Date: March 11, 2010
Faxed To: Senator Evan Bayh, Senator Richard Lugar, Representative Baron Hill
CC: Senator Harry Reid, Representative Nancy Pelosi, Pres. Barack Obama
Subj: Pass Health Care Reform via Reconciliation
Allow Up or Down Vote on Public Option
Allow Up or Down Vote on Optional Medicate for Any Citizen at Any Age
The blinding hypocrisy of the Republican party, the party of NO NO NO, was made completely evident today, when the Congressional Budget Office released its Estimate of the Budgetary Effects of the Senate-Passed Health Bill. I am including two highlights, with emphasis added.
“CBO and JCT now estimate that, on balance, the direct (mandatory) spending and revenue effects of enacting H.R. 3590 as passed by the Senate would yield a net reduction in federal deficits of $118 billion over the 2010–2019 period.”
“The gross cost of the proposed expansions in insurance coverage over those 10 years is now projected to be $875 billion, reflecting subsidies provided through insurance exchanges, increased net outlays for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and tax credits for small employers. Those costs are partly offset by revenues from an excise tax on high-premium insurance plans and net savings from other coverage-related sources, leaving a net cost of $624 billion for the coverage provisions. Other provisions affecting direct spending save $478 billion, on net—mostly in Medicare—and other provisions affecting revenues reduce the deficit by $264 billion, on net. Thus, the net effect on deficits of the bill as a whole equals $624 billion less $478 billion less $264 billion, or a reduction of $118 billion over the 2010-2019 period.”
Every attack on health care reform by the Republican Party, and the members of the Democratic party who are owned and operated by the same corporate for-profit health care industry, has been a lie. In fact, a stream of unending lies, everything from the ‘death panels’ to the claims it will bust the budget.
If the United States does NOT reform its health care system, that will in fact be just one more nail in the coffin of an economy that has been pushed to the edge of extinction by illegal wars waged off the books, and the insane, never-ending deficit spending, greater than in the entire previous history of our nation, by the Bush / Cheney administration, and the Republican Congress in control for the those eight lost years in our nation’s history.
We do not just ask, we now DEMAND that you, our representatives, make a very simple choice. Either you will continue to support a private, for-profit health care industry that is not providing the needs of this nation, but is oriented solely to profits for shareholders. Or you stand with the American people, and finally, finally, vote for change that is needed for this nation.
We fully support a public option. In fact, we would prefer to see a national health care plan, Medicare for all. We laughed our heads off this week when Rush Limbaugh threatened to move to Costa Rica if Congress passes reform. Ironic, in that Costa Rica has a fully nationalized health care system that serves all its citizens, providing better, more comprehensive service than does the United States, which is now ranked far below most of the developed nations in the world, around #37, last time we checked.
The Senate and House Bills are not perfect. But they are a start. They MUST BE PASSED. Quit dithering. Quit prevaricating. Do your duty to history and this nation, and stop this madness.
The Republicans passed everything from health care to budgets using reconciliation. Their protests now are just more lies and hypocrisy layered on top of lies and hypocrisy, so deep the party seems to have lost all touch with reality. We wonder how people like Richard Lugar, who used to represent principles, are able to look at themselves in the mirror every morning and still remain members of this failed political party.
As many in the nation are now saying, we can only repeat: PASS THE D*MNED BILL!
This FAX to Congress has been posted publicly at http://keepamericafree.com.
