – for the problems and failures of the present and for standing in the way of his twisted version of progress, the “fundamental transformation of America.”  President Obama has gone so far as to pompously liken the state of the country he inherited in 2009 to the division of the Union and the greatest threat to the survival of freedom and democracy this country has faced since its birth during the tenure of President Lincoln. 

          Perennially passing the buck, President Obama has repeatedly employed the theme of housecleaning and in particular, the symbol of the mop, to illustrate his efforts to “clean-up” the alleged disorder and chaos with which the previous administration bequeathed him.  Willfully ignorant of the pervasive cries for real change Americans can believe in, such as transparency and accountability, President Obama has predictably attributed residents of Virginia and New Jersey sweeping tax and spend liberals from the steps of their capitols to anger directed at the Bush administration:

“The same thing that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office,” Obama said in an interview with ABC News. "People are angry, and they're frustrated. Not just because of what's happened in the last year or two years, but what's happened over the last eight years.”

          Though Obama did nothing as a Senator to prevent the housing bubble or even to sound the alarm for the pending financial crisis, he is quick to cast aspersions and blame on others, all while ignoring the actions and – in the case of the oil spill – the gross inaction of his administration.  President Obama, it appears, would have the graduates do as he says and not as he does.

          Finally rising to the level of visible vexation following near two-months of maintaining his cool and collected public persona, President Obama has demonstrated his outrage regarding the BP oil spill by assuring the American people he is learning “whose ass to kick.”  While Hollywood and the lame-stream media labeled President Bush’s lethargic response to Hurricane Katrina as genocide, they have been markedly silent to Obama’s “hands-off” approach to the Gulf crisis.  In the forty-six days following Katrina, President Bush visited New Orleans 8 times and surveyed the damage only 2 days after the hurricane touched down.  President Obama, however, who vowed he “would not rest” until the spill has been contained, has visited the Louisiana coast a mere 3 times and has yet found time to fundraise for Senator Boxer, vacation in Chicago, attend 4 commencement exercises, honor America-loathing Paul McCartney, golf, and play basketball.  Obama has consistently reminded the American people that he and his administration have been on the job since “Day 1” regarding this disaster, but his actions and inaction are wholly inconsistent with this promise.

        
         Americans were right to want leadership from the Bush administration in the aftermath of Katrina, and they are right to seek it from their Commander-in-Chief in the wake of a natural disaster that will affect our shores and industry for decades and potentially generations.  Mr. Obama has been derelict with his duties, and in this instance, he would be wise to heed his own advice and stop shirking blame, roll up his sleeves, and get his hands dirty. 

          Mr. President, Americans are weary of your constant campaigning; the day you entered office was the day we began measuring your actions not the grandiose nature of your words.  We see your anger.  We are angry too.  We crave information and the truth, and we want action.  You have not placated your electorate with an occasional strategically placed curse word.  Blaming BP CEOs, equipment manufacturers, and federal agencies that oversee drilling has not prevented oil globs from washing ashore.  Nearly two months following the explosion that caused the leak, Americans should not be asking, “Who is in charge?” 

          Several days ago, President Obama finally declared of the oil catastrophe, “I take responsibility. It is my job to make sure that everything is done to shut this down.”  This is the type of candid admission of personal responsibility the President touted in his graduation speech, which engenders faith in government rather than fear and mistrust.  The American people are weary of Monday morning quarterbacking.  We want a quarterback who leads his team swiftly and decisively, one who drops back into the pocket and hits his open receiver in between the numbers and admits when his pass is wide right.  Any football fan knows receivers won’t go up the middle for a quarterback they don’t trust to know the precise timing of their routes.  That’s how the great combinations like Montana-Rice, Manning-Wayne, and Jurgensen-Taylor are born: trust.  Now, it is up to President Obama if he is going to become a leader who admits he’s dropped the ball, thrown some picks, and goes into the huddle at the start of the third vowing that the game rests on his shoulders.  Mr. Obama, stop passing the buck.  The fate of the Gulf region depends on your leadership and execution.

