I have received a reply to my letter from my House Representative, Bill Posey (R-FL). (See below the fold for the text, verbatim.)
I can't rebut all the lies on my own (not enough time to research), so I hope I can appeal to knowledgeable Kossacks out there to chip in and provide ammunition for a response. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me!
Please tell me if you would like to be quoted, or if you are quoting an online source/speech/etc, send the URL or other attribution info.
Dear Ms. [D],
Thank you for contacting me to express your support for legislation that would continue to fund the federal government.
Frustration with Washington is at an all-time high, and for good reason - the partial government shutdown, a growing mountain of debt than now surpasses $17 trillion, IRS abuses of power, frustrations and uncertainty over the new health care law, and continued overseas conflicts. Meanwhile families in Florida and our nation continue to struggle to find gainful employment and make ends meet. More than 20 million Americans are either unemployed or under-employed.
With regard to the recent partial shut down of government, I was greatly disappointed that a solution could not have been reached before the October 1, 2013, fiscal year deadline. The House did approve three bills prior to that deadline that would have keep the government open and addressed a different aspect of the new health care law. Each time, however, the Senate voted down the bill.
As I mentioned, the House sent the Senate three bills to fund the government. On September 20, 2013, the House approved legislation to fund the federal government through December 15, 2013. This legislation was sent to the Senate for their consideration, and on September 23, the Senate began considering the funding bill. They amended the bill and sent it back to the House on September 27th with amendments, including a provision to cut funding off on November 15, 2013. On September 28th the House amended the bill and sent it back to the Senate with changes. The Senate met on September 30th and rejected the bill. A third House bill was voted down by the Senate late on Monday (September 30th).
The third House-passed bill, which the Senate refused to consider would have kept the government funded through December 15, 2013. It would also have eliminated subsidies for and required the Congress and their staff as well as White House employees to sign up for health care through the Obamacare health exchanges. It would also have provided to individuals the same one-year waiver from Obamacare's mandates that the Administration unilaterally provided to large corporations and hundreds of special interest groups.
Unfortunately, the Senate refused to accept these provisions and allowed large portions of the government to shut down. Only after these two provisions were removed did the Senate agree to a final legislation funding the government. That bill, which also included a "blank check" open-ended increase in the national debt through February 7, 2014, was signed into law on October XX, 2013. I could not support this final bill because of the blank check increase in the national debt and the fact that it refused to give individual Americans the treatment equal to what was given to large corporations with respect to Obamacare mandates.
Finally, I would like to share with you some of the concerns I have heard from our friends and neighbors about how the new health care law has affected them. I have the privilege of representing each of them in the Congress, and will not ignore their pleas for relief, particularly when hundreds of special interest groups, large corporations and the politically connected have been granted special exemptions. Middle class Americans deserve equal treatment.
A father in Brevard shared the following: "I am a father of 3. As of February 2013 the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) made it necessary for my employer to cut my hours to under 30 hours a week. Please stay in line and do not give in to the Senate Democrats, the individual mandate must be repealed. The ACA has increase my wife's health insurance on which we relied to an unaffordable price of $877 a month. I simply cannot afford insurance of any rate at this time."
A concerned mother wrote: "My son, with his college degree...finally found a job in his field working 32 hours a week. NOW he is being cut back to 24 so his company does not have to insure him.
A father shared: "I am currently covered along with one dependent. For this coverage I pay…. $2,238 in annual medical premiums. I have a family deductible of $1,000 and then coverage is 80/20." He then describes the added costs of Obamacare and concludes with: "It will have a negative impact each month of $231.81 or $2,781.74 annually… I implore you to fight for us and not let this terrible Healthcare Act get funded in its current format."
A 53-year-old neighbor of ours shared: "…starting January 1, 2014 my monthly premium will increase to $437. An increase of over 400%. In fact, all aspects of my plan increase except actual benefits. For example, my copay doubles. And to add insult to injury, my new compliant plan includes maternity coverage. I'm 53-years old!"
When the health care law was passed Americans were assured they could keep their current doctors, they could keep their current insurance company, it would cost them less, it was not a tax, and there would be no rationing of medical care - none of which is completely true. Leaders in Washington who have advocated for this law have a duty to see to it that these principles are reflected in the actual law, and Congress should enact relief for all Americans who are adversely impacted, not just allow some special interest groups and large corporations to gain exceptions.
Thank you again, [K], for contacting me. I appreciate having the benefit of your views. It is an honor to serve you in Congress. For more information on my work in Congress, to sign up to receive my E-newsletter, or to participate in telephone town hall meetings, please visit my website, http://www.posey.house.gov, or call my office at (321) 632-1776. If I may be of service to you in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me.