[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 135 (Thursday, October 3, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H6218-H6222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1800
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2013, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) is recognized
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I always enjoy my friends on the other side
of the aisle, some really terrific public speakers. I also enjoyed
particularly the question from my friend across the aisle who said:
``Why not let ObamaCare just go through?''
That is something that has been debated and I have discussed with so
many of my constituents. There are many people in the country that are
so angry about ObamaCare being passed. It is just hard to call it
``affordable care'' because I have heard from so many that it has just
devastated, so many who have told me that it is anything but
affordable. It is devastating them.
Some have said if we just let ObamaCare go through, it is going to
hurt so many people. It has already hurt so many people. If we just let
it go through--stand by, just get out of the way, let it hit, let it
get the full hurt and damage that will continue--that will just get
worse as it hurts the economy as it continues to make most people's
health care and health insurance both go up.
If you are a purely political animal, that is the perfect question to
ask: Why not just let ObamaCare go through and let it do its damage?
But when you care deeply about people and see the damage it is doing,
how can you stand by and let it keep hurting the way it is? People have
already lost insurance, they've already gotten their notices, we
continue to get emails, we continue to get calls, I continue to hear
from people I know and trust back home, I hear from other people around
the country.
There has been an email where people could send us their stories and
then we try to verify: [email protected]
.gov. So those stories continue to come in at ObamaC[email protected].
So if you are purely a political animal, whether Republican or
Democrat, then it is a good question to ask: Why not just let ObamaCare
come through? Because if it is as bad as people are telling us it is--
you see the damage to the economy, you see the people that have lost
full-time work and gone to part-time work because of it, having to take
multiple jobs, losing the benefits they had, you see businesses that
had cultivated and trained employees, who did not want to lose
employees, who were building and building but got above the 50
threshold and now they have had to cut below that or go to part time,
you see the damage--then, yes, for purely political animals why not let
it go through?
As my friend noted, if it is all that bad you will win the next
election, the majority in the Senate next time, you will win the
Presidency next time.
But there are some of us that don't think in purely political terms.
We hear from people--our hearts break when their hearts break, we
rejoice when they rejoice--and it is hard to feel good and stand by and
let a train wreck or a nightmare, depending on which Democrat's
description of ObamaCare you want, just let it go and continue to wreak
havoc on America and real American people, on American lives.
We've mentioned some of the stories before. As I say, they continue
to come in to ObamaC[email protected].
Here is one from Jeff:
I run a business in Tyler. We have part-time associates
that work 35 hours per week on average. But this varies due
to the changing business levels. We provide transportation
services moving freight to and from Tyler. Since the
implementation of the Affordable Care Act, we have had to cut
down hours of these associates to get below the employer-
mandated level of 30 hours. These associates are used to
working 35 hours on average per week. As most Americans, they
set their budget for their family around this many hours. Our
company needs to be able to compete in this market so we need
the flexibility of the part-time worker. However, we must now
cut hours of loyal, dedicated associates below 29 hours. This
is creating a problem, first for our associates, who are
simply trying to make ends meet, and for the organization
that I run to provide quality service to our customers. This
law is handcuffing the businesses and will ultimately drive
up costs of running a company. When costs rise they are
passed along to the customers and on to the end consumer. We
will continue to struggle economically under this law. Please
do whatever you can to reverse this law and restore liberty
to this country and our businesses.
Here is one from Tammy:
When ObamaCare first passed its law, I asked my ObGyn what
he thought of it. His words were that it ``sucks.'' I told my
husband that I bet when all this is said and done he would
retire. And guess what? He did. So the part about being able
to keep your doctor is definitely not true. Also, I own a
small business with less than 50 employees, and we will never
be able to grow our business any bigger than what it is right
now. Sad.
From Tammy.
Mary said:
We had insurance through Moen in my retirement package,
which cost us $27 per month. It has been canceled effective
January 1 of 2014 and comparable coverage is going to cost us
$300 per month. We are on Social Security.