~Elf

Worst Case Scenario

After a month of hearing the media's interpretation of which coastlines could (potentially, maybe) be affected next or how the situation could be worse, it looks like I'm not the only one who thinks that the media is trying to create excess drama (and likewise needs to get Michael Bay involved with the situation).

I guess it's no surprise that the media likes to use shock and awe factors to boost their ratings by showing us how disastrous an event could have been. (Five bonus points to anyone who can name the following reference without clicking on the link above:  Quote: "...And now here's what it would have looked like if the plane had crashed into a school for bunnies!")

~Gee

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, No It's...

During the 2008 Presidential Campaign, then-Senator Barack Obama released his “Blueprint for Change,” a document outlining his grand plans for our nation once he became president.  The document was hailed as an idyllic roadmap to this country’s transformation.  In his proposal, he grandly claimed to the nation that he was in the presidential race to quite literally “save our planet.”  He also boasted that “the Democratic Party has always made the biggest difference in the lives of the American people.” 

Now, however, in the face of the largest man-made oil spill in history, where is President Obama, the savior of the world? What steps has he taken to stop the gushing of oil into the gulf and onto the shores of American soil?  A month after the spill, the man who claimed his presidency would mark the moment in history that “the planet began to heal” is notably absent from the solution-finding process.  Why?

Well, first of all, I imagine it’s a little difficult for the President to successfully don a brightly-colored spandex suit, mask, and cape to come flying to the rescue of the planet as his inflated comments suggested he would (although, if that were to happen, I have no doubt that the media would capture the “inspirational” moment of Obama’s head held high, his cape blowing in the wind, and a whole rescued family of endangered baby ducks sleeping peacefully in his arms).  In all seriousness though, the reality of the oil spill requires complex, highly-specialized, technological inventions to solve a problem that has never before been seen, so honestly, what contribution could a community organizer / politician have on the situation? Answer: none.  There is no scientific solution that our government can offer to a problem that clearly requires a scientific solution. 

Why would the government be able to do any better than BP’s failed attempts?  How could they? The federal government is not an oil-drilling specialist.  The federal government’s only expertise is – and should be – in policy-making (and given the vast quantity of recent bills that have passed into law without our politicians reading the text to ensure constitutionality, I make this statement quite liberally). Still, scientists from oil drilling companies are the experts.  They are the ones that politicians call in for special advice when regulating and making new laws and policies, since the technology is simply beyond their general knowledge base. 

If expert scientists and engineers from oil companies are unable to find a solution to the oil spill, there is certainly no way that Obama is going to find a solution. Obama realizes this, therefore, instead of putting himself in the spotlight and subjecting his impotency and inability to solve this deep-sea dilemma to the public’s über-critical eye, he opted to lay low, hoping no one would remember his claim to rescue the planet just a few years prior.

Even if Obama can’t imagineer a real solution on his own, he has recently taken action by commissioning James Cameron, Director of the movie Titanic, to do the brainstorming for him…because, you know, people who direct movies about sunken ships clearly understand the technology behind stopping an oil leak.  

Listen, I don’t claim to have the answers to this problem either, but it just seems to me that if the government is going to turn to Hollywood to save the planet, maybe Obama should have chosen Michael Bay over James Cameron.  I mean, in Armageddon, Bruce Willis’ team was a bunch of deep-sea oil rig geniuses who flew two spaceships into space (spaceships, by the way, that were magically funded, built, and modified for the space drilling expedition in a mere few days time). They drilled a bunch of holes into an asteroid, walked around dramatically in slow motion, and dropped a couple of nukes down the half-mile holes.  If the government is looking for solutions from Hollywood, it just seems like it might just be better to put the fate of the world in the hands of Bruce Willis and his team instead of Leonardo DiCaprio. (After all, in the words of the immortal Bruce Willis: "The United States government just asked us to save the world. Anybody wanna say no?")

