ClassicCar

rambos_ride

Below is the robo-mail I got from one of my congressmen and my response - which was not automated.

You can be the judge, but I think these people are arrogant and need to be voted out of office!

Congressmen Dicks,

Thank you for the response to my message.

I cannot believe your assumed arrogance! This is not bout what the Obama Administration wants and this is not about you, what you believe, or what you think should be done!

You where elected to represent what WE the people of Washington State want not the reported â€œ46 millionâ€ others who you claim to not have coverage.

Your quoted numbers are laughable! Just looking at one aspect â€œ14,000 who are losing coverage every dayâ€â€¦in the 3 years it will take to implement the current proposals that would equal yet another 15,330,000 un-insured ~ so is that what real â€œurgencyâ€ means to you?

The American people are speaking quite loudly â€“ WE do not want the United States Government controlling health care, the auto industry or any other private industry!

WE are annoyed at the lack of concern our elected representatives have for the documents this country was founded on â€“ and the United States Government deciding who will be winners and losers in the private sector via huge bailouts, and un-sustainable giveaway programs like â€œCash for Clunkersâ€ that create false sales. CARS may indeed be promoting the sale of new cars, but what happens when the â€œFREEâ€ money runs out? The auto industry sales will tank further than ever â€“ will you then, based on what you feel â€“ continue this aberrant behavior?

Our elected officials need to be more concerned about our border/homeland security and limiting the role of Government â€“ not expanding it!

QUIT spending money that you donâ€™t have.

Respectfully, you and your colleagues in the House and Senate are wrong on healthcare, wrong on the bailouts and wrong in your assumptions that you are acting on our behalf!

Daniel Thompson

From: Congressman Norm Dicks [mailto:wa06ima.pub@mail.house.gov]
Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 12:44 PM
To: dan@ypfs.com
Subject: Response from Congressman Norm Dicks

Dear Mr. Thompson:

Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about the current state of America's healthcare system and the efforts by Congress and the Obama Administration to implement reforms to improve quality, expand coverage, and contain the costs of health insurance.

Obviously the rising cost of health insurance has put an enormous strain on American families and businesses, with premiums rising much faster than wages in recent years. In addition, there are more than 46 million Americans who have no health insurance coverage at all, and another 14,000 who are losing coverage every day during the current economic crisis. The other discouraging aspect of this growing problem is the enormous amount of money that is spent on health care in our country - almost twice as much per capita than any other industrialized nation. For all of these reasons, we in Congress have an obligation and an incentive to seek ways to reduce costs, eliminate wasteful spending, encourage preventative care and broaden access to health care in the United States.

With the new Obama Administration identifying the goal of health insurance reform as its highest priority in this session of Congress, the relevant committees of the House and Senate have worked this year to adopt reform proposals that preserve the positive aspects of our current system while addressing the many glaring deficiencies. The President himself has stressed as a fundamental principle the adage that we should "first do no harm" in our efforts to adopt meaningful and significant reforms to our current system. The task has not been an easy one, and the debate this Spring and Summer has been contentious. Nevertheless it is a terribly important debate, and I believe it is critical to allow all sides to be heard. The initial deadlines that were established for developing a reform bill in the House and Senate have passed and it is now clear that the process of developing this legislative package of reforms will extend into the Fall. This delay is not unusual: if health insurance reform were easy to implement we would have accomplished it long ago. And I believe it is more important that we get it right, however long it takes to achieve. This year we have a confluence of circumstances that gives us the opportunity for action: there is a determined Congress and an Administration that has a clear interest in bringing the disparate interests together to achieve meaningful reform.

Thus far legislative proposals have been developed by key House and Senate Committees yet no complete version has been presented to the full membership of either house for a vote. I had hoped to be able to meet with constituents at home during the month August to explain the House version of a reform bill and to seek input from 6th District constituents, but the reform package has yet to be completed. In lieu of a specific legislative proposal, I wanted to take this opportunity to re-state my priorities in this important legislative effort.

First, as I stated previously, I believe it is important to preserve what people like about the current insurance system that provides health care benefits to a broad cross-section of Americans: specifically the ability to keep their health plans and their doctors if they choose to do so.

Second, I have been a proponent of health reform that has some type of public option as a way to offer a more comprehensive and competitive plan in the health care marketplace.

Third, I believe we need to resolve the inequities that exist in the current system, including the glaring geographic variation in Medicare reimbursement rates that have disproportionately hurt Washington and a few other states while they have unfairly benefitted a few key larger states. In late July, I worked with a small group of Members of Congress from affected states to develop language that we believe will be included in the final version of the reform bill in the House, stipulating a process for making these reimbursement rates more equitable.

In addition, I cannot imagine that the House would adopt a plan that fails to provide for coverage of the millions of currently uninsured people in this country - including kids-who represent a huge cost to society when they show up in hospital emergency rooms for urgent care that is ultimately much more costly.

At the same time I fully expect that the legislation we ultimately adopt would achieve substantial savings by reducing duplication of efforts, eliminating wasteful expenditures and simplifying paperwork burdens to achieve savings that can be re-directed to productive uses.

As I said before, this is a serious debate that we are having in our country this year, and it's important that we adopt the right solutions, however long it may take. I look forward in the weeks and months ahead to updating you on the progress or this effort in the House, and I want you to know that I appreciate the helpful comments and suggestions that you and so many others from the 6th District have relayed to me.

ClassicCar

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

We'd love to hear from you! info@classiccar.com