Murphy [D, CT-5] hears opponents of health proposal

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STEAMING OVER HEALTH CARE
Area residents grill Murphy during Waterbury forum
By Robyn Adams

WATERBURY — Despite the early hour, standing in grass wet from morning dew and Yel­low Jackets swarming over­head, more than 60 people gave Rep. Christopher S. Murphy, D­5th District, an earful Tuesday about why they don’t believe a national health-care program will work.

The meeting, held at 8 a.m. in Library Park, was the first of five Murphy plans to hold through Friday. He provided coffee and doughnuts, but not many in attendance were sip­ping java or munching sweets.

“Kill the bill,” many in the crowd shouted at Murphy as he answered questions.

Murphy is seeking public in­put on the national health care proposal being debated in Washington and around the country.

There were more anti-nation­al health-care folks than sup­porters in the park Tuesday. Murphy diplomatically an­swered questions from the crowd, which included many holding handmade signs.

He said people with no insur­ance show up regularly in hos­pital emergency rooms.

“If they had insurance, it could provide help with preven­tive care,” he reasoned.

Peter Wolfgang, of Water­bury, brought his wife Leslie and five children to the gather­ing.

He told Murphy he doesn’t want the proposal to include public money to pay for abor­tions.

“Regardless of whether you are pro-choice or pro-life, our public dollars should not go for that, and I want an amendment in there for that,” said Wolf­gang, who heads the Family In­stitute of Connecticut.”

“I understand,” Murphy re­sponded.

Murphy said the insurance market is broken, that costs vary by state, and that some in­surers have more business than others.

“The idea is to move away from state-by-state regulations and have a national or regional competition amongst insurers so there really will be choice,” he said.

Small employers, he added, can’t afford health insurance for their employees. “We can find lower cost options and that is through a tax credit for small businesses.”

Art McNally, 69, of Wood­bury, is also against the bill. McNally, who is retired and on Social Security, said he is wor­ried about the bill’s costs and about the people, including his children and grandchildren, whose taxes will pay for it.

Clayton Daigle, 59, of Wol­cott, said the nation is already in enough debt and doesn’t need any more.

Murphy told the crowd he wished there wasn’t shouting back and forth, but accepted it because that is how Democracy works.

Some people who tired of Murphy’s answers asked for him to resign. They said he or­ganized the meeting but was not listening to them.

Murphy said he has listened, claimed to not have all the an­swers and would take their sug­gestions — including one that would have congressmen cov­ered by the health bill — back to Washington.

After the crowd disbursed, Murphy said he is hopeful to get a bill passed by the end of the year, because people can’t wait.

“Small businesses are going under in part because of health care and people are dying be­cause they do not have health care,” Murphy said.

“There have been really good arguments from people shouting for and against. My job here is to listen to who is against it.”

http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2009/09/02/news/434385.txt

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From today's edition of my home-town newspaper. The free online version had less information, so I added the rest of the article in its entirety.