Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of July 10, 2013. Give me your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11am. Remember, you can listen online at KFYO.com or with the radioPup App.

Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
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1. Delaying Obamacare (link)

Yesterday, House Republican leaders called on the White House to delay Obamacare for everyone. Otherwise, granting a delay just to businesses would be unfair.

"We agree with you that the burden was overwhelming for employers, but we also believe American families need the same relief," House Speaker John Boehner and several other top Republicans wrote in a letter to President Obama.

They addressed what is becoming a mounting concern over the administration's decision to delay, until 2015, a requirement that large employers provide health insurance to workers.

The administration, in announcing the change, kept in place the requirement on individuals -- known as the individual mandate -- to obtain insurance. Critics argue that the selective delay will force even more people -- who would have otherwise gotten insurance through their jobs -- to go in search of insurance on the individual market or face a fine.

The delay potentially means more people will be buying insurance out of their own pocket, buying insurance with the help of additional taxpayer subsidies or just opting out and being charged with a hefty fine by the government.

Republicans asked Obama for a detailed breakdown on how the delay of the employer mandate would affect all these aspects -- how it would increase the cost of subsidies, and how it would increase the number of individuals expected to pay a fine.

"We recognize that the decision to delay the employer mandate was likely not a decision you made in only a day and necessarily required substantial review by analysts" at various departments, they wrote. "Your decision to delay one part of the law affecting employers and leave in place provisions regulating individual and family health care creates many new questions and concerns."

The lawmakers also called a press conference to urge Obama to address the issue.

"The president's actions on ObamaCare last week were stunning," House Republican Leader Eric Cantor said. "I never thought I'd see the day when the White House, the president, came down on the side of big business but left the American people out in the cold as far as this health care mandate is concerned."

Good move by the Republicans on this. I believe the administration will delay the individual mandate and that they were planning to anyway. Now this makes the Republicans look like leaders and puts the Democrats on the side of big business.

2. Pauken Stays In (link)

Today on the show, former Texas Workforce Commissioner, Tom Pauken, will join me to discuss his campaign for Governor. Yesterday, Pauken held a news conference where he said this race would be a battle for the Republican Party soul.

“This idea that there’s a divine right of succession, I challenge it and thoroughly,” the gubernatorial candidate said Tuesday in a Capitol news conference. “This is a real battle for the soul of the Republican Party between the outsiders and the people that feel they don’t have a real voice in Austin."

At his news conference, Pauken also took aim at the state’s school finance system and its budget, saying that as governor, he would take decisive action to make both more efficient. He also declared himself a candidate for all of Texas, not just those who have enough money to pay for lobbyists at the state Capitol. Pauken said his proven track record of listening to the issues and doing something about them will make him stand out among his opponents. 

So far, Pauken, who announced his candidacy in March, is the only declared GOP candidate in the 2014 race to succeed Perry, who announced Monday that he would not seek re-election. Although Abbott has not declared his candidacy for the position, speculation has run rampant that he will throw his hat in the ring and become the instant favorite.

At Tuesday’s news conference, Pauken said he is running on authentic conservative principles, criticizing the “pretend conservatism” that he says many in Texas have adopted.

“It’s not a conservatism of the heart, it’s not a conservatism that takes the fight to the left that lays out here’s what we’re going to do,” Pauken said of the philosophy he opposes. “It’s taking the easy road of reading polls, seeing what the base wants to hear and giving them that.”

Pauken said that real conservatives listen to regular people, not just those who have enough money to pay for lobbyists. Conservatives are serious about ideas and solving problems, not just saying what people want to hear, Pauken said.

For instance, Pauken said that although Texas is not raising taxes on transportation, it has the highest transportation debt in the nation at $13 billion in principal.

Pauken said that one of his main priorities is letting people know that they won’t have to buy his attention – a jab at Abbott, who has the biggest war chest in state politics. Pauken said he is calling for a series of Lincoln-Douglas debates with Abbott before the election and is focused on the issues.

Pauken said that although Abbott is a nice person, he does not have what it takes to be governor.

“Greg is very good at doing what his advisers tell him to do – attack Obama, stand up for the Second Amendment, stand up for pro-life,” Pauken said. “We’re all pro-life, I’m for the Second Amendment. I’m very critical of the Obama administration, but what are we going to do?”

Interesting comments from Pauken. I look forward to having him on the show today at 10:05am. What do you think about his comments?

3. Obama-backed School Lunch Regs Cost District $100,000 (link)

First Lady Michelle Obama wants school lunches to be healthier, but as one district has found out, the new regulations aren't cheap.

A New York school district is giving the boot to the National School Lunch Program (NLSP) and its new restrictive regulations mandating the number of calories and nutrients in each meal.

The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake school district announced this month that after a school year struggling with the new guidelines under the Michelle Obama-backed Healthy and Hunger Free Kids Act, the school will not be participating in the program this coming school year.

“Students complained of being hungry with these lunches and the district lost money,” assistant superintendent Chris Abdoo said in a statement. “I’m confident we can do better on our own next year.”

According to the district, the new options, implemented by the Department of Agriculture, resulted in lower sales and a loss of about $100,000.

“Students felt they weren’t getting good value for their money,” food service manager Nicky Boehm said. “The high schoolers especially complained the portion sizes were too small, and many more students brought in lunch from home.”

The decision to leave the NSLP will result in the school district losing partial reimbursements for the cost of food served to students receiving reduced-price or free food.

Other Top Stories:

These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.

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