Wittman Shows Complete Lack of Understanding on HCR Bill, Continues to Spread Untruths
Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Montross) has once again decided to side with the fringe of his party and vote “no” on the health care reform bill. This should be news to no one, since Wittman has continuously voted in lockstep with his party – the party of “no.” What should surprise everyone is Wittman’s complete lack of understanding of the bill itself and his continued dishonesty – well maybe not his dishonesty.
This past Tuesday, Wittman took the House floor and had the following to say:
I am hearing loud and clear from people of America’s first district in Vir-ginia that this health care bill before us will not reduce costs, will not increase access…
Wittman reiterated this again yesterday, via Twitter:
Wittman has clearly chosen to adopt the talking points of the fringe of his party, no surprise here, and refuses to have an honest discussion with his constituents. This bill will increase access for all, including providing access to 32 million uninsured Americans.
I too am very concerned with spending and the deficit, which is exactly why I support the comprehensive health care reform bill passed by the Senate and the accompanying reconciliation bill.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the official scorekeepers of legislation, have clearly stated that the
combination of these two pieces of legislation would reduce federal deficits by an estimated $138 billion over the 2010-2019 period.
And they added that passing these bills would
reduce federal budget deficits over the ensuing decade relative to those projected under current law – with a total effect during that decade that is in a broad range around one-half percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
On Friday at George Mason University, President Obama added the following:
So you’ve got — you’ve got a whole bunch of opponents of this bill saying, well, we can’t afford this; we’re fiscal conservatives. These are the same guys who passed that prescription drug bill without paying for it, adding over $1 trillion to our deficit — “Oh, we can’t afford this.” But this bill, according to the Congressional Budget Office — which is the referee, the scorekeeper for how much things cost — says we’ll save us $1 trillion. Not only can we afford to do this, we can’t afford not to do this.
So let’s get this straight. We are talking about reducing the deficit by at least $1 trillion over the next 20-years, if health care reform is passed. Many would argue that this is a conservative estimate. The CBO has estimated that the GDP would be around $22.5 trillion in 2020. If you estimate 4 percent growth per year in GDP in the second 10-years and use the CBO estimate of a one-half percent deficit reduction during that timeframe, you would actually be reducing the deficit by $1.4 trillion. No matter how you look at things, one thing should be clear: there is no disputing that this health care bill reduces the deficit.
If Wittman is a true “fiscal conservative,” as the President explains, how could he vote against a bill that clearly addresses the concerns of his constituents? The truth is that he is more concerned with appealing to the fringe of his party than what is in the best interests of his constituents. Clearly reducing the deficit and providing affordable coverage to individuals (including the currently uninsured) and small businesses is bad policy?!
The only thing that is bad policy is allowing Wittman to remain in Congress. The good thing for folks in the First District is that we have an excellent choice to replace him this year in Krystal Ball (D-Fredericksburg).
It is always interesting and potentially educational to read different opinions on a particular issue. However, I have to ignore any opinion that begins on an obviously incorrect premis. Wittman is appealing to the “Fringe” of his party?? How do you define fringe when every single Republican in both the Senate and the House is voting against this bill? Let’s get real. Moreover, nation-wide polls show that, while Democrats are generall in favor of the bill, independents and Republicans are against it. Overall, nationally, the proposed bill does not have the majority of the American people. Perhaps the majority is now termed the “fringe” by some.
Doug – I respectfully disagree with what you are saying here. The Republican party has become a “fringe” party. The Republicans have disintegrated into the party of “no” are are more interested in appealing to the Tea Party folks. We saw how the Tea Party folks have conducted themselves over the last few days and how the Republican leadership chose to respond (or not to). The problem with Wittman is that his voting record clearly shows that he is in lockstep with this wing of his party, as is most other Republicans.
I’ve seen many polls on this subject and once folks find out what is in the bill, they are very supportive of it. The Republicans have become expert fear mongers and have put out lie after lie about the now passed bill. The support of this bill will only grow this year as small business receive tax credits up to 35 percent to make employee coverage more affordable; the Meidcare Part D donut hole begins to close; the ban on insurance companies from dropping people from coverage when they get sick takes effect; children with pre-existing conditions will no longer be denied coverage; bans take effect on lifetime and annual limits on coverage; preventive care services no longer require co-payments and are no longer subject to deductibles; immediate help for the uninsured who suffer from a pre-existing condition through high-risk pools (until exchange is available); parents can cover their children until their 26th birthday; and new investments in training programs are made to increase the number of primary care doctors, nurses and public health professionals.
Of course, there are many other immediate positive effects of this legislation and many more to come over the next several years. It seems to me that Republicans, when all is said and done, will be once again on the wrong side of history. That includes Rob Wittman.
I don’t know who I am more ashamed of, Wittman (of whom I expected this) or Glenn Nye for his lack of reasoning for voting ‘No’ on the HCR Bill.
Somebody wave goodbye to Former Congressman Nye for me? Thanks!