Post a Comment On: Bakersfield Observed

 On the eve of the vote on health care reform, Rep.  Kevin McCarthy weighs in on the issue. In his words:
[Image] "In less than 48 hours, the People’s House will make a decision. The question is, should Washington listen to the people, or will Washington tell the people it knows better than them.  We can scrap this bill, or Washington can impose a government takeover of our health care.
  In less than two days, we will know who is listening.‬‪ The current health care bill before Congress will spend a total of $1.2 trillion, while increasing taxes by over $500 billion.  The bill will hit many small businesses with a tax hike immediately, when many of these same small businesses are feeling the brunt of the recession.  For instance, David Altig, the head of research for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta found that while small businesses accounted for just 9 percent of all the jobs lost in the 2001 recession, in the current one, 45 percent of all job losses have come from small businesses. We also know that over 70% of newly created jobs are produced from small businesses.  So, shouldn’t we be helping these small businesses, especially when Kern County is facing an unemployment rate of 17.1%.

  "It doesn’t have to be this way.‬‪ America is strong, but this bill weakens the small business job creating engine that we need to run on all cylinders. Jobs are my number one priority, and it should be a priority for this Congress.  This is one of the reasons I oppose this bill, and I am working to ensure it doesn’t become law.  It is an up hill fight, but a fight worth fighting.  ‬‪
  " To show that this healthcare takeover is not only bad policy, but bad process, look no further than the backroom deals it’s filled with. There are special provisions for Tennessee, Montana, Connecticut, North Dakota, Wyoming, South Dakota, and even Louisiana.  This bill is still full of the giveaways that the president said he wanted to remove.  I know I am not alone in saying, enough is enough.‬‪

  "For instance, earlier this week I sent out an email to all my constituents who signed up for email alerts on my website asking them if they thought it was time to scrap this health care bill and start over. 85% said yes.  We all realize that we need to fix healthcare, but this is the wrong approach. ‬‪That is why my colleagues and I are working to try and stop this massive expansion of government which isestimated to create an additional 16,000 new IRS employees to enforce
the new taxes and penalties.  We know we need health care reform, but not this bill. There is a another way. It is time for common sense solutions that will lower health care cost like ending junk lawsuits that cause doctors to practice defensive medicine, addressing preexisting conditions, and increasing competition by allowing Americans to buy health insurance across state lines.

  "I will be spending my weekend making this case along with my colleagues, and I hope to report positive developments next week.