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Senator Cruz: Obamacare Passed With Reconciliation, 'Can Be Repealed With Reconciliation'

"CNSNews.com asked [Senator Ted Cruz], 'Given that the Senate enacted Obamacare in a reconciliation measure that required only 51 votes, would you support repealing Obamacare with only 51 votes?' 'Absolutely,' Cruz responded. 'If it can be passed with reconciliation, it can be repealed with reconciliation.... I believe in 2017 a Republican president will sign legislation repealing every word of Obamacare,' Cruz said."

Lack of Encryption Standard Raises Health Care Privacy Questions

"[HIPAA] encourages encryption, but doesn't require it. The lack of a clear encryption standard undermines public confidence, some experts say, even as the government plows ahead to spread the use of computerized medical records and promote electronic information sharing among hospitals, doctors and insurers."

Seventh Circuit Hears Oral Argument in Case That Struck Down Tax Code's Parsonage Allowance

"A three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments [September 9] in an appeal of a ruling by a federal judge in Wisconsin that struck down the tax code's 60-year-old 'parsonage allowance'.... Clergy members say that [the District Court] ruling, which will not go into effect until the appeals process is finished, would have a significant financial impact on them.... Other pastors said that if the ruling stands, they may be forced back into the secular workforce." [The 2011 district court decision that found the provision to be unconstitutional is Freedom from Religion Foundation v. Geithner, No. 11-CV-626 (W.D. Wis. Sept. 13, 2011)]

Under Obamacare, Small Business Owners Will Take Big 'HIT' in 2014

"Several small business owners told Congress they don't know how they will stay afloat when the [ACA]'s Health Insurance Tax (HIT) raises insurance premiums by as much as $500 per employee in 2014. The business owners, who have covered 100 percent of their employees' insurance premiums in the past, said that with the HIT, they will struggle to offer any health care coverage at all."

Record 10,978,040 Americans Now on Disability

"[T]here are more Americans collecting disability today than there are people living in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey or Virginia. The record 10,978,040 total disability beneficiaries in May included a record 8,877,921 disabled workers (up from 8,865,586 in April), a record 1,939,687 children of disabled workers (up from 1,936,236 in April), and 160,432 spouses of disabled workers. May was the 196th straight month that the number of American workers collecting federal disability payments increased."

IRS Warns Employers: Do Not Try to Avoid Obamacare Insurance Mandate

"The IRS said it would issue a so-called 'anti-abuse rule' in an attempt to prevent employers from using temp agencies to circumvent the mandate, essentially writing into law that even though an employer hires temporary workers and therefore is not technically under the mandate's jurisdiction, the IRS would fine them anyway for not providing health insurance."