El Mimbreno
El Mimbreno's JournalThey just don't get it - they refuse to get it
I called the office of our misrepresentative last week, got this in reply a couple of days ago:
(bolding mine for emphasis)
January 26, 2017
Mr. JR
Dear Mr. R
Thank you for contacting me to express your views regarding the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare. I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.
On January 13, 2017, the House of Representatives took the first step to dismantle Obamacare by passing a budget for fiscal year 2017. This budget gives Congress the flexibility to replace the law with a system that works for all Americans. It has been nearly six years since Obamacare was enacted into law, and in that time, it has been defined by broken promises and unworkable implementation. It has forced Americans to pay more for their healthcare coverage, led some to lose their doctors, and others to lose the insurance plans they designed for their families.
The solution must uphold patient-centered solutions, continue the few positives in Obamacare, such as ensuring access to care regardless s of pre-existing conditions and allowing individuals under the age of 26 to be covered on families’ plans; but also reform medical liability, increase competition, and protect religious convictions of consumers.
Americans deserve better than the false promises of Washington politicians. I voted in favor of the budget as a needed step to strengthen our healthcare system and empower individuals to make decisions without being burdened by government mandates.
While we may disagree on this issue, I appreciate hearing from you. The only way to ensure our great republic continues to thrive is for citizens like you to exercise your First Amendment right, and voice your opinion. I am truly honored to be fortunate enough to represent the people in the 2nd Congressional District.
Again, thank you for taking to the time to contact me. I appreciate having the benefit of your views.
Sincerely,
Steve Pearce
Member of Congress
P.S. For up-to-the-minute news and information, please visit pearce.house.gov. You can sign-up to receive e-newsletters, news releases, and updates on various issues important to Southern New Mexico. There, you can also visit my official pages on Facebook and Twitter.
This is so narrow-minded and contradictory!
Pearce's press release of Jan 20:
“The inauguration of President Trump this morning is the ultimate example of our Democracy in action,” said Pearce. “Chief Justice Roberts swearing in President Trump, as he did for President Obama, shows the strength of our nation. After a brutal election season and partisanship, the nation came together to peacefully transfer power to the people’s chosen successor.
“Today should be an example for the months and years to come. Now more than ever, we need to set aside our differences and work together to improve the lives of the New Mexican people. Finding what unites us, improving access to affordable and safe housing, creating stable and good paying jobs, and expanding personal opportunity for prosperity. I look forward to working with my colleagues in New Mexico, the House, and President Trump to move our nation forward and better it for generations to come.”
Gag.
OK southern New Mexicans in the 2nd district — who’s going to run against this guy in 2018?
Reply from ryan's office
I had contacted ryan’s office regarding the Affordable Care Act. This is what I got back several days later. A bit long but enough of it and I should have a great garden this year. I’ll need it. My comments and highlights in italics.
Element removed
January 23, 2017 | Speaker Paul Ryan
Dear John,
Thank you for contacting me about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). In my role as Speaker, I am committed to ensuring that the House functions in an open and transparent way to repeal this failed law in its entirety and replace it with a patient-centered system that expands access to health care, lowers health care costs, and puts health care decisions in the hands of patients, not bureaucrats.
Benefits over 20 million Americans and it’s a failure? El Mimbreno
As my colleagues and I listen to our fellow Americans, we hear from more and more individuals who have serious concerns about what the implementation of the ACA will mean for them, their families and their businesses. Businesses, policy experts, government actuaries, and even some supporters of the law have confirmed what the country already knew: the ACA is bad policy that does not accomplish what it was designed to do. Instead, the law spends trillions of dollars we do not have, and raises taxes on workers, businesses and families, and puts the federal government squarely in the middle of health care decisions.
This law has resulted in cancellation notices and massive premium increases for families and individuals nationwide. Insurance premiums remain high—in fact higher than ever before for many Americans—and they are rising faster than the rate of inflation, the economy, and average income. These premium increases are taking a big toll on family budgets –not to mention the federal budget. Under the ACA the federal government now either directly or indirectly subsidizes most premiums, meaning the burden of rising premiums is also falling on taxpayers. In Fiscal Year 2016, this subsidization alone will cost an astonishing $300 billion. Unfortunately, we now know that the most damaging effects of the ACA only get worse as we look to the future. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently projected that average employer-based premiums will go up nearly 60 percent between this year and 2025. It should come as no surprise then that late last year, CBO also projected that, because of the ACA, the workforce will be two million full-time workers smaller in 2025 than it would be otherwise.