Still, all joking aside, I do think some credit needs to be given to the federal government in times like this.  After all, I don’t believe that every crisis is at the fault of the current sitting president. It’s simply not possible to blame any one particular party for a disaster, because a disaster – by its very nature – usually implies that there was a perfect storm of mishaps that have been building over time.  Take Hurricane Katrina, for example – one of the most powerful series of climate patterns to hit the Gulf in years.  Would the hurricane have been so destructive if the population had not chosen to live in a region that is several feet below sea level and logically in a location subject to high risks of flooding?  Was it President Bush’s fault that the local tax money that had been collected for over 20 years was squandered by local politicians on other pet projects fix instead of repairing the levies as the region’s primary source of protection against flooding? No, but that’s what happens when we create a nanny state – we create false expectations for a government entity that has no reasonable means or requirement to solve every problem on this planet. 

It is not the federal government’s responsibility or role to fix every bad mortgage deal. It is not the federal government’s responsibility to regulate and control the patient-doctor relationship.  Nor is it the federal government’s responsibility to find a solution for the failures of private companies.  However, since the federal government previously failed to review BP's engineering "fail safe plans" when approving the original drilling permits, the federal government must assume at least partial responsibility for the current disaster. Likewise, this oil spill affects the ocean coast and borders multiple states. Since the ocean is beyond the constitutional reach of the states independently, it is reasonable to also assume that the federal government does need to step in to protect the property of those affected by the spill.

In short, every day that passes without the federal government taking action to at least protect the property of the states affected, the federal government is failing at its constitutional responsibility. 

Regardless of whether this systematic failure did or did not happen during Obama’s presidency, the impact is still hitting the Gulf now, so we must ask: Where is his leadership?  He is perfectly willing to come to the aid of banks (that support him) or pass mandatory health care (with added perks to interest groups who support him), but where is his "patriarchal" attitude now? If it's his moral obligation to save the planet and oversee our whole lives, including what we eat, what kind of car we drive, and how much money we can make, where is his "protective" umbrella of assistance for the Gulf States?

If Obama wants to play Superman for every other part of our lives, if he wants to make grandiose claims that under his leadership, “the planet can begin to heal,” he had better be prepared to follow up his lofty speech with action – and this oil spill is his chance to do so. However, given the ongoing span of this oil disaster and the continual lack of leadership our President has demonstrated, it’s about time that this administration stops the blame-game, fear-mongering, and threats against BP with fines for violating environmental regulations and starts making legitimate steps toward protecting the trans-state coastline until a solution can be found.

~Gee

The Inheritance of Freedom

Are they dead that yet speak louder than we can speak, and a more universal language?  Are they dead that yet act?  Are they dead that yet move upon society and inspire the people with nobler motives and more heroic patriotism?  — Henry Ward Beecher

    
          On this Memorial Day weekend, I take the opportunity to pause and reflect on the supreme sacrifices of those men and women who have given their lives so that we may be free.  From the brave warriors who fought in the Revolutionary War to gain our independence and freedom to those U.S. forces currently fighting the war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq, I pay tribute to those heroic Americans who have given all to their country.  Our armed forces and their families deserve our gratitude not just on a holiday created to honor the fallen, but every day; their willingness to fight and die to protect country and liberty is an ever-present reminder that freedom is not free.  The very privilege I have to be able to freely express my opinions on this blog site was bought with the blood of those who stormed the beaches of Normandy, charged on Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg, and the Marines who fought Japanese artillery to raise our flag atop Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima.  In the name of democracy, these same veterans have fought to uphold a common freedom across the globe and defended foreign nations from oppression and despotism.

          At this juncture in history in which I observe the bulwark of our liberties, the Constitution, being ignored, trampled upon, and stretched to fit political agendas, I vow that I will do all in my power to stand alongside those Americans who love and fight for this great country and the freedoms for which our proud flag stands.  Our union is never more than a generation from the brink of dissolution, nor our freedoms secure from the strong-arm of tyranny.  The inheritance of freedom will stand as a testament to our veterans' memories long after the engraved stones bearing witness to their heroism fade.  

          Though it is our Creator who endows liberty, it is our veterans and those currently serving who have preserved it here on earth.  The Bible teaches that the greatest love a man can possess is the willingness to lay down his life for his friends, and this holiday is a reminder of that love and sacrifice, the most important of which came on the cross some two-thousand years ago.

