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Blackburn Reacts To 10.2% Unemployment

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Today Congressman Marsha Blackburn (TN-7) reacted to the latest unemployment figures:

“Despite billions in deficit spending and an unprecedented expansion of the Federal Government, unemployment has reached a staggering ten percent nationwide. It is far higher in many places in the 7th District. Despite what the President and Speaker Pelosi would have you believe, there is no such thing as a ‘jobless recovery’. This is the wrong time to enact a multi-trillion dollar health care bill that will raise taxes on small businesses and leave millions more unemployed.”

“For all their talk of ‘stimulus’ liberals in Washington have forgotten that the best economic stimulus is a job. To create jobs we need to reward innovative small businesses, incentivize investment, and truly bring down the cost of health care instead of building yet another dysfunctional federal bureaucracy. In other words, we need to change direction completely.”

Blackburn Makes Eleventh Hour Push To Save States From Billions In Unfunded Mandates

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Congressman Marsha Blackburn (TN-07) is submitting a series of Amendments to H.R. 3962 that will save states from tens of billions in unfunded mandates.

“The bill as written will impose a $1.4 billion unfunded mandate on the state of Tennessee through the Medicaid expansion over the next five years. That is just the tip of the iceberg and completely unsustainable.”

Blackburn’s amendments would also ensure that American’s can keep their coverage if they like it by prohibiting the enactment of an insurance exchange until the Secretary of Health and Human Services certifies that such exchange will not rob Americans of their existing coverage. Blackburn’s amendments will secure Health Savings Accounts for the Americans who choose to have them. Additional amendments seek to make H.R. 3962 fiscally responsible by ensuring that it does not consume 25% of the federal budget.

Blackburn will submit these amendments during the Rules Committee proceedings this evening.

Unfunded Mandates: Prohibits the federal government from imposing unfunded health care mandates on the states.

Health Care Rationing: Prevents the federal government from passing any law that would ration health care for the American people.

Preserving Coverage You Like: Prohibits the public option and health care exchange programs from being established until the Secretary of Health and Human Services certifies that the establishment of the government plan and exchange will not (either directly or indirectly) cause the cost of the average price of private health insurance premiums to increase.

Defending The Coverage You Have: Suspends the operation of the government plans unless the HHS Secretary certifies that no American will lose access to his or her current health insurance due to the establishment and operation of the government plan. This will be an annual certification.

Health Savings Accounts: Ensures that nothing shall prevent an individual from purchasing or maintaining insurance qualifying for Health Savings Account deposits and that nothing shall interfere with an individual’s ability to continue to make deposits according to the schedule created in the 2006 HSA legislation.

Federal Budget Protection: Prohibits excess spending in H.R. 3962. When the cost of the reforms made under the bill consume 25% of the federal budget, then the bill is repealed and return to the system was in place before this bill was enacted.

Blackburn Announces Telephone Town Halls

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Congressman Marsha Blackburn (TN-7) today announced a series of telephone town hall meetings scheduled for this week. The meetings will allow Congressman Blackburn to listen to constituents ahead of a vote on H.R. 3962, the Democrat health care reform proposal. A vote is expected as early as Saturday.

Residents of Chester, Decatur, Fayette, Hardeman, Hardin, Henderson, McNairy, and Shelby Counties will be invited to call into a meeting on Thursday, November 5th beginning at 5:00 PM Central Time.

Residents of Chetham, Davidson, Hickman, Montgomery, Perry, Wayne, and Williamson Counties are invited to call into the meeting on Friday, November 6th beginning at 5:10 PM Central Time.

Each meeting is expected to last an hour. Constituents wishing to participate should call 877-229-8493 and use the ID code 14988.

Blackburn Respods To Tennessean Editorial

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:00:00 GMT

GOP can back health-care reform, just not this plan
By U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn
(As printed in The Tennessean)

Your recent editorial “Lawmakers keep up fight for health-care reform” (Oct. 25) perpetuates the misconception that responsible opposition to a deeply flawed piece of legislation translates into opposing reform more broadly. It does not.

Specifically, your statement that Republicans “have been content to oppose every health proposal brought forward” and that such opposition “is pure politics” could not be further from the truth.

I, along with what appears to be a majority of representatives in the House, oppose H.R. 3200 because it will exacerbate, rather than resolve, the problems with our health-care system. That does not mean that I don’t recognize that our system has serious flaws. Nor does it mean that I am any less committed to reform than any of my colleagues. Indeed, I am co-sponsor of three pieces of legislation that I know will better address needed reform:

H.R. 3218, by Rep. John Shadegg, which would allow for small businesses, churches, alumni associations and other small institutions to pool together and offer health plans, much like the co-ops some Democrats have embraced,

H.R. 3713 by Rep. Mike Rogers, which accomplishes most of President Barack Obama’s stated reform aims without imposing a public option.