That is from Walter and Mary in east Texas.
Here is one from Harold:
My granddaughter teaches elementary students in Mesquite.
She was shocked to find that the health insurance she carries
on herself and her son has doubled in cost since the school
year. She inquired as to why. And well, you already know what
the answer she was given: ObamaCare.
A single mom and her son.
Here is another from a business owner:
I have been told that my company offers what is known as a
Cadillac health plan, although it has been years since anyone
in my
[[Page H6219]]
company could afford a Cadillac automobile. As a small
business, I use the ability to offer health care that was
superior to others to attract and retain quality, longtime
employees. Now faced with being taxed for providing too
much of a good thing I will reduce the benefits to my
employees. We call that a ``left-handed handshake'' in
Texas. It doesn't sit well with me. I am sure not well
with my employees. I am considering early retirement and
closing or selling my business all together. It just
doesn't seem to matter to anyone anymore that hard work
and doing the right thing all these years ever counted for
anything. Here is hoping some folks will pull their heads
out of--before it is too late.
I was part of Tenet's reduction in force on June 21, 2013.
With low hospital census and poor CMS reimbursement my
position was eliminated. I lost the family health care. I was
paying $2,062 annually with a family deductible of $2,400 for
our medical, dental, prescription, and eye insurance. For
COBRA or Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance we will now have to
pay $1,000 per month or $12,000 annually. My employment will
not cover the cost of my insurance.
That's from Claudia.
I am a firefighter with the city of Whitehouse, Texas. We
have been able until October 1, 2013, to work up to 39 hours
a week because the city cannot afford to give us benefits.
The city asked us if we could get on our spouse's group
insurance I could still work up to 39 hours a week with the
new health care law. I joined my wife's group policy and went
from paying $189 a month to $600 per month. We have been told
as of October 1, 2013, that Texas Municipal insurance has
interpreted the new health care law as anyone working over 30
hours a week has to be provided health benefits. We are now
going to be cut back to working 24 hours a week and not get
health care. I have left my wife's plan and went back to my
own insurance policy, but with the cuts in hours I cannot
afford to stay on her plan and will have a hard time paying
for my own.
I cannot understand, if the new health plan is going to get
health insurance for everyone and I already have insurance,
why can't I be left alone to work the 39 hours a week? At $13
an hour, 24 hours a week doesn't bring in much for the job we
are expected to do, and at 61 years of age jobs are kind of
scarce. I can't understand why my country is trying to put me
on welfare. We have too many on it already. All I want to do
is work.
From John.
Here is one from Kerri:
I've been in law enforcement since I was 21, and what is
happening to our officers, dispatchers, and deputies today is
disgusting. Many rural counties, like mine where I'm from,
have voted in County Commissioners Court and actually passed
that because of ObamaCare, the deputies will have to pay for
their own medical insurance. These officers are already being
paid below what surrounding counties are being paid. Now they
are going to have to spend over half of their income on their
own insurance because the county cannot afford to pay it. Let
me break this down for you. A good friend of mine is employed
as a deputy by the same county sheriff's office and makes
about $900 every 2 weeks and $400 to $450 of that will now go
towards medical insurance. This deputy was almost killed in
the line of duty 2 years ago, resulting in a lot of surgeries
and a year of hospitalization and rehabilitation as well.
Because of all of those line-of-duty injuries he may not be
able to get private coverage now. How could you ask a man or
woman to lay their life on the line every day, to serve the
public and enforce laws, but then tell them that they'll go
from spending about $150 a month on insurance premiums to
about $450 per month.
{time} 1815
It's true that you should be able to go to the exchanges, and if they
can ever get through and someday get it, it's not going to have the
coverage that they had before. They've lost their insurance. They won't
have insurance like that again. It won't be the coverage that they'd
wanted, that they'd selected, that they'd agreed on. Why? Because, if
you like your insurance, ObamaCare makes sure you're not likely to keep
it. That's the bottom line.
