Health Care: Let The People Decide

On Saturday the President said that “we owe the American people an up or down vote on health care”. WHAT a marvelous idea it would be if the AMERICAN PEOPLE could actually vote on the health care bill! This bill affects one-sixth of the American economy and our very lives. Remove politics and party loyalty from the equation and let the people decide if they want this bill.

Representative democracy only works if the representatives actually represent the opinions of their constituents. The American people feel ignored. We are the forgotten souls in this debate.

For over a year the Administration and Congress have focused on health care when their primary attention should have been on jobs. Ideology has trumped need.

Most people receive health care insurance at work. Since the beginning of the recession we have lost 8.4 million jobs. If you allow three family members per job that equals about 25 million people who have lost health care insurance because they have lost their jobs. Ironically this is close to the number of people the Washington proposes to provide health insurance for in their multi-trillion dollar bill. If Washington would focus on job growth, these people could receive health care insurance from their employers at a much lower cost.

In reality the health care debate is more about the federal government securing more power and authority over our lives than it is about more people obtaining health care. Time and time again the American people have told Washington that we want limited, incremental changes to our health care system. We do not want the government to take over health care. What do we have to do to get Congress to listen?

Signed,
The Electorate

Terrorist Deals

The White House and Congress are considering playing “Let’s Make a Deal” with terrorism and national security. They could call this plan “Quid Pro Quo for Terrorists”. The Administration would change the scheduled New York trial of Khalid Shekh Mohammed from a civilian trial in New York into a military tribunal at some unknown location. Congress would fund the closing of Guantanamo. This allows Congress to decide which bad policy they want.

The American people are very disgusted with Washington’s deal making. We want a third choice. We want the terrorists tried in military tribunals and these enemy combatants to be held outside the United States. Trying terrorists in civilian courts will be a dog and pony show – a political circus. They are also unnecessarily lengthy, expensive, and will compromise national security. Holding detainees in this country jeopardizes the security of American citizens. It paints a big red target on the communities that surround the prisons at which they are held.

Congress controls the purse strings. Only Congress can provide the funding to close Guantanamo. We ask you not to do this.

The Administration controls the location and type of trials for enemy combatants. Let this be on their shoulders. They will be held responsible. If they choose to ignore the American people, they will pay the cost of their decision. The Administration would be wise to remember that this will be a front and center issue in 2012.

I ask Congress not to accept either bad idea – not the one for detention nor the one for trials of enemy combatants. This would be a “bad” deal for the country.

Signed,
The Electorate

Are You With The People?

This health care bill costs too much – both in money and liberties lost. The federal government is becoming a bloated monster that seeks to control all aspects of our lives. To quote Thomas Jefferson: “A government that can give you everything, can take everything away.”

Party leadership is desperate to pass the health care bill. There is nothing that they will not do or say to accomplish this. They will threaten to withdraw their support in the next election. They will promise that any pet pork project that you desire will be included in a future bill.

In the end voting for this bill will cost you more than anything you might gain by voting for it. No reward they promise will compensate for what you lose. The vast majority of the American people are strongly against this health care bill. Voting for it will cost you the support of your constituents. The politicians supporting this bill are fighting the American people.

It will take a very strong person to stand up to the pressure being exerted by party leadership. Will you stand with us or stand against us?

Signed,
The Electorate

Still A "Bad" Bill

Adding a few pages of watered down Republican suggestions to a 2700 page bill does not turn a bad bill into a good bill. It does not turn it into a bipartisan bill. The blame will not be spread around. It will rest solely on the shoulders of those who wrote and supported it. It is still an ugly bill that will produce dire consequences.

The federal government will still be able to determine what treatment is allowed and who can receive this treatment (Comparative Effectiveness Research panel).

This bill will bankrupt the country. It is Medicare and Medicaid on steroids. We already can not pay for them. Ten years of full implementation of this plan will cost well over two trillion dollars.

A portion of the bill is funded. It cuts over 500 billion dollars from Medicare (those pesky old folks) and creates 500 billion dollars of new taxes. Who in their right mind thinks it is wise to raise taxes in a recession?

The bill will force all people to buy health care insurance – whether they want it or not. Never in the history of our republic have citizens been required to buy something just because they were citizens. This is probably unconstitutional.

Public tax dollars can be used to fund abortion. Should people, who consider abortion to be wrong, be forced to pay for it? Also there is no conscience cause for health care providers.

These are only a few of the undesirable provisions of this bill. It will create a larger more intrusive government that seeks to control our lives. It will lower the quality and quantity of our health care. It will bankrupt this country as it bankrupted the nations of Europe who have socialized (universal) medicine.

We have the best health care system in the world. Why are Congress and the Administration trying to destroy it? The system should be improved not replaced by a system that has been proven not to work.