As you may also know, in an effort to protect the American people from the ACA and clear the way for common sense reforms, the House has acted boldly to make use of a budget process known as reconciliation during this Congress. After working to resolve budget differences between the House and the Senate, Representative Tom Price introduced a reconciled budget report as independent legislation on October 16, 2015. This bill, H.R. 3762, the Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015, would dismantle the president's demonstrably unworkable health care law. Specifically, H.R. 3762 repeals the individual and employer mandates, the medical device tax, and the "Cadillac" tax on high value insurance plans. By eliminating the most coercive and onerous pieces of the ACA and by laying the foundation for a patient-centered system, H.R. 3762 would force President Obama to deal with the fact that his health care law has resulted in higher costs and lower quality care for working families. On October 23, 2015, in bipartisan fashion and with my support, the House passed H.R. 3762 by a vote of 240 to 189. On December 3, 2015, the Senate passed this bill with minor changes by a vote of 52 to 47. On January 6, 2015, the House once again acted in bipartisan fashion and passed the Senate's version of H.R. 3762 by a vote of 241 to 168.
Not surprisingly, President Obama vetoed H.R. 3762. While the president’s refusal to admit failure and chart a better course is unfortunate, the passage of this budget reconciliation bill is a major victory for those who believe in patient-centered health care reform. After more than five years of trying to put a bill on the president's desk to repeal his healthcare law, Congress was able to hold the president accountable for the unmitigated disaster that is his signature policy item. Importantly, because the reconciliation process was used to achieve this victory, Congress has now shown that the ACA can be repealed without the 60 votes required to pass most legislation in the Senate. On February 2, 2016, in bipartisan fashion, the House voted 241 to 186 to override the president’s veto. While this bipartisan majority failed to meet the two-thirds threshold required by the Constitution to override a presidential veto, the House demonstrated its unwavering commitment to repealing the ACA by completing the entirety of the constitutional process.
As part of the effort to repeal the ACA continues, Congress must show what a better way forward would look like. There is no doubt that health care reform is needed in this country, but the law the president signed aggravates the worst aspects of our nation’s health care system, without fixing what was and remains broken. The troubled rollout of the ACA goes far beyond a dysfunctional website. For too many Americans, the ACA simply means increased costs and cancellation notices. The negative effects of this law on Americans are sweeping, and instead of offering quick fixes that only temper the consequences, Congress should instead be focused on offering much-needed reforms to our nation's health care industry.
The law the president signed was what congress gave him, not what he wanted. El Mimbreno
Congress should advance solutions that strengthen health care security by taking power away from the government and insurance companies, and empowering patients with control over their care instead. These solutions should realign incentives so that individuals and their doctors—not government bureaucrats or insurance company bureaucrats—are the nucleus of our health care system. This requires reforms to equalize the tax treatment of health care insurance, invite true choice and competition, and ensure critical programs like Medicare and Medicaid can deliver on their promises in the 21st century. As Congressional Republicans, we must show the country our vision of patient-centered reform, and we can do so by putting forward a bold, conservative agenda in the months ahead.
This year, the House is turning a new page. To solve more problems, we are improving the way we seek solutions. To serve the People all members are elected to represent, the People’s House has to function the way the Founders intended. I approach my role as Speaker from the perspective of a two-time committee chair, and so I believe the committees should retake the lead in drafting major legislation.
We have more to do to get our country back on track, and so my top priority is to work with my colleagues to assemble a bold, pro-growth agenda for the country. We will make clear where we stand and how we would apply America’s founding principles to today’s problems. To accomplish this goal, I have worked with my colleagues to define six key areas of focus for restoring a more confident America, and we have formed six committee-led task forces charged with developing a bold, pro-growth agenda. The task forces, comprised of committee chairs of jurisdiction, will seek input from all members to ensure their ideas and perspectives are reflected in this agenda. For updates, please visit: www.speaker.gov/...
Here is an overview of our six areas of focus for building a more confident America:
This doesn’t give me any confidence; it scares the crap out of me. El mimbreno
National Security
Goal: Develop an overarching strategy and the military capabilities required to confront the national security threats of the 21st century.