In loving memory of my grandfather Everett Gosnell, WWII veteran, who returned from the war to lead a quiet, virtuous life dedicated to his family and the land he loved

~Elf

Hypocrisy, Thy Name is Mexico

Over the course of President Obama's tenure in office, one of the prevailing criticisms of his administration has been that's he's attempting to make us more like Europe.  On the issue of immigration, however, I'd like to see him mirror Mexico.  Mexican President Felipe Calderon has been an outspoken critic of the Arizona law, impugning it as "the criminalization of migration" which "far from contribut[es] to collaboration and cooperation between Mexico and the state of Arizona."  While no one solicited his opinion, his intrusion raises an interesting contrast between Mexico and the United States.  Ironically, Mexico's laws on immigration and their enforcement thereof, stand in sharp contrast to that of the United States.  Mexico ensures that its immigrants are legal, not burdensome, have the means to sustain themselves financially, are of upstanding moral character, and can contribute to the general good of society:

·  Foreigners are admitted into Mexico “according to their possibilities of contributing to national progress.” (Article 32)

·  Immigration officials must “ensure” that “immigrants will be useful elements for the country and that they have the necessary funds for their sustenance” and for their dependents. (Article 34)

·  Foreigners may be barred from the country if their presence upsets “the equilibrium of the national demographics,” when foreigners are deemed detrimental to “economic or national interests,” when they do not behave like good citizens in their own country, when they have broken Mexican laws, and when “they are not found to be physically or mentally healthy.” (Article 37)

·  The secretary of Governance may “suspend or prohibit the admission of foreigners when he determines it to be in the national interest.” (Article 38)

·  Federal, local and municipal police must cooperate with federal immigration authorities upon request, i.e., to assist in the arrests of illegal immigrants. (Article 73)

·  A National Population Registry keeps track of “every single individual who comprises the population of the country,” and verifies each individual’s identity. (Articles 85 and 86)

·  A national Catalog of Foreigners tracks foreign tourists and immigrants (Article 87), and assigns each individual with a unique tracking number (Article 91).Foreigners with fake papers, or who enter the country under false pretenses, may be imprisoned:

·  Foreigners with fake immigration papers may be fined or imprisoned. (Article 116)

·  Foreigners who sign government documents “with a signature that is false or different from that which he normally uses” are subject to fine and imprisonment. (Article 116)

·  Foreigners who fail to obey the rules will be fined, deported, and/or imprisoned as felons:

·  Foreigners who fail to obey a deportation order are to be punished. (Article 117)

·  Foreigners who are deported from Mexico and attempt to re-enter the country without authorization can be imprisoned for up to 10 years. (Article 118)

·  Foreigners who violate the terms of their visa may be sentenced to up to six years in prison (Articles 119, 120 and 121). Foreigners who misrepresent the terms of their visa while in Mexico — such as working without a permit — can also be imprisoned.Under Mexican law, illegal immigration is a felony.

·  “A penalty of up to two years in prison and a fine of three hundred to five thousand pesos will be imposed on the foreigner who enters the country illegally.” (Article 123)

·  Foreigners with legal immigration problems may be deported from Mexico instead of being imprisoned. (Article 125) 

·  Foreigners who “attempt against national sovereignty or security” will be deported. (Article 126)Mexicans who help illegal aliens enter the country are themselves considered criminals under the law.

·  A Mexican who marries a foreigner with the sole objective of helping the foreigner live in the country is subject to up to five years in prison. (Article 127)

·  Shipping and airline companies that bring undocumented foreigners into Mexico will be fined. (Article 132)

These principles are exactly what our immigration policies for legal immigrants are designed to do, except no one in Washington desires to enforce them, whether for far-left Utopian ideals or for fear of offending the legal Hispanic voting block.  Immigrants to Mexico who violate their visa statuses or the terms of their entries into the country do not simply face the proverbial slap on the wrist; they are fined, deported, and often imprisoned.  Given Mexico's stellar record on human rights, I know which fate I'd rather face.  How about you?  It's clear that Mexico's immigration laws are designed to protect their national interests, and it's time that the Obama administration - something on which their predecessors also failed the American people - understands that both protecting and enforcing our borders will determine the fate of our nation and the continued war on terror, d.b.a. the "overseas contingency operation."

