Archive for January, 2010

President Obama gave a great State of the Union speech last night - he met our expectations.

It is time to turn speeches into actions. Action on all the major issues must begin today and start taking effect as soon as possible, not in 2011 or 2013 - today!

Thanks Barack. We are once again behind you and it’s time Congress get on board.

President Obama talks tonight about the State of the Union - our country.

All of us who feel the pain of an economic meltdown; lost jobs; either no health care or out of control health costs; an educational system being short changed by just about every State; a fractured energy policy that should be based upon clean, renewable energy generation to lessen foreign dependence and two wars that take our lives while continuing to drain our resources - we pretty much know the State of the Union these days.

President Obama, tonight we hope to hear you say your administration and the 535 people in Congress are going to start acting in the best interest of the people who sent you all to represent us and not special interest lobbyists.

Please, we do not need anymore 2,000 page bills that cover everything but the core issue. Give us legislation that is straight forward, deals only with the issue and requires a simple yes or no vote by Congress. Then and only then will we have real Transparency and Accountability of our elected representation.

Now is the time to deliver on the promise to change the ways Washington does business. Do this for our children and grand children - they will all thank us for being part of the solution rather than the problem.

Could this be the Audacity Of Hope that you wrote about?

The week started off with the Massachusetts Senate election where voters sent a message they are not happy with the ways of Washington. We have recently had three State elections (Virginia and New Jersey Governor races) where the voters have elected the challenger, not the incumbent.  This is sending a clear message We The People are not happy campers.

Next comes President Obama taking a strong position with the banks calling for Banking Reforms. We believe this action is needed. There must be accountability when large financial institutions make high risk financial moves with the money in retirement funds and the deposits of We The People that is being insured by government - in reality our tax dollars. The gamble they made and lost has put a scar on this Country that will not heal for some time.

Then we have the Supreme Court’s controversial decision, Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, to view corporations in the same light as individuals in the context of financial support for candidates running for political offices. We have Congress scrambling to draft legislation in an attempt to water down the potential effects of increased campaign spending by corporations, lobbyists and special interests. Once again We the People are being put in the position of not being represented the way our founding fathers envisioned.

Yesterday the Speaker of the House comes out and says the House does not have the votes to pass the Senate version of the Health Care Bill, which in our view does little to solve the Health care issue. Apparently, a lot of other folks in Congress agree with us as we now have Congressional gridlock with the Health Care Reform issue. We The People once again are the recipients of either not having access to quality health care, increasing costs, limiting coverages or all of the aforementioned.

We have got to find a way to get Washington to be responsible to the people of this country - we are running real low on confidence and thin with our patience!

Props to President Obama, his Administration, the Senate, the House and our Government Agencies for the manner in which they have all come together, mobilized and responded to assist with the relief effort for the people of Haiti that have been devastated by the earthquake.

In fact, props to the governments of other countries who have also responded. There is hope that we can all coexist in this world with a concern for humanity - the people. Too bad it takes such a catastrophic event to bring us all together.

Is it out of the realm of possibility to expect the folks in Washington to work together in dealing with all of our domestic issues in the same effective manner? Let’s be proactive Congress. Let’s not wait for an event to happen before you come together to do the right thing as you have done in response to the Haitian tragedy. Just maybe our unified response to the Haitian Earthquake was because it did not require a lobbyists’ influence to take action.

We don’t like to rant, but our patience is being tested with the way Washington is working - or should we say not working. The 535 folks in Congress are the ones who write and implement legislation by which we all have to abide.

We have real trouble understanding why our system and our process can’t be effective in dealing with the major issues that face and affect every one of us!  Issues such as the state of our economy, health care, our energy strategy (or lack thereof), our educational system, and military conflicts all appear to be more intense instead of being resolved. Where is the disconnect? Why is Congress so polarized? Why is Congress so divided - even within their own parties? Why is Congress so paralyzed?

Is it the lobbyists’ huge sums of money allocated to influence Congress that creates the divide? Is it that reelection takes huge sums of money - get the connection - and is of the highest priority? Is it that our government is so large it can no longer be effective? Is it that we are not putting tax dollars to work in the most important places? Is it that the Senate and House worry more about politics than doing the right thing?

We don’t have the answers to these questions - just maybe it’s a combination of all of the above.

Two observations:

 1. Why is it that some of the most effective people in Congress do right for the people when they no longer have another term in Congress?

