Donalsonville Tea Party PatriotsBoiling Points

Obamacare…what a complicated mess it is! The US Senate wrote and passed its version of the healthcare bill, used it as a complete substitution amendment to the US House bill and named it H.R. 3590 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Democrat’s plan appears now to be for the House to pass H.R. 3590, send it to the President for signature into law and then amend it during a budget reconciliation process in the Senate. The big problem is the House Democrats must vote for and pass H.R. 3590, which is the Senate’s bill, and then trust the Senate Democrats to make amendments that House Democrats and the President want in the final bill. The House Democrats have reason for concern because they have been burned repeatedly by the Senate not passing bills sent to them by the House.

Budget reconciliation, which requires only a majority vote for passage in the Senate, is intended to “reconcile” the budget regarding funding for the bill; it is not intended for the adoption of policy-related amendments such as those the House Democrats are depending on the Senate to include. If H.R. 3590 passes the House, Senate Republicans have indicated they will object to amendments that are policy related or otherwise inappropriate and call for a ruling by the Senate Parliamentarian. If the Parliamentarian rules against an amendment, the Senate President (who is Vice President Biden) can overrule the Parliamentarian. As Charles Krauthammer said, “But if he (Biden) does that, that’s not a nuclear option. That’s a thermonuclear option. That’s Krakatoa. That’s 100 megatons. That will be a catastrophe if it is seen that the bill is pushed through by overruling a ruling of the neutral Parliamentarian and passing what would otherwise be illegal.”

Recent polls indicate that most voters do not want H.R. 3590 passed into law. However, the President and Democrats in the House and Senate seem to have a deaf ear and blind eye to the will of the people. Some of the most frequently voiced objections follow.

Government-controlled healthcare. Americans know that the government is not efficient or effective in running large programs. For example, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, US Postal Service, Amtrack, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. You can look at the state-mandated healthcare programs of Tennessee and Massachusetts to see the hand writing on the wall. H.R. 3590 requires each citizen purchase healthcare insurance or face fines or jail time. Nowhere in the US Constitution does it authorize Congress to require citizens buy anything. At least 37 states are getting out front of this issue with amendments to their constitution forbidding mandated purchase of healthcare. In Georgia there are three healthcare constitutional amendment bills (SR 794, SR 795 and HR 1086) all saying essentially the same thing, that is, “No law shall compel any person to participate in any healthcare system.” State Congressman Mike Keown, who is running against Sanford Bishop, supports the state’s rights and is a current co-sponsor of Georgia HR 1086..

Backroom political deals. Americans have been deeply offended by bribes given by the Democrat leadership for healthcare votes. A few examples follow. The Corn Husker Kickback in which Nebraska gets $100 million in extra Medicaid money. The Louisiana Purchase where Louisiana gets $300 million. Gatoraide in which 800,000 Florida residents are exempted from cuts in the Medicare Advantage program. Vermont gets $600 million in federal payments for Medicaid and nearly as much for Massachusetts. Connecticut would get $100 million to build a hospital. There is extra money for hospitals and doctors in North and South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. The Union Carve-out where unions are exempt from the tax on Cadillac healthcare plans until 2018. And the list goes on and on. Americans are upset because they want equal treatment under the law.

Increased debt. On a household level, healthcare insurance premiums will increase by at least 13 percent. On the national level, the deficits will increase almost beyond belief. You cannot provide healthcare for an additional 30 million people without raising taxes and increasing the national debt. The level of spending going on in Congress cannot be sustained and must be reversed. Senator Bunning (R-KY) tried to get the Senate to abide by the recently passed Pay-As-You-Go law and got vilified for taking a stand. Come November, fiscally conservative candidates will fair well because the voters want their representatives to act more like Senator Bunning. I simply cannot get my mind around the magnitude of the debt this Congress is amassing for me, my children and grandchildren.

Taxpayer funded abortions. H.R. 3590 does not specifically prohibit federal funding for abortions. Such a prohibition was in the House bill and has been law for many years. However, a small but powerful group of Senate Democrats kept the language out of H.R. 3590. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) has led a group of House Democrats who voted “yes” on the previous bill but have promised to vote “no” on H.R. 3590 unless the prohibition for federal funding of abortions is included. Recently, the Democrat leadership indicated they have given up trying to change the mind of Stupak and his group of about five which could make the difference on whether or not the bill passes.

The latest trick. President Obama has announced that he wants another program tacked onto H.R. 3590. He wants the federal government to take over all funding of student loans. It has been reported that this program exists as a separate bill but has very little chance of passing either house of Congress by itself. If H.R. 3590 becomes law with this tack on, the new program would become effective in July of this year and all existing student loan programs would cease.

The House Democrats have a choice: either stand with the American people and kill the bill or pass it and contribute to the destruction of the US healthcare system. Either way, the American voter will remember in November. As a self-proclaimed, fiscally conservative, Blue Dog Democrat, your Congressman Sanford Bishop says he has not made up his mind about H.R. 3590. Why don’t you call, write or email him and encourage him to vote “no”.

Schley Ricketson