~Elf

Illegal Immigration - Discriminating Against the Protection of U.S. Citizens

You may recall from last month that Arizona signed into law a bill now requiring immigrants to carry their registration documents at all times (and likewise requires police officers to question an individual if there is reason to suspect the person is in the country illegally).

Despite the fact that this populous-endorsed law is simply a state-level version mirroring an ignored federal law, a select few politicians and Hollywood celebrities have since then been protesting Arizona’s decision by attempting to undermine the law as racist and discriminatory.

I’d like to first and foremost respectfully remind these politicians that their only responsibility as an elected public official of the United States is to protect and serve U.S. citizens.

Illegal immigrants choose to violate our laws for a variety of reasons: convenience, unwillingness to forfeit citizenship to their native country, lack of opportunities to earn money in their home country, etc. Their violation of our laws does not just stop at failing to fill out some immigration paperwork.  They reap the benefits of our federal and state resources (roads, schools, hospitals, fire and police services, etc.), yet they do not pay into the tax system. They fraudulently obtain jobs using stolen social security numbers, drivers’ licenses and forged birth certificates. It is stealing.

Does a thief have the right to break into someone’s home and steal the homeowner’s money and property, simply because he is less fortunate? No, because the ends do not justify the means, which is why it is our elected officials’ constitutional responsibility to take action and implement measures that counter and prevent these crimes. 

Our elected officials should follow suit with Arizona by enabling police officers to get the information they need to deport illegal immigrants. We need to bury this "discriminatory" nonsense about whether or not it's humane for officers to discern the citizenship status of an individual.  Furthermore, our elected officials need to protect employers by re-instituting e-Verify and allowing employers to verify that their employees have not fraudulently used the social security number of another individual. Speaking of theft, we should deport all illegal immigrants in jails.  The U.S. taxpayers should not be burdened with jailing (housing, feeding, and caring for) criminals from other countries.

Our politicians need to further remove the entitlement argument from their vocabulary. We, the U.S. citizens, do NOT need immigrants to do our "dirty work," and the recent recession is proof of this.  With the significant job shortage, Americans have been desperate to do whatever it takes to provide for themselves and their families, whether it meant providing lawn care services, cleaning houses, waiting tables or flipping burgers at McDonalds.  The U.S. does not need to employ the rest of the world when our own citizen population unemployment rate hovers around 10%.

Given our politicians’ Constitutional obligation to protect the property and identity rights of their constituents, how is it racist to expect them to fulfill this duty?


When I travel out of the country, is it racist and discriminatory for me to be required to carry a passport with me through the other countries? No, it isn’t, because my passport is the paperwork not only allows my entry into another country but is my proof of citizenship to the U.S.A. and legal form of international identification.


When I purchase a bottle of wine at the grocery store, is it racist and discriminatory for the cashier to be required to check my driver’s license and ensure I am over the age of 21?  No, it isn’t, because my driver’s license legally proves my age and ability to purchase alcohol.

When a police officer stops a driver with slurred speech and poor hand-eye coordination, is it racist and discriminatory for the officer to give a blood-alcohol test, ensuring the driver is not placing innocent lives at risk by driving while intoxicated?  No, it isn’t, because a driver displaying common physical traits of drunkenness makes that person an obvious suspect for drunk driving.

On a different note, trust California to try and turn an issue into a boycott fit for …well, a Hollywood movie.  California, a state that ironically bears the burden of hosting nearly 3 million illegal immigrants (yet still scratches its head as to why it can’t come close to balancing a budget), is attempting to institute a financial blow to Arizona via their boycott against Arizona products.  Well, let's see if they stand behind their decision, now that Arizona is considering boycotting California by completely cutting off all economic dealings between the states – including the power supply that Arizona’s utilities companies provide to California residents.

Well, I think I speak on behalf of both Elf and myself when I say that a vacation to Arizona sounds very appealing right now.


~Gee

Fool Me Once, Shame on You. Fool Me Twice, Shame On Me.

I just ran across a wonderful website to which I have pledged my support, Remember November.

