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Archive for the 'Gingrey Legislation' Category
Thursday, July 5th, 2007
In light of the recent terrorist activities in Glasgow and London, I thought this might be a good time to discuss a piece of legislation I’ve introduced to help prevent terrorist attacks in our country. The United States currently operates a Visa Waiver Program, which enables citizens from certain “friendly” countries to travel to the U.S. without obtaining a visa. There’s a major flaw in this legislation – terrorists don’t just operate in unfriendly nations. As we witnessed this past weekend, they operate within the borders of our closest allies as well. Until we can screen every person entering the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, we cannot continue to support a program that allows terrorists to cross our borders unchecked.
The 2001 Patriot Act requires the Visa Waiver program to include a machine-readable and tamper resistant biometric identification system – but this system is not yet in place! Even though these mandated security requirements are not fully operational, we still allow the program to continue – widely opening the door for terrorists to enter our country every day.
(more…)
Posted in 11th Congressional District, Gingrey Legislation, Homeland Security, Immigration and Border Security | No Comments »
Friday, June 29th, 2007
Last night, I hosted a very successful telephone townhall meeting with citizens in Cobb County. Tele-townhalls are a new way I’m working to communicate with residents of Georgia’s 11th District and hear their thoughts on today’s pressing issues. Here’s how it works: each month, I choose a county and place phone calls to the residents who live there. I invite them to join in a live, toll-free tele-townhall meeting, and then conduct the meeting over the telephone. Those who are listening can ask me questions or share their thoughts on a particular issue.
So far this year, we’ve called Floyd, Chattooga, Bartow, Paulding, Cobb, Polk, Haralson and Carroll Counties. We’ll continue hosting a tele-townhall meeting each month, so if you missed me the last time I called your county, you can be sure I’ll be calling again in the upcoming months. For those of you who weren’t on the call last night, here are the topics we discussed:
Immigration reform and ending chain migration
Tax relief and the Fair Tax
Gas prices
The War on Terror and our efforts in Iraq
Healthcare reform
Combating drug abuse, especially methamphetamine abuse
I really enjoy these opportunities to hear your thoughts and concerns. But you don’t have to wait for a tele-townhall to let me know what’s on your mind. Feel free to email me by clicking HERE, or click HERE to get contact information for my offices in Washington, Marietta and Rome.
Posted in 11th Congressional District, Bartow County, Carroll County, Cartersville, Chattooga County, Cobb County, Defense , Economy, Floyd County, Gingrey Legislation, Haralson County, Healthcare, Homeland Security, Immigration and Border Security, Marietta, Paulding County, Polk County, Rome, Tax Relief | No Comments »
Thursday, June 7th, 2007
Here’s a fact: A recent survey shows more than 60% of Americans don’t support spending taxpayer dollars on embryonic stem cell research that destroys human life.
And here’s another fact: The Caste-DeGette legislation Congress will vote on today does just that.
It’s not often in politics that you can make everyone happy, but we have a rare chance to do that on the issue of stem cell research. We can appease the half that wants to fund the most promising stem cell research at any cost, and the half that wants to fund it while also respecting the sanctity of life. We can meet the scientific and medical need for stem cell research and maintain the ethical standards that have always driven American research.
How you might ask? By passing legislation that funds non-destructive stem cell research.
I hope all my readers understand a few important facts about this debate, facts that are often lost in the political rhetoric that surrounds stem cell research.
Fact one: promising research – indeed cures – have been developed from adult stem cells and umbilical cord blood. Neither of these techniques sacrifice life for science.
Fact two: scientists are very close to deriving embryonic and embryonic-like stem cells without destroying human embryos. I have introduced legislation to fund this ethical research, and you can learn more about that bill by clicking HERE.
Fact three: between state governments and the private sector there is nearly $4 billion committed to embryonic stem cell research over the next 10 years. That’s right: Congress is not debating whether or not embryonic stem cell research is legal in this country, but rather whether it should be federally funded.
The bill Congress is debating today is a grave misuse of taxpayer dollars, and the American people should know that science has given us ways to avoid this ethical dilemma all together. Sadly, it appears science has moved much faster than our government, so we’re debating outdated legislation for destructive research when far better alternatives exist.
As a pro-life OB-GYN physician, I am imploring my colleagues to look at the research, study the facts, and understand that we don’t have to sacrifice human embryos – human life! – to further science.
I’ll post more on this debate throughout the day.
Posted in 11th Congressional District, Abortion, Conservative Values, Gingrey Legislation, Healthcare | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 6th, 2007
Before coming to Congress, I practiced medicine as an OB-GYN physician for nearly 30 years in Marietta, Georgia. Well, it’s a good thing I decided on this second career in politics, because in Marietta and across the nation, my obstetrician colleagues are being forced out of business by skyrocketing insurance rates resulting from an onslaught of frivolous lawsuits.
And it’s not just OB-GYNs. Emergency room doctors, orthopedic surgeons, thoracic surgeons – indeed doctors in all high-risk specialties are being driven out of business. Imagine your wife is in labor, your son is in a car wreck, your father has a heart attack. And just when you need a doctor most, none are available.
In many communities across America, this is becoming a frightening reality. And unless Congress acts now, this crisis will only get worse. According to a report in the Annals of Internal Medicine, if medical liability reform goes unaddressed, by the next decade America could face a deficit of 200,000 physicians – 20% of the doctors we need to care for our loved ones.
Today, I introduced the HEALTH Act, legislation to take away the financial incentives of frivolous medical lawsuits, while still ensuring patients who have been wronged are properly compensated. We know the reforms contained in the HEALTH Act work. States without medical liability reform saw premiums increase by three times as much as state that had enacted reform. (13% increase vs. 44% increase).
To read more about my legislation, click HERE. Below are some photographs from a press conference I held today calling on Congressional leadership to vote on the HEALTH Act.
Thousands of petitions signed by parents across America call on Congress to pass the HEALTH Act so there will be enough doctors to provide care to our citizens.
Discussing the many states that are expiriencing a crisis in access to care due to our medical tort system (see the map behind me).
Dr. Albert L. Strunk with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists thanks my colleagues and I for introducing this important legislation.
Posted in 11th Congressional District, Gingrey Legislation, Healthcare | No Comments »
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