Congressman Replies

I wrote to my congressman Jeff Miller concerning the Health Care fiasco that congress and the pResident are shoving on us and his views on the matter, Below you will find a well thought out answer that makes me proud Jeff Miller represents me.



Dear Mr. Saul,



Thank you for contacting my office regarding your perspectives the proposed health care reform legislation. I appreciate knowing your views about issues affecting Northwest Florida and our nation.

As you are likely aware, the House voted to pass the Affordable Health Care for America Act, H.R. 3962, on November 7, 2009. The Senate passed a completely different version of the health care bill - the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - on December 24, 2009. President Obama has now come out with his own version of legislation incorporating proposals from both bills. And although the President held a health care summit to hear from Republicans, ultimately, the vast majority of our proposals were rejected. The majority party now stands poised to push through health care legislation using the budget reconciliation process, requiring only 50 votes in the Senate and subverting the legislative process completely.



I remain opposed to both the House and Senate health care bills for a multitude of reasons, and I am strongly against using reconciliation to force them through. The President's plan still includes a massive government-run health insurance option based on insurance exchanges. The federal government would require minimum benefits that will apply to all insurance plans, driving up the price of insurance for everyone. The bill mandates that everyone must have health insurance and that all employers must provide a government-qualifying plan. Steep tax penalties are placed on any individual or business that does not comply with this mandate. Third, the President's plan would cost $950 billion and the CBO predicts that the legislation will actually raise the cost of your health insurance premiums. To pay for this massive legislation, the bill employs a variety of new taxes varying from a tax on small businesses to the so-called "Cadillac tax" on high-cost insurance plans. Raising taxes and monthly premiums is not the way to reform the health care system.



Meriting special mention in the health care bill is the issue of abortion coverage. In order to win enough Democrats' support for the underlying health care bill, the majority party allowed a vote on the so-called "Stupak Amendment" that prohibits any federal funding from being used to fund abortion services. I voted for this pro-life amendment, and it passed overwhelmingly. This amendment was not included in the Senate version, and it is not included in the President's version. Although I do not support the Democrat bills or government-run health care, I will continue to fight vigorously to ensure that any health care legislation specifically bans federal funds from being used in abortions.



Finally, not only are the Senate, House, and President's versions of the bill bad for Americans, but the process by which this legislation has taken shape is beyond deplorable. On the House side, the legislation was put together behind closed doors by the majority party with little Republican input. Most of the amendments offered by Republican colleagues were voted down in committee, and few of the surviving amendments actually made it into the final House version. Along with many of my Republican colleagues, I am a co-sponsor of H.Res. 615 which would require any member of Congress that votes for government-run health care to be automatically enrolled in that public option.

On the Senate side, sweetheart deals were given to any Senator on the fence including Medicare money for Senators Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu to buy their vote. After majority leaders secured 60 votes to pass a bill in the Senate, they immediately closed ranks to work on legislation that could pass in both chambers. And now, despite promises to work in a bipartisan fashion, the President and majority party leaders are intent on forcing through this legislation using the reconciliation process. This process is meant to pass budget bills only, not to create a trillion dollar government takeover of health care.

The people of Northwest Florida and across the country continue to agree that government-run health care is not the answer. The way this legislation was put together is outrageous, and the implications for our country are dangerous. I will continue to fight against this type of health care reform. We can achieve real health care reform without the government-run health care, higher taxes, or Medicare cuts seen in the Democratic legislation.

Again, thank you for contacting me about this important issue. If you would like to receive further information on issues of importance to you, please log on to my website at http://www.house.gov/jeffmiller. As always, please feel free to contact my office if you have any further concerns.








Sincerely,

Jeff Miller
Member of Congress