In the spirit of their motto, "Remember[ing] November so we can return America to its founding principles of freedom, personal responsibility and economic liberty," I thought it appropriate to list the multitude of new boards and commissions which the new health care bill created.  Come November, these will surely help all those newly laid off legislators and their families, who will be re-locating from Washington when the American people send Congress and President Obama a giant, pink love letter at the ballots.

elf

1. Grant program for consumer assistance offices (Section 1002, p. 37)
2. Grant program for states to monitor premium increases (Section 1003, p. 42)
3. Committee to review administrative simplification standards (Section 1104, p. 71)
4. Demonstration program for state wellness programs (Section 1201, p. 93)
5. Grant program to establish state Exchanges (Section 1311(a), p. 130)
6. State American Health Benefit Exchanges (Section 1311(b), p. 131)
7. Exchange grants to establish consumer navigator programs (Section 1311(i), p. 150)
8. Grant program for state cooperatives (Section 1322, p. 169)
9. Advisory board for state cooperatives (Section 1322(b)(3), p. 173)
10. Private purchasing council for state cooperatives (Section 1322(d), p. 177)
11. State basic health plan programs (Section 1331, p. 201)
12. State-based reinsurance program (Section 1341, p. 226)
13. Program of risk corridors for individual and small group markets (Section 1342, p. 233)
14. Program to determine eligibility for Exchange participation (Section 1411, p. 267)
15. Program for advance determination of tax credit eligibility (Section 1412, p. 288)
16. Grant program to implement health IT enrollment standards (Section 1561, p. 370)
17. Federal Coordinated Health Care Office for dual eligible beneficiaries (Section 2602, p. 512)
18. Medicaid quality measurement program (Section 2701, p. 518)
19. Medicaid health home program for people with chronic conditions, and grants for planning same (Section 2703, p. 524)
20. Medicaid demonstration project to evaluate bundled payments (Section 2704, p. 532)
21. Medicaid demonstration project for global payment system (Section 2705, p. 536)
22. Medicaid demonstration project for accountable care organizations (Section 2706, p. 538)
23. Medicaid demonstration project for emergency psychiatric care (Section 2707, p. 540)
24. Grant program for delivery of services to individuals with postpartum depression (Section 2952(b), p. 591)
25. State allotments for grants to promote personal responsibility education programs (Section 2953, p. 596)
26. Medicare value-based purchasing program (Section 3001(a), p. 613)
27. Medicare value-based purchasing demonstration program for critical access hospitals (Section 3001(b), p. 637)
28. Medicare value-based purchasing program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 3006(a), p. 666)
29. Medicare value-based purchasing program for home health agencies (Section 3006(b), p. 668)
30. Interagency Working Group on Health Care Quality (Section 3012, p. 688)
31. Grant program to develop health care quality measures (Section 3013, p. 693)
32. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Section 3021, p. 712)
33. Medicare shared savings program (Section 3022, p. 728)
34. Medicare pilot program on payment bundling (Section 3023, p. 739)
35. Independence at home medical practice demonstration program (Section 3024, p. 752)
36. Program for use of patient safety organizations to reduce hospital readmission rates (Section 3025(b), p. 775)
37. Community-based care transitions program (Section 3026, p. 776)
38. Demonstration project for payment of complex diagnostic laboratory tests (Section 3113, p. 800)
39. Medicare hospice concurrent care demonstration project (Section 3140, p. 850)
40. Independent Payment Advisory Board (Section 3403, p. 982)
41. Consumer Advisory Council for Independent Payment Advisory Board (Section 3403, p. 1027)
42. Grant program for technical assistance to providers implementing health quality practices (Section 3501, p. 1043)
43. Grant program to establish interdisciplinary health teams (Section 3502, p. 1048)
44. Grant program to implement medication therapy management (Section 3503, p. 1055)
45. Grant program to support emergency care pilot programs (Section 3504, p. 1061)
46. Grant program to promote universal access to trauma services (Section 3505(b), p. 1081)
47. Grant program to develop and promote shared decision-making aids (Section 3506, p. 1088)
48. Grant program to support implementation of shared decision-making (Section 3506, p. 1091)
49. Grant program to integrate quality improvement in clinical education (Section 3508, p. 1095)
50. Health and Human Services Coordinating Committee on Women’s Health (Section 3509(a), p. 1098)
51. Centers for Disease Control Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(b), p. 1102)
52. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(e), p. 1105)
53. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(f), p. 1106)
54. Food and Drug Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(g), p. 1109)
55. National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council (Section 4001, p. 1114)
56. Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health (Section 4001(f), p. 1117)
57. Prevention and Public Health Fund (Section 4002, p. 1121)
58. Community Preventive Services Task Force (Section 4003(b), p. 1126)
59. Grant program to support school-based health centers (Section 4101, p. 1135)
60. Grant program to promote research-based dental caries disease management (Section 4102, p. 1147)
61. Grant program for States to prevent chronic disease in Medicaid beneficiaries (Section 4108, p. 1174)
62. Community transformation grants (Section 4201, p. 1182)
63. Grant program to provide public health interventions (Section 4202, p. 1188)
64. Demonstration program of grants to improve child immunization rates (Section 4204(b), p. 1200)
65. Pilot program for risk-factor assessments provided through community health centers (Section 4206, p. 1215)
66. Grant program to increase epidemiology and laboratory capacity (Section 4304, p. 1233)
67. Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (Section 4305, p. 1238)
68. National Health Care Workforce Commission (Section 5101, p. 1256)
69. Grant program to plan health care workforce development activities (Section 5102(c), p. 1275)
70. Grant program to implement health care workforce development activities (Section 5102(d), p. 1279)
71. Pediatric specialty loan repayment program (Section 5203, p. 1295)
72. Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program (Section 5204, p. 1300)
73. Allied Health Loan Forgiveness Program (Section 5205, p. 1305)
74. Grant program to provide mid-career training for health professionals (Section 5206, p. 1307)
75. Grant program to fund nurse-managed health clinics (Section 5208, p. 1310)
76. Grant program to support primary care training programs (Section 5301, p. 1315)
77. Grant program to fund training for direct care workers (Section 5302, p. 1322)
78. Grant program to develop dental training programs (Section 5303, p. 1325)
79. Demonstration program to increase access to dental health care in underserved communities (Section 5304, p. 1331)
80. Grant program to promote geriatric education centers (Section 5305, p. 1334)
81. Grant program to promote health professionals entering geriatrics (Section 5305, p. 1339)
82. Grant program to promote training in mental and behavioral health (Section 5306, p. 1344)
83. Grant program to promote nurse retention programs (Section 5309, p. 1354)
84. Student loan forgiveness for nursing school faculty (Section 5311(b), p. 1360)
85. Grant program to promote positive health behaviors and outcomes (Section 5313, p. 1364)
86. Public Health Sciences Track for medical students (Section 5315, p. 1372)
87. Primary Care Extension Program to educate providers (Section 5405, p. 1404)
88. Grant program for demonstration projects to address health workforce shortage needs (Section 5507, p. 1442)
89. Grant program for demonstration projects to develop training programs for home health aides (Section 5507, p. 1447)
90. Grant program to establish new primary care residency programs (Section 5508(a), p. 1458)
91. Program of payments to teaching health centers that sponsor medical residency training (Section 5508(c), p. 1462)
92. Graduate nurse education demonstration program (Section 5509, p. 1472)
93. Grant program to establish demonstration projects for community-based mental health settings (Section 5604, p. 1486)
94. Commission on Key National Indicators (Section 5605, p. 1489)
95. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 6102, p. 1554)
96. Special focus facility program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 6103(a)(3), p. 1561)
97. Special focus facility program for nursing facilities (Section 6103(b)(3), p. 1568)
98. National independent monitor pilot program for skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities (Section 6112, p. 1589)
99. Demonstration projects for nursing facilities involved in the culture change movement (Section 6114, p. 1597)
100. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1619)
101. Standing methodology committee for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1629)
102. Board of Governors for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1638)
103. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund (Section 6301(e), p. 1656)
104. Elder Justice Coordinating Council (Section 6703, p. 1773)
105. Advisory Board on Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation (Section 6703, p. 1776)
106. Grant program to create elder abuse forensic centers (Section 6703, p. 1783)
