Post a Comment On: Bakersfield Observed

[Image] Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) shares his thoughts on the week. Disagree? Have a question? Post a comment below. Here goes...

 "My office welcomed two new interns, Ashley Mettler and Philip Kibbey who are both from Bakersfield.  Ashley attended Liberty high school and recently graduated from UC-Santa Barbara.  Phillip attended Stockdale high school and will graduate from Cal-Poly SLO in December.  I am glad to have both of them working in my office.

 "I joined my colleagues in introducing legislation that would defund the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and also signed a letter to the Administration asking that it disclose and stops all Federal funding of ACORN.  I also joined a bipartisan vote of 345 Members of the House (172 Democratic Members and 173 Republican Members) to pass an amendment to incorporate the legislation I cosponsored Tuesday to defund ACORN.  I am glad the House could come together and take this common sense action to defund a group that has a history of criminally suspect activity.  The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. 

 " Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) introduced the Senate’s health care reform bill that had been in development for quite some time.  Similar to the discontent surrounding H.R. 3200, bipartisan support was lacking and both sides have not been pleased with the product. Congress should come together and restart the process; and listen to what was said in our town hall meetings.  I believe we should be pursuing solutions that ensure that the government does not hinder the doctor/patient relationship, does not deny care on the basis of age or gender, and does not continue to run up record deficits at a time of record debt that is a drag on our children and their children’s future. I believe that we should craft a solution that supports access to affordable health coverage even if someone loses their job, does not deny access to coverage based on preexisting conditions, and supports real medical liability reform, which some predict could save $210 billion/year in defensive medical costs.

 "The Administration also chose to cut the European missile defense system that was to be based in Poland and the Czech Republic.  This announcement came the same day as the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran has the ability to produce a nuclear bomb and is pursuing a missile system to carry such a bomb.  Such moves by the Administration are concerning as we have already seen cuts to the Airborne Laser program that is being tested at Edwards Air Force Base, which is designed to take out missile threats that have already been launched.  I don’t think this is the kind of message to be sending to growing dangerous adversaries that threaten our security and our allies’ security.  Thanks for reading."