2. Why are incumbents up for reelection squirming because polls are telling them they just might be booted out, regardless of party affiliation?

Some one, some how We The People must demand the dysfunctional government process we are experiencing stop. How much time and money are we willing to waste while issues intensify? What will it take for the folks in Congress to stop being politicians and start working together to solve our issues?

As Congress continues to debate the Health Care Bill, Illinois Senator Roland Burris submitted another response on Health Care Reform. Senator Burris offers a number of  points for our consideration.

Let’s pay particular attention to the last sentence of Senator Burris’ note. Our question is: Why don’t we have every single person in the Senate and House with this same mind set?

Dear Bob:

Thank you for contacting me about healthcare reform. I appreciate the benefit of your views.

As your United States Senator, one of my top priorities is to ensure that my constituents have access to affordable, quality healthcare. Today, nearly 3.5 million Illinois residents, 30.8% of the under 65 population, lack health insurance. Those who remain covered face rapidly rising premiums. A Kaiser Family Foundation report found that average insurance premiums have more than doubled in the past nine years, and the New America Foundation projects that, by 2016, coverage costs for an average Illinois family could top $25,000 a year.

In the face of these challenges, I support reforms aimed at improving efficiency and access while reducing cost. A focus on prevention and primary care will help Americans avoid getting sick, saving billions on costly specialist and emergency treatments. Increasing competition in the insurance market, through a public option, will put pressure on insurers to reduce administrative costs, marketing, and high profit margins. This will result in a higher percentage of premiums spent on treatment and a better overall value for consumers. Expanded access to health insurance, provided through affordability credits, will eliminate the $1,200 “hidden tax” that the average insured Illinois resident pays in additional premiums to subsidize expensive emergency care for those who currently cannot afford insurance and bring premium costs within reach for millions of middle class families.

The pending reform effort has received the support of many of the nation’s most prominent medical, consumer, and senior groups. The American Medical Association, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the American Federation of Hospitals, Families USA, and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) all support reforming our health system, because they know that we face a crisis. As costs skyrocket, more people lose the coverage they need. Patients suffer, and businesses lose productivity. Insurers, hospitals, and doctors lose customers, and the entire healthcare system begins to break down. Currently, 14,000 people lose their insurance every single day. This is not acceptable in America.

A number of groups that profit from the current inefficiencies have spread false rumors about reform. I would like to take this opportunity to correct some of the misinformation.

“Government Takeover”: Some believe that a public insurance option will mean the end of private health insurance. On the contrary, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that if insurance reform passes with a public plan option, the number of people covered by private, employer-sponsored coverage will actually increase.

Rationing: Rationed care will not happen with reform. In fact, the bill takes a number of steps to prevent insurance companies from making your coverage decisions. Insurance reform will restore your doctor’s ability to treat patients properly, without deferring to insurance company bureaucrats who deny coverage and treatments.

Medicare: Rumors abound that reform jeopardizes existing Medicare coverage. The truth is, cutting waste, fraud, and abuse will assure the security of the Medicare trust fund for years to come. In addition, insurance reform will end cost sharing for preventative care, cut the prescription drug “doughnut hole” in half, and lower Medicare premiums.

Abortion: None of the reform proposals being considered would mandate coverage of abortions. Current federal law preventing government funded abortions; except in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the life of the mother; will remain unchanged. All versions of reform include a “conscious protection” clause, which allows doctors the right to refuse to perform an abortion, if doing so conflicts with their values.

Federal Employees: The Senate reform bill requires all Members of Congress and their staffs to enroll in the public insurance exchange. I fully support this proposal, as I believe that we Senators should have a personal stake in the reforms we propose.

Cost: President Obama has repeatedly stated that any reform must not increase the federal budget deficit and must control growth in medical spending. The Senate reform bill reduces our federal budget deficit by more than $100 billion over the next ten years, and takes important steps toward paying for quality, not merely volume of service, in our healthcare system.

Investing in reform now will ensure stability in coverage. President Obama has made very clear that reform will protect Americans’ right to keep their current health insurance policy, but changes will slow the rate of increase in premiums, offer protection and options for those who lose their jobs, and help those who cannot afford insurance.

I will continue to listen closely to what you and other Illinoisans have to say about matters before Congress, the concerns of our communities, and the issues facing Illinois and the nation. My job is not about merely supporting or opposing legislation; it is also about bridging the divide that has paralyzed our nation’s politics.

Sincerely,

Roland W. Burris
United States Senator