107. Grant program to promote continuing education for long-term care staffers (Section 6703, p. 1787)
108. Grant program to improve management practices and training (Section 6703, p. 1788)
109. Grant program to subsidize costs of electronic health records (Section 6703, p. 1791)
110. Grant program to promote adult protective services (Section 6703, p. 1796)
111. Grant program to conduct elder abuse detection and prevention (Section 6703, p. 1798)
112. Grant program to support long-term care ombudsmen (Section 6703, p. 1800)
113. National Training Institute for long-term care surveyors (Section 6703, p. 1806)
114. Grant program to fund State surveys of long-term care residences (Section 6703, p. 1809)
115. CLASS Independence Fund (Section 8002, p. 1926)
116. CLASS Independence Fund Board of Trustees (Section 8002, p. 1927)
117. CLASS Independence Advisory Council (Section 8002, p. 1931)
118. Personal Care Attendants Workforce Advisory Panel (Section 8002(c), p. 1938)
119. Multi-state health plans offered by Office of Personnel Management (Section 10104(p), p. 2086)
120. Advisory board for multi-state health plans (Section 10104(p), p. 2094)
121. Pregnancy Assistance Fund (Section 10212, p. 2164)
122. Value-based purchasing program for ambulatory surgical centers (Section 10301, p. 2176)
123. Demonstration project for payment adjustments to home health services (Section 10315, p. 2200)
124. Pilot program for care of individuals in environmental emergency declaration areas (Section 10323, p. 2223)
125. Grant program to screen at-risk individuals for environmental health conditions (Section 10323(b), p. 2231)
126. Pilot programs to implement value-based purchasing (Section 10326, p. 2242)
127. Grant program to support community-based collaborative care networks (Section 10333, p. 2265)
128. Centers for Disease Control Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
129. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
130. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
131. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
132. Food and Drug Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
133. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
134. Grant program to promote small business wellness programs (Section 10408, p. 2285)
135. Cures Acceleration Network (Section 10409, p. 2289)
136. Cures Acceleration Network Review Board (Section 10409, p. 2291)
137. Grant program for Cures Acceleration Network (Section 10409, p. 2297)
138. Grant program to promote centers of excellence for depression (Section 10410, p. 2304)
139. Advisory committee for young women’s breast health awareness education campaign (Section 10413, p. 2322)
140. Grant program to provide assistance to provide information to young women with breast cancer (Section 10413, p. 2326)
141. Interagency Access to Health Care in Alaska Task Force (Section 10501, p. 2329)
142. Grant program to train nurse practitioners as primary care providers (Section 10501(e), p. 2332)
143. Grant program for community-based diabetes prevention (Section 10501(g), p. 2337)
144. Grant program for providers who treat a high percentage of medically underserved populations (Section 10501(k), p. 2343)
145. Grant program to recruit students to practice in underserved communities (Section 10501(l), p. 2344)
146. Community Health Center Fund (Section 10503, p. 2355)
147. Demonstration project to provide access to health care for the uninsured at reduced fees (Section 10504, p. 2357)
148. Demonstration program to explore alternatives to tort litigation (Section 10607, p. 2369)
149. Indian Health demonstration program for chronic shortages of health professionals (S. 1790, Section 112, p. 24)*
150. Office of Indian Men’s Health (S. 1790, Section 136, p. 71)*
151. Indian Country modular component facilities demonstration program (S. 1790, Section 146, p. 108)*
152. Indian mobile health stations demonstration program (S. 1790, Section 147, p. 111)*
153. Office of Direct Service Tribes (S. 1790, Section 172, p. 151)*
154. Indian Health Service mental health technician training program (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 173)*
155. Indian Health Service program for treatment of child sexual abuse victims (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 192)*
156. Indian Health Service program for treatment of domestic violence and sexual abuse (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 194)*
157. Indian youth telemental health demonstration project (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 204)*
158. Indian youth life skills demonstration project (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 220)*
159. Indian Health Service Director of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment (S. 1790, Section 199B, p. 258)*

*Section 10221, page 2173 of H.R. 3590 deems that S. 1790 shall be deemed as passed with certain amendments.