H.R. 3400, by the Republican Study Committee, which allows insurance plans to be purchased across state lines and includes provisions I authored to allow seniors to opt out of Medicare without putting their Social Security benefits at risk. Many of these substantive efforts at reform were passed in the House in 2006 but failed to clear procedural roadblocks in the Senate.

Second, Republicans are in the distinct minority in Congress. Our votes alone are not sufficient to stop any bill the speaker and majority leader wish to have passed. If health-care reform is stalled, it is because Republicans and Democrats who know the issue well have practical problems with legislation before them.

In maligning our opposition to a public-option plan, “because it is politically too volatile, or because they are beholden to insurance companies for campaign contributions,” you dismiss out of hand the notion that any members of Congress might actually have substance behind their position.

State-run public-option plans, like TennCare, have consistently driven health-care costs up and restricted access. Until public-option advocates can point to a plan that has worked, skeptics are right to reserve their support.

Many Republicans and Democrats in the Tennessee delegation have stated their reservations about the health-care bills — not the principle of reform — under consideration today. Very few have actually voted for it. Our own governor, perhaps the most experienced chief executive the nation has when it comes to health care, has warned us that plans under consideration could bankrupt Tennessee. These are not small concerns cooked up by insurance companies but substantive reservations based on painful past experience.

It is wrong to paint us as partisans or obstructionists because we have raised objections to a single bill whose sponsors have ignored the lessons of history.

Blackburn Responds To Democrat Health Care Bill

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Congressman Marsha Blackburn (TN-07) today responded to Democrat House Leadership’s introduction of a “public option” health care reform bill.

“After weeks huddled behind locked doors, twisting arms and cutting deals, Democrats have finally let their bill see the light of day. Democrats continue to reject common sense proposals that would eliminate barriers to health care access without exploding the deficit. Make no mistake about it; the Progressive Caucus is committed to federalizing your health care. If they cannot achieve this immediately, then they will put the country on the path to achieve that goal. They have said so, and I believe them. And I will oppose that every step of the way.”

“Tennesseans know from their experience with TennCare that well meaning public option health care quickly becomes a dysfunctional and expensive burden on the public. Our own Democrat governor has warned against the expense and impact of the public option approach. I challenge any supporter of this bill to cite one instance where public option care has resulted in better, less expensive care.”

“Americans need and deserve real health care reform. Insurance companies should live up to the policies they sell and not discriminate on the basis of pre-existing conditions. That is why I am the co-sponsor of bills that can gather a majority of support in the House and fix health care without creating a new federal bureaucracy that would stand between you and your doctor.”

Congressman Blackburn is co-sponsor of:

H.R. 3218, by Rep. John Shadegg which would permit small businesses, churches, alumni associations and other institutions to pool together and offer health plans, much like the co-ops some Democrats have embraced.
H.R. 3713 by Rep. Mike Rogers, which achieves President Obama’s reform goals without imposing a public option.
H.R. 3400, by the Republican Study Committee, which allows insurance plans to be purchased across state lines. H.R. 3400 includes a provision by Blackburn to allow seniors to opt out of Medicare without putting their Social Security benefits at risk.

Blackburn Campaigns To Keep Internet Free

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Today, Congressman Marsha Blackburn (TN-7) has introduced legislation that would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from needlessly imposing regulations on the Internet. H.R. 3924 blocks the FCC’s so-called “Net Neutrality” regulations, which ironically would make the internet less neutral by allowing the FCC to regulate it in the same way it regulates radio and television broadcasts.

Blackburn, who has likened Net Neutrality to the imposition of a fairness doctrine on the Internet, is concerned that government regulation would decrease the Internet’s efficiency and interrupt the flow of free ideas and information. Ironically, government intervention would hamper industry’s ability to protect intellectual property online and crack down on piracy.

“The internet is the last truly open public marketplace. Its openness is the key to its efficiency and success. Not all public spaces need to be regulated spaces. Indeed, federal regulation has a long history of making the market less efficient. The FCC has plenty on its plate with the regulation of television and radio; let’s not add to their workload by giving them authority over the Internet.”

POLITICO EDITORIAL: Mothers Are Real Health Care Experts

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

As Printed in POLITICO, 10/23/09

A recent POLITICO story, “Analysts to Dems: Aim Pitch at Women” (Oct. 19), highlights the lackluster support Democrats’ health care reform measures are earning among women. The piece suggests that to boost support, reformers need to better target their message to inform women about the alleged benefits public option reform would bring. To the contrary, I believe the House and Senate leadership’s campaigns to educate women about their plans have left women well-informed but unimpressed.