Here is one from Ima:
Due to ObamaCare, I received a letter from my doctor 2
weeks ago, telling me she would no longer take care of anyone
on Medicare. There is a big shortage of doctors that will
accept Medicare patients in such a small town as Lufkin. I
haven't been able to get another doctor to accept me as of
this date. I never thought I would live to experience my own
government treating us like we were a Communist nation. Our
Congress has truly let the American people down.
I'm sure Ima remembers being told repeatedly by everyone--from the
President and by so many of our Democratic colleagues here--that if you
like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. Well, Ima lost her doctor
like so many across America.
Here is one from Jay in east Texas:
My son returned from a tour in Iraq to an economy that
hindered his job search for over a year. He finally got a job
with Fastenal as a part-time warehouse worker. As a part-
timer, he was able to work 39 hours every week, which paid
his bills and allowed him to put aside some savings for pilot
training. Thanks to ObamaCare, his hours have been cut to 29.
He has had to move out of his apartment and into a communal
house so he can afford to live. Thankfully, he has VA health
benefits. Otherwise, he would have to pay for health benefits
or a fine out of his greatly reduced income.
This is from Jim:
My son has a learning disability. Yet he has worked
faithfully for a nationwide paint company for over 3 years.
He is married. He and his wife work hard and refuse to go on
welfare. They have their dignity, a life vision and a
committed work ethic. Yet the best position he had attained
was part time at the paint company. He was working 32 hours
per week, and they were paying their bills, but were living
basically at the poverty line.
Then ObamaCare came, and like so many companies, my son's
hours were reduced to 28 hours per week. This put him below
the poverty line and made it impossible to meet all of his
bills. He refused to pursue welfare because he has a
commitment to earn what he receives. ObamaCare punished
diligent, community, responsible Americans like my son.
How many other working poor have been similarly hurt
because of a program that was put in place with such
irresponsible legislative leadership?
If someone wonders what James is talking about regarding
irresponsible legislative leadership, that came through a legislative
process without any input from Republicans, who represented nearly half
of the country, so nearly half of the country didn't get any input into
ObamaCare. We were told it would be negotiated on C-SPAN by the
President while he was running. Not only was it not negotiated on C-
SPAN, but the legislative leaders in this room--in this body--who
pushed it through without most of the people who voted for it, haven't
any idea what is in it. I read it. That's why I was so committed to
voting against it and to trying to get others to understand what they
were going to do to America.
So, for this young man, who had known the pride of being self-
supporting with a disability and providing for his family just above
the poverty line, ObamaCare has shoved him into poverty.
Here is one from Michelle with two ``l's.'' It's not my friend,
Michele Bachmann. This is from a Texas ``Michelle.'' She sent this last
week:
During this process and even before ObamaCare actually goes
into full effect, every single member of my family has been
affected. Both of my children, who have always maintained
full-time jobs and have supported their families are now
faced with part-time employment from multiple jobs because
their employers can't afford to provide health insurance any
longer, and as such, their hours have been reduced to avoid
having to provide health insurance. That means my children
and my grandchildren are all going to be forced into the
exchanges, which are not affordable at all despite the empty
promises made by the Democratic Party when this horrible bill
was passed.
In fact, please tell our former Speaker that, now that
everyone has had a chance to read it, it's even more obvious
that this plan does not work.
On my side, I've always maintained health insurance, but
since the passage of ObamaCare, my health premiums have
increased over 316 percent. In addition, my deductibles have
skyrocketed by 500 percent, and the covered services have
been reduced. So thank you for allowing me to keep my health
care coverage if I chose to. You didn't mention that it would
now be unaffordable.
Here is one from Leland:
``A dark age in medicine.'' That was the phrase my
oncologist, at a recent office visit, used. He said, When you
cut reimbursements as low as Medicare and ObamaCare have
done, the number of patients I must see to cover the fixed
costs of my practice severely impacts the time I can spend
with a single patient. Quality of care can't help but be
impacted.