Tax Reform
Goal: Create jobs, grow the economy, and raise wages by reducing rates, removing special interest carve-outs, and making our broken tax code simpler and fairer.
Trickle down economics: Piss on the 99%. El Mimbreno
Reducing Regulatory Burdens
Goal: Make it easier to invest, produce, and build things in America with a regulatory system that reduces bureaucracy and eases the burden on small businesses and job creators, while still protecting the environment, public safety, and consumer interests.
Based in the cabinet nominations, I say bullshit! El MImbreno
Health Care Reform
Goal: Repeal and replace Obamacare with a patient-centered system that gives patients more choice and control, increases quality, and reduces costs.
OK, let’s see it. El Mimbreno
Poverty, Opportunity, and Upward Mobility
Goal: Strengthen our safety net and reform educational programs to make them more effective and accountable, help people move from welfare to work, and empower productive lives.
Again, let’s see the plan. El Mimbreno
Restoring Constitutional Authority
Goal: Reclaim power ceded to the executive branch over the years by reforming the rulemaking process, checking agency authority, exercising the power of the purse, and conducting more robust oversight.
Thank you again for contacting me. If you would like to find information about the lawmaker who represents your congressional district in the House or about how to contact that person, you are welcome to visit www.house.gov, where you will find this and other useful information about the work of the House.
I already know who my misrepresentative is, Steve Pearce, a multi-millionaire who has no idea what the average New Mexican wants or needs. El Mimbreno
Sincerely,
Element removed
Damn, I sure wish he could be removed. The BS level is so high I couldn’t even read it all.
"Alternative facts" clarified - (AKA: lies exposed)
From the New York Times via MSN.com:
By NICHOLAS FANDOS
WASHINGTON — Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Trump, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the White House had put forth “alternative facts” to ones reported by the news media about the size of Mr. Trump’s inauguration crowd.
She made this assertion a day after Mr. Trump and Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, had accused the news media of reporting falsehoods about the inauguration and Mr. Trump’s relationship with the intelligence agencies.
In leveling this attack, the president and Mr. Spicer made a series of false statements.
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Here are the facts.
1. In a speech at the C.I.A. on Saturday, Mr. Trump said the news media had constructed a feud between him and the intelligence community. “They sort of made it sound like I had a ‘feud’ with the intelligence community,” he said. “It is exactly the opposite, and they understand that, too.”
In fact, Mr. Trump repeatedly criticized the intelligence agencies during his transition to office and has questioned their conclusion that Russia meddled in the election to aid his candidacy. He called their assessment “ridiculous” and suggested that it had been politically motivated.
After the disclosure of a dossier with unsubstantiated claims about him, Mr. Trump alleged that the intelligence agencies had allowed a leak of the material. “Are we living in Nazi Germany?” he asked in a post on Twitter.
2. Mr. Trump said of his inauguration crowd,“It looked honestly like a million and a half people, whatever it was, it was, but it went all the way back to the Washington Monument.”
Aerial photographs clearly show that the crowd did not stretch to the Washington Monument. An analysis by The New York Times, comparing photographs from Friday to ones taken of Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, showed that Mr. Trump’s crowd was significantly smaller and less than the 1.5 million people he claimed.
3. Mr. Trump said that though he had been “hit by a couple of drops” of rain as he began his address on Inauguration Day, the sky soon cleared. “And the truth is, it stopped immediately, and then became sunny,” he said. “And I walked off, and it poured after I left. It poured.”
The truth is that it began to rain lightly almost exactly as Mr. Trump began to speak and continued to do so throughout his remarks, which lasted about 18 minutes, and after he finished.
4. “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration — period — both in person and around the globe,” Mr. Spicer said.
There is no evidence to support this claim. Not only was Mr. Trump’s inauguration crowd far smaller than Mr. Obama’s in 2009, but he also drew fewer television viewers in the United States (30.6 million) than Mr. Obama did in 2009 (38 million) and Ronald Reagan did in 1981 (42 million), Nielsen reported.
5. Mr. Spicer said that Washington’s Metro system had greater ridership on Friday than it did for Mr. Obama’s 2013 inauguration. “We know that 420,000 people used the D.C. Metro public transit yesterday, which actually compares to 317,000 that used it for President Obama’s last inaugural,” Mr. Spicer said.