Where Democratic proposals drive decision making through Washington, Republican health care proposals would put women firmly in the driver’s seat, ensuring that their market power forces reform. Sadly, we haven’t focused on making that case.

The women I talk to have experience with a health care market that can be inequitable, one in which women sometimes get the short end of the stick. Arguments that public option health care plans might solve all the inequities they and their friends, daughters and mothers have experienced are not new to them.

The Democrats’ message isn’t missing an audience; rather, the messengers aren’t listening to their mothers. A poll conducted late last month by marketing experts at WhyMomsRule.com finds that 67 percent of mothers are somewhat or highly satisfied with their own coverage. What is striking is that only 7 percent of mothers in this poll said they felt that Congress is “attuned to the situations of women” like them.

To be certain, women — or, rather, mothers — are distressed about rising costs and restricted access to health care. However, women are not self-interested actors worried solely about their own coverage. They are the primary health care decision makers for their families. They are not powerless consumers but market drivers who have genuine concerns about the entire system of care.

America’s mothers are on the health care front lines everyday. If they aren’t solidly behind any particular health care plan, it isn’t because they are unaware of the stakes or how they might benefit. After months of speeches, ads and town hall meetings, if only 7 percent of a key audience thinks policymakers are listening to their concerns, the problem is not with the message but with the policy.

The women I know treat their role as family decision maker as a sacred trust. Women who are often simultaneously caring for young children and elderly parents are simply unwilling to surrender that control to public option bureaucrats in Washington who they don’t believe are attuned to their needs. They are right to resist.

At the same time, moms are probably the most effective catalysts for conservative-minded reformers, and Republicans have offered health care solutions that would preserve a woman’s power in the marketplace and leave her as the primary decision maker. Where Democrats have missed on policy, Republicans truly have failed to effectively campaign for our own legislation. Far too often, we speak in vague generalities, rather than reiterating that we have real legislation that offers real solutions.

Even the Beltway-savvy readers of POLITICO are surprised when they hear references to H.R. 3400, the Republican Study Committee’s Empowering Patients First Act, which allows for the purchase of insurance across state lines. Fewer still have heard conservatives hailing H.R. 3218, Arizona Republican Rep. John Shadegg’s bill that empowers consumers by allowing them to pool together and offer competitive plans. H.R. 3713, the American Health Care Solutions Act of Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), employs free-market solutions to address the reform priorities President Barack Obama outlined in his joint address last month; it just doesn’t build a new federal bureaucracy to do it. These are only three of a series of comprehensive bills that conservative members have offered to directly address the problems in our health care system.

Young mothers and experienced grandmothers are demanding a health care system that is less complicated, less discriminatory, more accessible and more affordable. While the Democrats’ pitch leaves women unenthused, Republicans are inexplicably hesitant to highlight our real bills and real solutions. We have allowed ourselves to be labeled the party of “no” instead of the party of “know.”

Like many other vital decisions, the ultimate shape of health care reform will lie in the hands of America’s moms. Republicans have heard the moms of America and desperately need to let them know it. Democrats still need to learn to listen.

BLACKBURN REPORT: This Week In Health Care

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Friends,
We have come to the start of another week in the health care debate and I expect that we will have many more weeks like this one ahead. As you all know, Senator Baucus moved his bill out of the Finance Committee with one Republican vote. While I was disappointed to see that Senator Snowe signed on to the bill, her support isn’t a harbinger of erosion in the conservative ranks. The Baucus bill is, and was, the most moderate of the Democrat proposals. What is important is what happens next.

Now Democrats in both chambers will meet behind closed doors to slice and dice the bills that have passed various committees. They hope to paste something together that can get enough votes to pass. All that cutting and pasting in the back room will generate rumor after rumor about what policies are in and which ones are out. We saw a little of that when Democrats were pushing H.R. 3200 through the Energy and Commerce Committee. Hearings and mark-up sessions were scheduled and canceled on a moments notice depending on how many votes Chairman Waxman thought he had. Expect to see the same kind of false starts and races to votes over the next few months. This will take a while because they have a lot of convincing to do.

I’d like to call your attention to this story in the POLITICO. It points out that women are split on the liberal health care plans and advocates in Washington are urging politicians to target women in order get their reform plans passed. This is completely off base. Most women aren’t uninformed about liberal health care plans, they are unimpressed. I would also call your attention to a poll released by WhyMomsRule.com right here in Tennessee. It points out that only 7% of mothers think that they have a voice in Washington. Women are the primary family decision maker where health care is concerned. If they don’t think that Washington is listening to them, why would they turn over their decision making power to a big government bureaucracy?

