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GOP budget plan, costs of Obamacare, support for the Mount Soledad crossPosted Friday, March 23, 2012, at 2:48 PM
This week, the House Budget Committee unveiled its proposed budget for the 2013 fiscal year. The proposal would implement comprehensive tax reform and rein in spending by cutting $5.3 trillion in spending over the next decade compared to President Obama's budget; consolidating the current six individual income tax brackets into two brackets of 10 and 25 percent; and maintaining a strong national defense by rolling back some of the $487 billion of cuts approved in last year's Budget Control Act. I will provide you with updates as the budget makes its way through the legislative process.
Friday marked the second anniversary of President Obama's signing of the bill putting America on the road to a government takeover of health care and we are learning just how bad this law is. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the Obama health care law will now cost $1.8 trillion -- twice as much as President Obama told us two years ago. As for the President's claim that costs would come down -- we are seeing the opposite. A Kaiser Family Foundation report found that health care premiums in the workplace increased 9 percent, or over $1,200, for an average American family in the year following enactment of the law. Additionally, a report from the McKinsey Group found that more than 50 percent of employers with a high awareness of the law say they will stop offering health coverage.
The simple truth is that American families cannot afford this government intrusion into our health care. Clearly, this is a bad law that must be repealed. The House has passed numerous pieces of legislation designed to do that -- with our efforts being stymied in the Senate. It is time the Senate worked for the good of the American people and repealed this failed law.
Recently, I was one of 33 members of the House who joined the American Center for Law and Justice in submitting an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, supporting the historical presence of a cross in the Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, California. A cross has been present at this site since 1913, but extremist anti-religious groups have recently targeted the memorial for removal. The U.S. Constitution protects the free expression and display of religion and I believe the campaign to erase any use of religious symbols in the public square is an unconstitutional assault on American's free exercise of religion. I am hopeful that the Supreme Court will reverse the lower court's ruling declaring the memorial unconstitutional.
In other news, I am pleased to tell you I am co-sponsoring a bill to rein in another runaway government agency. The Department of Justice recently ruled that every hotel and motel must have a permanent wheelchair lift on each swimming pool, including a kiddie pool and whirlpool, to accommodate the Americans with Disabilities Act. This decision was made despite the fact these lifts are prohibitively expensive. This decision goes beyond common sense. The bill, known as the Pool Safety and Accessibility for Everyone (Pool SAFE) Act, does three main things: 1) It provides a year-long extension for compliance with ADA accessibility standards as they relate to swimming pools; 2) it allows a motel of other place of public accommodation to use a portable lift to comply with the standards; and 3) it allows such a place to use a single portable pool lift for multiple water features like a pool and a spa. Concerns with the ADA requirements were raised by local citizens of Laclede County who brought it to my attention during a recent town hall meeting. This is a prime example of how the people of Missouri's Fourth District -- not the bureaucrats in Washington - have the right answers. I have numerous town halls and other public meetings planned in the coming weeks, and I hope to see you there. Have a good week. Comments Showing comments in chronological order [Show most recent comments first] |
Vicky Hartzler is the U.S. representative for Missouri's 4th Congressional District. She was raised on a farm in Archie, and lives with her husband, Lowell and daughter, Tiffany, on a working farm in Cass County. She is a graduate of both the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1983 and Central Missouri State University (now University of Central Missouri) in 1992, graduating summa cum laude with a B.S. in Education from MU and a M.S. in Education from Central Missouri. For more information, visit http://hartzler.house.gov.
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Vicky stated, "The U.S. Constitution protects the free expression AND DISPLAY of religion and I believe the campaign to erase any use of religious symbols in the public square is an unconstitutional assault on American's free exercise of religion."
Please show me where in the Constitution it says that.
Surely you are not interpreting the 1st Ammendment as saying that, are you?
"Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
I find nothing that says religious persons have the right to display religious symbols on public property. Please show me where this is in the constitution, as this is the only mention of religion in the entire document.
Also, regarding health care, since Big Pharma, and health care providers are doing such a good job of providing care for everyone (who can afford it) and doing so in an efficient and cost effective manor, I see where we should just keep going with the status quo, and allow costs to keep skyrocketing upward while the quality of care continues to hit all time lows.
I guess Ms. Hartzler is very happy with our 17th place ranking in quality and availability of health care compared to other industrialized nations in the first world.
If you ask me, from my personal experiences the system as it exists is significantly broken. Anybody know where someone can find a doctor in the 21st century that is actually, really concerned with patient outcome?
Todays doctors remind me of lawyers in that the primary concern is for "billable hours" or more appropriately "billable tests and procedures."
Pharmaceutical companies charge $10 a pill for something that cost less than 1 cent to manufacturer, and keep in mind that manufacturing cost usually factors in product design and development in the overhead used to calculate cost per part produced. Claims that say they have to do that because of the R&D expense of developing new drugs don't hold water. Find me a pharmaceutical company that is spending more than about 5% of sales on R&D and I will be very surprised.
Yep, no need for regulation in that industry for sure.
On a more positive note. I agree with your bill regarding wheel chair lifts for every pool.
I am sick and tired of all this "party line" crap. Why can't we send people to congress that will get things done, work together, represent people instead of Republicans or Democrats? Are all politicians 2nd class in the area of intelligence or just most of them?
Miss Vicky don't you think it is time for you to resign and go home. You surely don't know your constitution!
Is this moron the best the 4th district voters could come up with to represent the good folks in the 4th District?
No wonder the Country went to hades in a hand-basket!
When you elect morons to represent you, all you will get is moronic legislation.
It all boils down to this folks, garbage in/garbage out.
Its election time folks, you know its time to kick Hartzler to the curb. You have the power in your vote to send the "party of 'NO" a strong message -- NO more morons, NO more Hartzler!!
Amen News Across
I think most people will agree Hartzler has done nothing for our district. She is more concerned with working for Republicans to get Obama out of office instead of working for us the people of her district.
When a person is elected to public office they have to take an oath. They are all pretty much the same with a few words added or in a different order for some states.
You see all kinds of statements on state flags to state seals. I think we need to hold all elected officials accountable just to what is on the Missouri State Seal. In the middle of the seal is the state slogan. You will see two bears standing with the words "United We Stand Divided We Fall". I think that sould also apply to everyone who is elected to national office anywhere in this country. At the bottom of the state seal their is a phrase written in Latin that is our state motto; it says "Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto".
Translated it says "The Welfare Of The People Shall Be The Supreme Law.
Which people, John Q?
It seems that in our super competitive society, for every winner there is a loser. Therefore politics has boiled down to who gets the gold mine and who gets the shaft.
So far I see the wealthy folks getting wealthier and the American Dream withering away for most of us in the working class.
I rest assured that todays neo-cons believe that motto is quite correct and that thier 'money rules all' methods are what's best for 'the welfare of the people' which is the sad state of affairs today.
The biggest joke of all. "We can't possibly regulate the health care industry, that might cut into someone's profits."
Smart Dog, Elections or rather re-elections are no longer a pass or fail situation based on popularity and performance. Today with all of the money that can be thrown into a political campaign and the negative advertising just plays to the lowest common denominator. I hear punits complaining on the radio about the policies of certain elected officials. It seems they can run others down but never come up with a viable option in the alternative. Of course that's just my personal opinion.
And after all of this, we find that Rep. Hartzler is a birther. What an embarrassment to the voters and the good folks in the 4th district.
Just go home and stay there. We can do well without you I am sure.