If Leland has an oncologist, I hope and pray that his cancer is in
remission.
It was amazing to hear Democrats say, Hey, yeah. Okay. Maybe we did
cut Medicare in ObamaCare by over $700 billion. I'm not sure if I hear
them talk about the amount by which they devastated Medicare. Hey--but
that only goes to the providers. It does not affect and will not affect
your care.
As you can find out from Leland, it does affect their care, and as
we've heard from other people across the country, when you cut so
dramatically the reimbursement that a health care provider gets
for providing health care service, either they're going to have to stop
providing that service or they cannot provide the same level or quality
of service.
[[Page H6220]]
Seniors across America are one by one figuring that out. Wow, wait a
minute. You were so sold on this ObamaCare bill, and you called it
``affordable.'' Yet you told me I wasn't going to be affected as a
senior citizen in America when you cut hundreds of billions of dollars
out from the services I was going to get? They're figuring it out.
Their service has been affected, and it will get worse and worse as
time goes on because that's what the government does. When the
government takes over something, it's rare that it gets better.
Here we've got one from Nick:
The American Veterinary Medical Association has decided,
because of the uncertainties of ObamaCare, to discontinue its
sponsorship of its group major medical policy, effective
December 1, 2013. Not only have my wife and I had this
insurance since she graduated from vet school in 1976, but my
dad also had it when he graduated from vet school in 1952. So
now, at the age of 61, we are looking for new insurance.
I'm sure Nick recalls the promise: if you like your insurance, oh,
you can keep it.
Here is an email from Debbie:
I am responding by letting you know that I've lost my
health care insurance. It's terminating at the end of this
year due to ObamaCare.
Of course, we have her name and information.
One from Tom:
My doctor retired as a result of ObamaCare.
That's somebody who served in the Army.
Here is one from Emily:
We had group insurance with my husband's work. It was a
plan that covered our family that cost $568 a month, no co-
pay, and the $1,200 deductible per person has now increased
to $1,100 per month and a $4,800 deductible per person to
stay current with new health care laws. That's more than our
house payment. Once upon a time, a mother whose husband
worked was able to stay home. Now either both have to work to
afford a thing like insurance or neither works so we can bum
off the people who do.
Her subject line was: ``Unaffordable rather than Affordable.'' But
her insurance went from $568 a month, which is a pretty healthy price
there, basically doubling to $1,100 per month, and the no co-pay
deductible went from $1,200 per person to $4,800 per person. That's
enough to devastate a family.
Here is one from James:
Several months ago, we got a letter in the mail saying that
our physician--and I won't give the name--was leaving her
affiliated practice. When we asked her about it, she listed
ObamaCare as the primary reason for leaving the practice.
Here is one from Ty:
I just received my affordable health care renewal notice
from my health care insurance provider, which is one of the
two members participating in North Carolina's marketplace
exchange. I've been informed that the plan which I currently
have and like will no longer be available under ObamaCare. As
a result, I'm being forced to switch to a new plan.
Additionally, effective January 1, 2014, the premium for an
insurance plan comparable to my current is increasing from
$235 to $407 per month, and my maximum out-of-pocket expense
is increasing from $2,700 to $6,350.
He goes on to complain about hearing the President say on numerous
occasions, if you like your insurance, you can keep it.
{time} 1830
Here's one from Carmine:
I am a responsible family man. I've always provided health
insurance for my family. In 2008, I was diagnosed with MS,
making insurance expensive. However, I always made do by
having insurance either on my wife's plan or my own plan. In
2009, we lost my wife's plan and we worried because of my
preexisting condition. However, we learned that our State of
New Jersey had a provision that we cannot be denied coverage
as long as we can prove we had coverage at the time I was
diagnosed. I also find out that in our State, New Jersey,
dependents can stay on their parents' plan up until they are
31 years old. So two of Obama's biggest benefits were already
available in my State. However, after being extremely
responsible in this tough economic time, the ObamaCare law
has now made my insurance policy nonrenewable. My wife worked
really hard to make sure that I and our child are covered
under this plan and now we will lose it. We do not know if
these plans, which could be a little cheaper, will provide
the coverage I need. I have a specific doctor I see at St.