Congress knows the American people do not want this bill. If this bill is passed, the Fall election will be decided by who voted for the bill and who will vote to repeal it.

Signed,
The Electorate

We Do Not Consent!

Congress has a comprehension problem. For many, many months the American people have been telling Congress that we do not want these health care bills that you are trying to push down our throats. We do not want the federal government to run or control our health care. In great detail we have expressed a plethora of reasons why we do not want these bills. There is so much to dislike about these bills. Can Congress not hear our voices! Congress is either not listening to their constituents or they just don’t care what our opinions are. In their arrogance they say that they know what is best for us. They infer that we are so stupid that we do not know what we really need.

Congress is supposed to govern with the consent of the governed. You do not have our consent. I will speak as clearly and concisely as I can. I will speak slowly and use small words.

SCRAP. THE. BILLS!

START. FROM. SCRATCH!

Signed,
The Electorate

Health Care Through Reconciliation

Apparently Democratic leadership has decided to try to push this unwanted heath care bill down the throats of the American people using reconciliation. Reconciliation would require the House to pass the exact bill that the Senate passed. This bill could then be signed into law by the President without returning to the Senate for another vote. Then the House could amend the health care bill. The amendments would be attached to a budgetary bill. This second bill would then be passed in the Senate using reconciliation. Only 51 votes would be needed for this process. Reconciliation can only be used for budgetary bills. Health care is not a budgetary bill. The reasoning behind this maneuver must be: If you can’t do it legally, then cheat.

The Senate bill is a monstrosity filled with corrupt deals that were crafted behind closed doors. The quality and cost of the health care you receive depends on where you live. In Florida we retain Medicare Advantage. In Nebraska the state will not have to pay new Medicaid costs. Connecticut and Louisiana received “special” deals. Americans should be treated equally no matter where they live.

The proposed program will be paid for by cutting 500 billion dollars from Medicare as more and more people enter Medicare. Some are even foolish enough to claim that cutting Medicare expenses will save the program. This money is not being saved. The federal government is using this money to pay for health care for others.

The plan is also being paid for by a bevy of new taxes. Congress proposes raising taxes in a recession. This can only prolong and deepen the recession. “Cadillac” plans – most plans received at work – will be taxed at forty percent. We are already drowning in taxes.

The language in the Senate bill will allow tax dollars to be used for abortion. People who believe that abortion is morally wrong should not be forced to pay for abortion for others.

This is the bill that House leadership will ask you to vote for. It is an ugly bill and will greatly exceed its estimated cost of just under a trillion dollars. This bill will affect one-sixth of our economy and the daily lives of all Americans. It should not be passed in such a devious manner.

You will face huge pressure to vote for the Senate health care bill. I hope you are strong enough to stand up to this pressure and stand up for the people you represent.

Signed,
The Electorate

Jobs

Did not Congress promise that this year they would focus on jobs? Why then is Congress focusing again on health care? They are once again trying to spend trillions of dollars we do not have on legislation that the American people do not want. Why does Washington continue to ignore the American people? Where are their priorities? Washington is putting party agenda ahead of the good of the country. Health care is sucking all the air out of the halls of Congress. Every other issue is placed after it. JOBS should be the main issue. Concentrate your efforts on jobs.

The Senate passed a 15 billion dollar jobs bill. This bill exempts small businesses, who hire unemployed workers – What about underemployed workers? – from the 6.2 social security tax until December and allows a one time $1000 tax credit if the worker retains his or her job for one year. This is not really much of an incentive to hire new workers. It may offer a small amount of help, but will not reverse the massive job losses that are crippling this country. The bill is exempted from PAYGO and will be financed by increasing the deficit. Moody’s Investors Services estimate that it may create 250,000 new jobs. This is not cost effective job creation.

Congress wasted 862 billion dollars on a “stimulus” bill filled with pet pork projects. Unsurprisingly it did not work. The Senate proposes spending just 15 billion dollars on jobs. That tells you what their priorities are.

The House’s “jobs” bill proposes spending 154 billion dollars. A portion of it will be used to encourage small businesses to hire unemployed workers. It proposes using 75 billion of TARP funds for aid to states and infrastructure. The TARP bill stipulated that returned or unused TARP funds would be used to reduce the national debt. It is illegal to use this money as the House proposes. The bill also extends unemployment benefits by six months; expands the child tax credit; and extends highway and mass transit programs. This is not really a jobs bill. It’s the “Son of Stimulus” bill.

Washington needs to get serious about jobs. The government does not create anything but short term or bureaucratic jobs. Businesses create jobs. All the government can do is to create an atmosphere that is conducive to job creation. This can mainly be accomplished by across the board tax cuts. Right now the government is a roadblock to job creation. Government needs to get out of business’ way and let capitalism work.

Signed,
The Electorate