Murkowski Morning Meeting For Tuesday, December 9, 2014

What DC is Reading

• USA Today: Health Care Reform Expert Calls His Comments “Insulting”
• Washington Post: Federal Inaction Means Amazon’s Drones May Test in Foreign Countries

U.S. Senate Events

ISIS: Is there a Plan Yet?

Alaskan Impact: Alaskans and our military community are watching the expansion of ISIS and the threat this barbaric group poses to Americans and our allies abroad. Senator Murkowski was highly critical of President Obama’s lack of strategy to address this growing threat back in September, and it remains clear that he has yet to put together a comprehensive plan. Today the Senate Foreign Relations heard from various government officials on the impact ISIS’s reign of terror on the region, and what needs to be done to stop it.

6:00a.m. AKST

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing

Topic: “ISIL’s Reign of Terror: Confronting the Growing Humanitarian Crisis in Iraq and Syria”

Witnesses:

• Tom Malinowski, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
• Nancy Lindborg, Assistant Administrator in the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau of Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance
• Sarah Margon, Washington Director for Human Rights Watch
• Vian Dakhil, Member of Iraqi Parliament

Watch the entire hearing by clicking here.

(click image to watch video.)
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI): Who is the enemy? Is it ISIS? Is it Al-Qaeda? What does victory look like?

U.S. House Events

“Inexcusable Arrogance” on Health Care Comments

Alaskan Impact: Alaskans have been skeptical of Obamacare ever since it was rushed through Congress—that the individual mandate was not a tax, that a typical family would save $2,500 on premiums every year, and that if you like your plan, you can keep it. Jonathan Gruber, principal architect of Obamacare and a witness in today’s hearing, recently said that Obamacare was passed due to the “stupidity of the American voter”. Today the House Oversight Committee heard from Gruber and other Obama officials on all the various ways that Obamacare has lacked transparency and accountability.

5:30a.m. AKST

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Hearing

Topic: “Examining Obamacare Transparency Failures.”

Witnesses:

• Marilyn Tavenner, Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
• Jonathan Gruber, former White House Advisor on Health Care Reform

(click image to watch video.)
Dr. Gruber: My comments were “glib, thoughtless, and sometimes downright insulting”.