Sinai. Because the liberal Democrats want to cover the
uninsured--a noble thing--they are hurting those who always
try to be responsible.
That was Carmine in New Jersey.
It is worth noting, Mr. Speaker, that back during the ObamaCare
debate, there were many of us Republicans who were saying to our
Democratic friends--they controlled the White House; they controlled
the House; they controlled the Senate--who said, Look, why don't we do
a bipartisan group of bills or one bill? We can agree on a bill that
allows people to keep their kids on their insurance if they're
dependents. We can work something out here. We were told we weren't
needed because they controlled the White House, the Senate, the House
of Representatives. They didn't need our input.
They rammed through a bill without knowing what all was in it. I know
of cases, I've heard of cases where people had acknowledged conditions,
insurance companies that we know, and then later got dropped after they
got expensive. Oh, you had a preexisting condition. There have been
things that were very unfair that insurance companies have done, and
there are ways to deal with those things. When there are not, we should
fix it with legislation.
What the Democratic party did, without most people who voted for the
ObamaCare bill knowing what was in it, they passed a law that had not
been properly vetted or thought through. There was no chance to fuss
about amendments at the subcommittee, at the committee, or here on the
floor because the bill that was dealt with in the subcommittee,
committee, it wasn't the same one that they rushed through as the final
ObamaCare.
I read the 1,000-page bill. I read their 2,000-page bill when it
looked like that was what they were going to vote on here. Then it
turned out, here came the other. So I was slow to make my way through
that bill. I really didn't want to. What if they come back with a
5,000-page bill after that? When it turned out that's what they were
really going to do, I went through that.
I wasn't able to go through and take the sections in each place that
were talked about in other bills, other laws. It's almost impossible
unless you have a tremendous amount of time to go back and figure out
how it actually affects other laws. But when you read through it, you
get an awful lot of gist of what's happening, and it sure wasn't
something we should have passed.
Karen, from Vermont, actually, said:
Shortly following passage of ObamaCare, I lost my primary
care doctor. He decided to join a group that limited the
number of patients that he could treat, and they charged a
yearly fee not covered by Medicare for the privilege of
remaining his patient. This resulted in hundreds of patients
being dropped. Put an end to ObamaCare.
She lost her doctor. She didn't get to keep him or her.
Here's one from Dee:
My insurance deductible was raised to $4,000, as of
September 1, 2013, per individual, $8,000 per family.
She goes on to describe all the other things that jumped up as a
result.
Here's one from Erica:
As a single disabled mom to one disabled son, I'm on
Medicare and Medicaid. I just got my new policy for 2014.
Half of the insurance I had is gone because of----
Well, I can't read that here, Mr. Speaker, as Erica describes the
bill in such a way that I can't read it on the floor.
Anyway, she says:
I was able to join a gym on a discount to keep me active,
but no longer can do that. My price increased for my
prescription drugs. Please, repeal this bill and listen to
the American people.
Here's one from Helen:
As a glass artist, Obama's hold on our economy has ruined
my business. My target market is middle class, stay-at-home
moms, but almost all my customer base has shifted to those
owning half-million-dollar homes. I know, because I check
every time I make a sale. This makes me very sad, and even
mad, that only the wealthy can afford my art now. I should
have gone into gun sales, which don't discriminate.
ObamaCare has forced my family to lose our Blue Cross from
my husband's work because he cannot afford us anymore. We're
almost old enough to go on Medicare, but I hear it's been
raided by ObamaCare, which we refuse to participate in. We're
not Obama's slaves.