Plans, like the ones I am co-sponsoring with Rep. John Shadegg would give moms more decision making power by allowing them to pool together and design plans that fit their family’s needs. That is the kind of health care reform we need.

Women also make up the core of America’s small business owners. They know that plans like the Baucus bill would impose a $554 billion “surtax” to fund a government takeover of healthcare. More than half of the people targeted under this “surtax” are small business owners. That tax would cripple our economic recovery in the name of a health care system that will ultimately drive up prices and reduce quality and access.

Be assured that in the next few weeks, we’ll keep the pressure up. My colleagues and I have better bills and better ides. Our approaches won’t exchange a health care bureaucrat for a government bureaucrat. They can address the problems in the health care system without dangerously expanding the scope of government. I’ll update you as we see substantive developments. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out and let me know your thoughts.

My Best
Marsha

Blackburn Reacts To Proposed EPA Rules

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Congressman Marsha Blackburn reiterated her push to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gasses under the Clean Air Act in the face of bureaucratic steps the agency took today. Blackburn believes that it is wrong for any executive agency to implement programs whose authorizing legislation has yet to become law.

As Congress continues to debate energy and environmental regulation, the EPA proposed new rules that impose significant restrictions on American business. These rules would require the installation of technology whenever a facility emitting at least 25,000 tons of greenhouse gasses a year is updated. The EPA rule would require vast new permitting and huge additional costs on entities the EPA classifies as “major emitters”. The new rules could force many factories to close.

“The rules proposed by the EPA are a virtual gun to the head of Congress,” Congressman Blackburn said. “As we carefully consider Cap and Trade legislation, the EPA is rushing to implement the bill before it is passed. The economic and environmental ramifications of the Cap and Trade bill are enormous, which is why it barely passed the House. Sweeping reform like this must be left to Congress, as representatives of the people, to implement; not unaccountable bureaucrats at the EPA.”

Blackburn is the sponsor of H.R. 391, a bill that would prohibit the EPA from regulating greenhouse gasses under the Clean Air Act. Unless her bill becomes law, the EPA will be free to impose economy-killing regulation even as the legislation that would support it struggles to pass both houses of Congress.

Tennessee Congressmen Urge VA To Fund Clarksville Facility

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Congressmen Marsha Blackburn, John Tanner, Jimmy Duncan, Phil Roe, Zach Wamp, and Lincoln Davis today asked VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to fund a veterans nursing home in Montgomery County. According to the Census Bureau, over 23% of the adult population in Montgomery County are veterans of the Armed Forces. The data also shows that this veteran’s community is aging rapidly, placing significant pressure on VA’s ability to meet the needs of Clarksville’s veterans.

The Veterans Administration recognizes the need for a nursing home facility in Montgomery County by placing the project in its highest priority group. The VA plans to fund projects ranked through number 68 with FY2009 funding while the Montgomery County facility has been ranked at number 70. In their letter, the Tennessee Congressmen ask Secretary Shinseki to take another look at funding for nursing homes. If projects ranked one through 68 are not awarded, they request that the VA extend that funding to other high priority projects this year, including the proposed Montgomery County facility.

"A VA nursing home is a high priority for Montgomery County and for all veterans in Tennessee. I hope that this letter will leave no doubt in the minds of the VA that we want the home built as quickly as possible." Congressman Blackburn said. "As end-of-year funds become available Secretary Shinseki should use them to immediately address Montgomery County needs, rather than wait yet another year to address what has already been identified as a priority project."

"It has long been clear to those of us in Middle Tennessee that a home is needed to serve the large veteran community in and around Montgomery County," Congressman Tanner said. "We are hopeful the VA will finally realize that the construction of this project is a priority to better support those Tennesseans who have answered the call to serve our country."

“Congress has the responsibility to make sure that our nation’s veterans have access to the medical services and compassionate care they have earned. Montgomery County is in need of a nursing home to meet the growing demand for veteran services in Tennessee,” said Congressman Wamp, Ranking Member on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. “Local and state governments already have met all of the matching requirements to move this project forward. When funding is available for all priority one projects, Montgomery County should be given the highest consideration.”

"I am pleased Congress has increased appropriations for the healthcare of veterans and construction of veterans' facilities over the past few years. Our veterans deserve and have earned the best care we can provide them. I support this proposal by Reps. Tanner and Blackburn. I believe Montgomery County would be an ideal location for such a facility given the high rate of retired and active service personnel living in the county," said Rep. Davis, a member of the House Appropriations Committee.