Issues
Hot Topic!
CAP AND TRADE
Just before the Independence Day recess the House of Representatives passed a carbon cap and trade bill that will do nothing about the environment but impose billions of dollars of cost on the everyday energy user.
I can’t help but wonder why legislation harmful to consumers is being pushed in the middle of a severe recession when people are suffering and family budgets are straining.
Now is not the time to be putting new energy taxes on Missouri families and workers every time the turn on a light, heat or cool their home, drive to work, or produce food and fuel for America.
On July 7th the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, On which I sit, held its first hearing on this legislation. I raised my concerns of the impacts this nightmare has on Missouri families, farmers and workers and will continue to fight on your behalf as this legislation progresses.
SECOND STIMULUS BILL
Before the Democrats rammed through their first “spend-ulus” bill I warned that a trillion dollars is a terrible thing to waste.
Wasting TWO trillion is even worse.
Congress meant for stimulus dollars to be used for shovel-ready projects to create jobs.
Unfortunately, this trillion-dollar boondoggle did more to stimulate the growth of government and debt, and little to stimulate the economy or job creation.
CHRYSLER AND MEXICO
President Obama and Chrysler already let down workers in Fenton. To now allow the government-run Chrysler to stab these workers in the back even more is unconscionable.
HEALTH CARE REFORM
I have heard from folks across Missouri faced with rising premiums and higher health care costs, as well as hospitals, doctors and other health care providers struggling with the rising costs of treating the uninsured, and I agree that we need reform.
To achieve real reform, Republicans and Democrats must work together on solutions that lower the cost of health care, increase access for all Americans, improve the quality of patient care, and address the unfunded liabilities of Medicare and Medicaid.
I support common-sense proposals that should have bipartisan support, such as expanding the health care safety net through Community Health Centers; reforming medical malpractice laws to get rid of junk lawsuits; encouraging wellness, prevention and disease management programs that have proven successful in improving Missourians’ lives and reducing costs; and addressing the needs of small businesses and their employees who make up the largest percent of the uninsured. We can do this without costly government mandates or higher taxes that will destroy jobs during a time of economic recession.
Unfortunately, there are many Democrats in Washington who are working to impose a government-run health care plan that would ration care and deny Missourians access to the latest cures and treatments. A government-run plan would make health care more expensive, reduce the quality of care, lead to fewer choices, and put health care decisions in the hands of government bureaucrats rather than doctors and patients.
To propose such a huge expansion of government at a time when our deficit is spiraling out of control would require big tax increases and saddling our children and grandchildren with even more debt they will have to repay.
Perhaps the biggest fear is that Americans will be forced to leave the health coverage they currently have. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), this is a very real concern. CBO estimated that the Kennedy health bill will cost taxpayers over $1 trillion, will leave at least 36 million uninsured and will force at least 23 million Americans to give up the health coverage they currently have.
The American people want Republicans and Democrats to work together on reform, but they want the right kind of reform – not a massive government takeover of health care that forces them off of their current insurance and denies them access to the medical care they need, when they need it.
EARMARKS
I listen to local leaders in Missouri – not Washington bureaucrats – and I don’t think bureaucrats in the Obama Administration should be given the power to earmark 100 percent of federal funds.
Related Records:
*Currently displaying the latest 10 records. Select a month and year from the Browse by select box to view more records. |
||||||||||
*Currently displaying the latest 10 records. Select a month and year from the Browse by select box to view more records. |
||||||