Well, I'm not going to read the rest of that. But Helen obviously is
rather bitter because they liked their insurance, but the promises were
broken. She didn't keep her insurance, she and her family. That's only
a portion of the stacks of emails we've been getting.
I want to go back to the question my friends ask: Why not just let
ObamaCare go through? Like I say, if you're a pure political animal,
yeah, let it go through. Let Americans like
[[Page H6221]]
these poor folks, let them keep suffering and, ooh, it will be so good.
Republicans will win back the majority in the Senate, and we're told,
oh, gee, they'll win the White House in 2016. Well, it just happens
that, to some of us, doing the right thing in Congress is not about
helping a political party. It's about trying to help the people that
elected us. It's about trying to do what's right for the whole country.
If your heart doesn't break when you read these stories and when you
take the phone calls and when you have people tell you, with broken
hearts, of what's happened to their business, what's happened to their
job, what's happened to their family, what's happened to their kids'
jobs and the suffering that's going on, why? if you're enough of a
political animal like some folks, I guess, yeah, okay, maybe it would
be great for the Republican Party if we just sat back and let it go
through, let it devastate everybody you can.
My late mother used to tell me she wished I would be a doctor. She
used to have Dr. McKellar, who passed away this year. I think he's the
one that kept encouraging me, but he would tell me: Louis, you'd be a
great doctor. I'll help you. You'd be great. We can get you into Baylor
Medical School.
That's a great medical school, but it just didn't feel like what I
was called to do. It didn't feel right in my heart. But when I think
about the suffering that is going on, I know that I'm in a place to
make a difference, and we, every one of us here in this body, are here
where we can make a difference, where we can help people see the doctor
that they should see.
The question has come from different constituents, from other people,
gee, all Federal workers--some think that Congress has a different
health care plan than all Federal workers, but it's all part of the
same Federal plan that every Federal worker has, and you've got choices
you can make. Some people have asked a question that I don't have a
really good answer for. They've said: If the Democrats were so
insistent, if the real purpose of ObamaCare was to try to make sure
people that didn't have insurance got insurance, and they really
intended to make sure that if you like your insurance you can keep your
insurance, and if they were really serious that if you like your doctor
you can keep your doctor, then why didn't they just figure out a way
that if you don't have insurance, you can choose from a State's
cafeteria plan or Federal employee plan in their States? Do something
like that.
I don't have a good answer, other than, when you look and you go
through ObamaCare, it is very clear, as we said before, it wasn't just
about health care. It was about the GRE, the government running
everything, the government getting all of your most personal, private
information, having every one of your medical records in Federal
possession.
It's a disaster.
Well, I have reflected on Franklin Roosevelt's speech. I admired the
speech he gave in this room from that podium when it was white marble,
that this is a day that will live in infamy. He gave another speech
when he said the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. It's
considered one of the greatest speeches by anybody. Yet our President
was on CNBC yesterday, and he said:
If we get into the habit where one party is allowed to
extort, then any President who comes after me would be unable
to govern effectively.
That's rather interesting. It's a little different from the approach
that Bill Clinton took back in the 1990s; because President Clinton,
back during the shutdown, the few weeks that was going on, talked to
the Speaker of the House virtually every day. There may have been 1 or
2 days that they didn't talk, but otherwise, they were basically
talking every day.
You had an interviewer asking the President, gee, Wall Street seems
to be pretty calm. The President, instead of saying that's a great
thing, everybody should remain calm, we're going to work this thing
out, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, instead sounded
more like a fire alarm, gee, they better be concerned.
He wanted Wall Street to be concerned, to be worried, because when
Wall Street gets worried, then it means that people that have invested
in the market, that have their life savings, retirement savings in the
market, it means they lose money. Yet that's what was suggested--get
worried, get concerned.