Neither number is correct, according to the transit system, which reported 570,557 entries into the rail system on Friday, compared with 782,000 on Inauguration Day in 2013.
6. Mr. Spicer said that “this was the first time in our nation’s history that floor coverings have been used to protect the grass on the Mall. That had the effect of highlighting any areas where people were not standing, while in years past the grass eliminated this visual.”
In fact, similar coverings were used during the 2013 inauguration to protect the grass. The coverings did not hamper analyses of the crowd size.
7. Mr. Spicer said that it was “the first time that fencing and magnetometers went as far back on the Mall, preventing hundreds of thousands of people from being able to access the Mall as quickly as they had in inaugurations past.”
The Secret Service said security measures were largely unchanged this year. There were also few reports of long lines or delays.
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[link:http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/white-house-pushes-%e2%80%98alternative-facts%e2%80%99-here-are-the-real-ones/ar-AAm7yEL|
Promises, threats, and/or lies - a good summary
From the Associated press via MSN.com - trump's campaign "promises"
WASHINGTON — As a candidate, Donald Trump made a slew of "Day One" promises that any president would find daunting.
He declared that repealing and replacing his predecessor's health care law would be "one of his first acts as president." He released an 18-point plan for actions that would push forward sweeping ethics reforms and potentially undo scores of regulations. And he promised to fundamentally change the nation's approach to immigration and begin work on an impenetrable wall along the southern border — all on his first day.
Some of Trump's proposals would be easy: They require executive action or simply announcing his intention to do something.
Others, however, require congressional approval and would likely draw numerous legal challenges.
The list is long and ambitious — and there's no indication from the White House that the president has any intention of taking them all up on Monday.
Nonetheless, here is a list of everything Trump promised to do on "Day One" of his administration:
IMMIGRATION:
—Stop all federal funding to "sanctuary cities" — places where local officials don't arrest or detain immigrants living in the country illegally for federal authorities.
—Begin deporting what Trump estimates to be more than 2 million criminal illegal immigrants living in the country.
—Cancel visas for citizens of foreign countries that won't take those criminal illegal immigrants back.
—Immediately terminate former President Barack Obama's "two illegal executive amnesties." That presumably includes DACA, which protects people who were brought into the country illegally as children.
—Begin working on an "impenetrable physical wall" along the southern border.
—Ask Congress to pass "Kate's Law," which would increase penalties on people who unlawfully re-enter the United States after being removed.
SECURITY AND DEFENSE:
—Immediately suspend the Syrian refugee program.
—Convene his generals and inform them that they have 30 days to submit a new plan for defeating the Islamic State group.
—Suspend immigration from "terror-prone regions" where he says vetting is too difficult.
—Implement new "extreme" immigration vetting techniques.
TRADE:
—Announce his intention to renegotiate or withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.
—Formally withdraw from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership.
—Direct his treasury secretary to label China a currency manipulator.
DRAINING THE SWAMP and GOVERNMENT REFORM:
—Propose a Constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress.
—Ban White House and congressional officials from becoming lobbyists for five years after they leave the government.
—Ban former White House officials from lobbying on behalf of foreign governments for the rest of their lives.
—Ban foreign lobbyists from raising money for U.S. elections.
—Impose a hiring freeze on federal employees, excluding military, public safety and public health staff.
—Impose a requirement that for every new federal regulation imposed, two existing regulations be eliminated.
ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT:
—Remove any Obama-era roadblocks to energy projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline.
—Lift restrictions on mining coal and drilling for oil and natural gas.
—Cancel payments to the U.N.'s climate change programs and use the money to fix America's water and environmental infrastructure.
HEALTH CARE, GUN CONTROL AND OTHER ISSUES:
—Cancel "every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama."
—Ask Congress to send him a bill to repeal and replace Obama's signature health care law.
—Begin the process of selecting a new Supreme Court justice.
—Get rid of gun-free zones in schools and on military bases.
By JOSH BOAK and JILL COLVIN, Associated Press
[link:http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trumps-biggest-campaign-promises-face-day-1-test/ar-AAm8bz1?li=BBnb7Kz|
If you MUST watch the inauguration - here's a sing-along for you:
Hail to the Cheat, he’s the disgrace of the nation,
Hail to the Cheat! We oppose him one and all.
