Democrats obstruct GOP ideas

While President Obama and the Democrats, including 2nd District Democratic Party chairman Jerry Dodson, continue to claim Republicans offer no ideas or alternatives to the health care debate, the truth is that Republican amendments and initiatives have been voted down along party lines with Democrats controlling both houses of Congress.

Republicans offered legislation to guarantee no illegal immigrants would get taxpayer-funded health care. U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge and the Democrats voted against it. Republicans tried to prevent tax dollars from paying for abortions in the government health plan. Etheridge and the Democrats voted that down. Republicans objected to $15 billion in new taxes on young families with children who will no longer be permitted to deduct health care expenses from income taxes. Democrats shot it down.

There are many other initiatives supported by Republicans that the Democrats have refused to include in the health care legislation:

Congress should repeal laws that now give insurance companies virtual monopolies in individual states and prevent them from competing across state lines. We should all have the right to shop around for the best plans with the best rates. Health insurance should also be portable for those who move from one state to another, but current law often prohibits this.

Insurance companies are required by the government to provide certain services whether the policy holder wants them or not. The result is that we all pay higher premiums. Americans should be free to choose a plan that covers the services we want at a price we can afford and not be forced to pay higher premiums for coverage we don’t need.

Lottery-lawsuits result in billions of dollars in unnecessary tests as doctors fear if they don’t test for every possible scenario, no matter how unlikely a patient is to actually need the tests, they will be sued. These excessive procedures drive up costs. Tort reform is essential to reduce health care costs for every American.

Other times, doctors with the best education, training and equipment simply cannot always guarantee finding the root cause of a medical condition, and yet they face lawsuits in the millions of dollars. This increases the price doctors pay for malpractice insurance, and this additional cost has to be passed along to patients. Medical malpractice reform must also be part of any comprehensive healthcare overhaul.

Reform should include simplified, tax-free Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for every American, and unspent contributions should be rolled over year to year and remain the property of the individual. Right now, unused contributions are confiscated by the federal government. High deductable policies and catastrophic and hospitalization-only insurance plans should also be made available.

Americans are not too stupid to know what is best for us and our families, as this current Congress seems to believe.

As I write this, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats have literally locked Republicans out of the room and are crafting legislation behind closed doors. Democratic Party chairman Mr. Dobson challenged me to present alternatives. I sincerely hope he puts as much effort into getting Congressman Etheridge to support these common-sense reforms and take them behind the closed doors as he did in launching a public, personal attack against me in the editorials a few weeks ago. Republicans believe that we, as Americans first, would all be the better for it if he did.

Mark Otto

Vice Chairman

2nd Congressional

District

Republican Party

All of us along North Winstead Avenue appreciate the recent publicity the Telegram has helped generate about the Northern Connector. However, I would like to respond to the last statement in your editorial of Sept. 28. If efforts by the affected property owners appear as “late opposition,” I can assure you it was not due to our belated efforts.

Property owners were notified of the details of the road project only after decisions were made; we were never consulted in the planning stages. I have been told that the data used to design the scope of the Northern Connector was gathered in 2000. The first record I have of any meeting with the N.C. Department of Transportation was in early 2006.

At these presentations, the project was presented, our comments solicited; but it was made clear that the design had already been approved as presented, and alterations to the project were unlikely at that stage of the process.

We all know the needs and traffic considerations in Rocky Mount have changed since 2000. Certainly the economic challenges of the last year have encouraged us to use our resources more efficiently, while preserving and protecting the existing businesses that provide stability to our community.

It is sad that the “road czars” seem to lack the flexibility to adjust to changing needs and reevaluate the scope of this monumental project.

Again, thank you for providing a forum for our frustration.

Ted Strickland

Rocky Mount