{time} 1845
Here's an article from Penny Starr from yesterday afternoon late. It
is an interview with our Democratic colleague across the aisle who
chaired the Energy and Commerce Committee that brought ObamaCare to the
floor. cnsnews.com asked, ``What I was going to ask you is if you've
read those 10,535 pages of regulations.'' Those are the final ObamaCare
regulations that have now come out and been published in the Federal
Register.
Former Chairman Waxman, who pushed through the ObamaCare bill, said
to the reporter, ``Have you read them?'' The reporter said, ``No. Have
you read them?'' The former chairman that pushed through ObamaCare
said, ``Is it important that I read it?'' The reporter said, ``Do you
think that the American people should read it? I just asked you a very
honest question, whether you've read them. It's a yes or no question.''
The former chairman that shoved through ObamaCare said, ``I think it is
a propaganda question, and I refuse to talk to you about it.''
The article says:
Since March 2010, when President Barack Obama signed the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its companion
Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, various Federal
agencies have published in the Federal Register 110 final
regulations governing how ObamaCare will be implemented.
Those regulations add up to 10,535 pages in the Federal
Register. That is more than eight times as many pages as
there are in the Gutenberg Bible, which has 642 two-sided
leaves or 1,286 pages.
It is bad enough ObamaCare was never read by most of the people that
voted for it. And now you've got 10,535 regulations that have been
published that I'm sure nobody here in the House or the Senate has
read, that are now the effective new laws of the land.
We've got new navigators. There is money, massive amounts of money
being paid for navigators. And that's created a problem. National
Review Online published this today by Sean Riley:
Tuesday marked the first day of open enrollment for the
health insurance exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act.
It didn't go very well. Would-be health insurance consumers
in at least 47 States encountered technical problems. These
so-called glitches, however, mask a much more serious concern
for consumers: protecting sensitive data. The lack of
sufficient security surrounding the exchanges should give
potential enrollees pause.
In August, a coalition of attorneys general from 13 States
wrote Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
to express concerns over consumer privacy and oversight of
``navigators,'' counselors charged with assisting consumers
enrolling in the exchanges. Specifically, the attorneys
general asked what policies were in place to screen and
monitor program personnel, prevent fraud and remedy cases of
it, and regulate the navigators at the State level. But chief
among their concerns was whether sufficient safeguards were
in place to prevent security breaches.
In September, the concerns of the attorneys proved
prescient. An employee of Minnesota's health exchange
accidentally sent 2,400 Social Security numbers, complete
with names and addresses, to an insurance broker applying to
become a navigator. Not only was the information mishandled,
it was sent in an unencrypted and unsecured spreadsheet,
suggesting additional lapses in security. HHS--Health and
Human Services--has yet to respond to the August letter.
Concerns are not limited to the 13 attorneys general who
wrote to Secretary Sebelius. In California, State insurance
commissioner Dave Jones, an early supporter of the ACA,
expressed worry that the 21,000 personnel providing customer
support for the exchanges lacked proper oversight and could
``obtain information that will allow them to build the trust
they have with the individual they're working with and
potentially sell them all manner of bogus products, steal
their identity, and gain access to certain assets they might
have.''
Commissioner Jones is not alone in his unease. A report
from the House Oversight Committee found that top HHS
officials are similarly worried about the potential for
identity theft.
Anyway, the article goes on.
An article here from today entitled, ``Obama: `I have bent over
backwards to work with the Republican Party.' '' It says ``I think it's
fair to say that--during the course of my presidency--I have bent over
backwards to work with the Republican Party. And have purposely kept my
rhetoric down.'' Of
[[Page H6222]]
course that's not exactly what the term ``extort'' would indicate from
the other article.
But again, I go back to the fact that during the last shutdown of the
government, President Clinton and Newt Gingrich were talking daily,
only a day or two exception during those few weeks. I mentioned that to
another Member of Congress. And he said, Well the difference must have
been that President Clinton wanted to end the shutdown. Because there's
evidence that continues to mount that this wasn't about the Republicans
as much as it was our Democratic friends thinking that the polling
data, the conventional wisdom that all of us in this body have heard,
that if there's a shutdown, Republicans will pay in the next election.