Hail to the Cheat, as we vow our defiance
In proud fulfillment of our great, noble call.
Yours is the aim to make this grand country hateful,
This you will try, that's our strong, firm belief.
Hell to the one that Putin made commander,
Hell to the big loser! Hell to the Cheat!
I tried to stay close to the actual lyrics, which are kinda corny, and as of midday tomorrow, totally inappropriate:
Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation,
Hail to the Chief! We salute him, one and all.
Hail to the Chief, as we pledge cooperation
In proud fulfillment of a great, noble call.
Yours is the aim to make this grand country grander,
This you will do, that's our strong, firm belief.
Hail to the one we selected as commander,
Hail to the President! Hail to the Chief!
Feel free to join in with your own verses — a little ridicule is good for the soul. Or at least we can laugh in the face of fear.
New Mexico seantors tell ACA stories on Senate floor, attack "Repeal & Run"
New Mexico Senators Udall and Heinrich told stories of the success of the Affordable Care Act and condemned Republican efforts to repeal instead of improve.
Some quotes:
Heinrich:
It's absolutely criminal for Republicans to strip millions of their health care without even a conceptual replacement plan in place.
To my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, I want to make it very clear that "We'll fix it later" simply doesn't cut it.
They promised "Repeal and Replace."
Now they are giving us "Repeal and Run."
And that will cause chaos in our health care system.
Let me be clear, we have the capacity to fix and improve our current health care system in a bipartisan way - without throwing it all into chaos. But Republicans have to make that choice before it's too late.
Karen from Santa Fe is a registered nurse and a breast cancer survivor. As a nurse, Karen has seen how health care reform and the reduction of uninsured and uncompensated care has helped community hospitals better serve their patients.
But the real impact of health care reform for Karen has been personal.
When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002, Karen's insurance company dropped her coverage.
When she had to pay out of pocket for her coverage, her costs doubled.
As she went through several more recurrences of cancer, Karen went bankrupt and lost her house.
In a letter to me, she said: "Cancer is hard enough, but not to be able to afford my co-pays and appointments caused me so much stress it made me more vulnerable for complications."
Now, Karen is able to afford health care coverage even with her pre-existing condition.
But Republicans are threatening to take that all away from Karen and from hundreds of millions of other Americans.
Karen went on to say in her letter: "No one should go without health care because of income. Good health is not a privilege for the wealthy few, but a human right."
I couldn't say it any better.
[link:http://www.heinrich.senate.gov/|
Udall:
"Let me be loud and clear: what President-elect Trump and Republicans are doing now will throw health care into chaos. It is reckless. It will hurt thousands of New Mexicans and millions of Americans. And the worst part is that the Republicans have no plan to replace the care they will take away.
"The Affordable Care Act is not a perfect law. I have always said that we should work to improve it. But, M. President, it has helped thousands of people in my home state of New Mexico.
"Before we passed the ACA, New Mexico had a high rate of people without health insurance. Since 2010, that number has gone down 44 percent. Countless people have written me, called my office, and stopped me on the street to tell me how relieved they are to have health care.
"M. President, let me tell you about Pam and Mike. They are a husband and wife from Placitas. They own a small business. They signed up for an insurance plan under the ACA as soon as they could, because premiums before the ACA were too expensive,and Pam had a pre-existing condition.
"Using their new preventive care, they found out that Mike had an aggressive form of cancer. But thankfully, doctors caught the cancer at an early stage. Mike was treated at the University of New Mexico Cancer Center, and is now cured. Pam says there is 'no question' that the ACA saved her husband's life.
"Because of the ACA, private health plans must cover a range of free, preventive services, everything from cancer screening to flu shots. Over 730,000 New Mexicans now benefit. Catching a disease early saves lives, and reduces health care costs. But, preventive care is expensive if you're uninsured or poor. An overwhelming majority of Americans – 83% – support making preventive care free.
"But what will President-elect Trump and Republicans do to make sure Pam and Mike and millions of others can keep getting cancer screenings? Nothing. They have no plan.
You can find text and or video on their websites.
[link:http://www.heinrich.senate.gov/|
]http://www.tomudall.senate.gov/?p=home
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: New Mexico
Member since: Sun Nov 6, 2016, 09:21 AM
Number of posts: 777
