Response from Senator Corker

So, I got a response from Bob Corker finally about the health bill (his aides are running a bit behind, eh?). Below is what he said, following is my response.

Thank you for contacting my office about health care reform legislation. Your input is important to me and I appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts.

As you know, the House passed H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on March 21 and it was signed into law on March 23. I am disappointed in the passage of the bill because of the impact it will have on our country, our state and also future generations. According to Governor Bredesen, this bill is estimated to costTennessee $1.1 billion over five years - a huge unfunded mandate that creates a very difficult financial situation when our state is already dealing with the effects of a bad economy.

Beyond the unfunded mandate, I think what bothers me most about the bill are its disingenuous accounting mechanisms. First, the bill applies 10 years of new taxes to finance six years of spending, resulting in huge deficits over the next decades. Second, even President Obama's own Medicare officials have determined that Medicare savings are counted TWICE in the bill, hiding the legislation's true cost. This comes down to elementary school logic; you can't spend the same dollar twice. Finally, almost as soon as the ink dries on this legislation, a new bill will come forth to deal with all or part of what is called the 'doc fix', a measure to ensure that physicians who treat Medicare recipients do not receive a 21 percent cut. The cost of that over 10 years is more than $200 billion, proving that Americans have not been dealt with squarely on the true accounting associated with this bill. These sorts of budget gimmicks don't pass the common sense test.

As we examine the effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act over time, it is my hope that we will begin to work to address the problems contained in the bill in a fiscally responsible and sustainable way.

Thank you again for your letter. I hope you will continue to share your thoughts with me.

Sincerely,

Bob Corker
United States Senator

And my response:

Thank you, however, the only responsible way to address the problems in the bill, including the fact that it turns us largely into a socialistic nation (which is the end of freedom and prosperity), is to, at the first opportunity, REPEAL IT!!!

Since you have been so firm in your stance against this monstrosity, I would expect that you will be happy to work for repealing it. If not, you should expect to get a regular day job when your term expires.

Thank you.