So the conventional wisdom has been going around for some time. It goes
back. I recall hearing it after the majority was won here in the House
by the Republicans in November of 2010: If there's another shutdown,
then we'll get the majority right back from the Republicans. Which
always kind of mystified me a little bit because the last shutdown was
in '95--that was when it began. And it was 11 more years before the
Republicans lost the majority. And Newt Gingrich stayed Speaker for 3
more years. And as a result, the relationship seemed to grow closer,
and the President and the Speaker worked more closely together.
But again, that was a different time because then, back in those
days, the President would never call over the Speaker of the House to
say, I just wanted to remind you here in private, here at the White
House, since you took off from your busy day to come over here, I just
wanted to remind you basically that I'm not negotiating with you.
Which had to feel a little weird to everybody in the room because
everybody in the room knew the President has said, after the next
election, you know, he'll be a lot more flexible with the Russians and
certainly willing to negotiate with the Russians, certainly willing to
negotiate now, as we've seen, with the Iranians, which certainly causes
our close allies and friends who are trying to fight radical Islam a
lot of concern because they've seen this administration throw one ally
after another under the bus. We've heard allies wonder which ones of us
may be next under this administration. So how is it the President can
work with all these other countries--Russians, Iranians, Syrians--but
can't negotiate with Americans?
This is an article from the National Review Online from Charles
Cooke. In the article it says:
The Washington Post's Wonkblog is snarking a little about
the lack of successful Federal ObamaCare sign-ups. Under a
picture of a unicorn, Sarah Kliff writes: ``If you have
purchased health coverage on the Federal Government's new
ObamaCare marketplace, about a dozen or so reporters would
like to speak with you. We promise we won't take up too much
of your time. We just need to find you first. The Federal
Government has said that somewhere out in this vast country
of 313 million people, where 48 million lack insurance
coverage, someone has managed to sign up for health insurance
on the federally run marketplaces. As of yet, we haven't
tracked this person--or these people--down. This is not for
lack of effort. Reporters here at The Washington Post and at
other publications have been on the hunt for this mythical
creature.''
Anyway, kind of sarcastic snarking.
This article is from The Daily Caller by Alex Pappas from October 2:
In Tennessee, those shopping on the new health insurance
co-ops could end up with more than just some health
insurance. They might even walk away with a free smartphone.
The Nashville Business Journal is reporting that Community
Health Alliance, Tennessee's ObamaCare health insurance co-
op, is using the prospect of a free phone to encourage folks
to enroll:
``Community Health Alliance, Tennessee's health insurance
co-op, is running a unique promotional program to drive
enrollment in its plans for sale on the exchange: health
insurance in exchange for a smartphone.
``As a part of its Community Health Connection Program, CHA
is offering qualified individuals an LG''--that's not Louie
Gohmert--``an LG Lucid 2 4G smartphone (or equivalent model),
a phone plan, and tech support, included as a cost of their
health plan benefits. The phone plan includes unlimited talk,
unlimited texting, and 1.2 gigabytes of data.''
The article goes on.
This is by the Associated Press in Paris:
Government Shutdown Spreads to the Beaches of Normandy.
Tourists traveling to Omaha Beach to pay their respects to
the 9,387 military dead at the Normandy American Cemetery and
Memorial will find it closed, a victim of the U.S.
Government's partial shutdown.
We've seen what has happened to this country and what is happening to
this country. It's time to stop the suffering. We could let it go
through and let people continue to be hurt. I never took an oath to do
no harm, but by golly, that's what this Congress should do. Stop the
harm. Let's, at least, delay ObamaCare. And in the meantime, we'll keep
passing spending bills to keep things going.
With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________