Last night, I voted against H.R. 3962. This mammoth 2,000+ page bill is a severe blow to freedom and liberty and is the latest in a series of pieces of legislation that is slowly, and most assuredly, eroding the principles of individual choice and responsibility upon which our nation was founded. I simply do not subscribe to the idea that a government takeover of 1/6 of our economy will result in lower costs for the American people. What about the hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare in H.R. 3962? Are we to believe that these cuts will have absolutely no impact on the care seniors currently receive? What to make of the hundreds of billions of dollars in tax increases on individuals and small businesses in this bill? I find it difficult to believe that these new fees, fines, penalties, and taxes will have no impact on near or long-term economic growth. Furthermore, I believe compelling individuals to purchase health insurance through government mandates is unconstitutional.

There were two other concerns many of you had, which I shared, regarding this bill: taxpayer funded abortions and health insurance for illegal immigrants. I was proud to support the Stupak-Pitts Amendment which explicitly states that no funds may be used “to pay for any abortion or to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion.” Although I did not support final passage of H.R. 3962, I thought it was important that any bill passing the House explicitly exclude taxpayer funding of abortion. Unfortunately, the provisions of H.R. 3962 with respect to preventing illegal immigrants from purchasing government subsidized health care are nonexistent. The Congressional Research Service, in a report issued on November 2nd about H.R. 3962, stated unequivocally that the “House bill contains no express restrictions on noncitizens–whether legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently–accessing and paying for coverage available through the health insurance exchange.” It does not get any clearer than that. We cannot bring down the costs of health care if we continue to incentivize illegal immigration by promising government health care to everyone who is in this country.

I appreciate the thousands of you who wrote, emailed, faxed, or called me in the last week since H.R. 3962 was introduced. Many of you said that you wanted reform but did not understand why Speaker Pelosi was moving forward with this piece of legislation. I agree. This certainly was a lost opportunity to push for common sense reforms that most Americans support – without a government takeover. I was proud to support a common sense amendment in the nature of a substitute on the floor which, among many things, included four important provisions:

1) medical liability reform – this provision ends junks lawsuits and reduces the need for costly defensive medicine
2) increase competition to lower prices – this provision allows consumers to purchase health insurance across state lines
3) allow individuals and small businesses to band together to purchase insurance at lower rates like corporations and labor unions
4) enhance health savings accounts to promote consumer choice and consumer control of health care decisions

Unfortunately, this substitute amendment failed.

You can read the alternative I supported here.

I am honored to represent the 24th District of Texas, and appreciate your interest in my e-newsletter. Please contact my District or DC office with any further questions you may have or visit my website at www.marchant.house.gov. You can also become my Facebook friend here or follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/RepKenMarchant.

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