Tehachapi News

Congressman believes common ground can be found on health care

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Congressman Kevin McCarthy, speaking in Tehachapi Aug. 13, said the administration's proposed health care legislation does not meet its stated goals of accessibility, lower cost and higher quality.

“I believe in health care but not that one,” he told an audience of 45 people at the office of the Tehachapi Area Association of Realtors.

He said the plan would create 50 new entities to administer and would cut Medicare by $500 million.

“This does not solve the principles it sets out to solve,” he said. “I am opposed to it. I'm going to fight like hell to stop it.”

McCarthy predicted the legislation will fail on its own merits.

“I've read it,” he said, referring to the 1,200-page House of Representatives bill that lays out the administration's proposal to change the nation's health care system.

 “There are ways we can do this without the public option,” McCarthy said. “We can find common ground. Why not allow people to pool together [for health care coverage] across state lines? I want to be able to pick and choose.”

The administration's proposal does not tackle the issue of tort reform, he said.

“The biggest driver of costs they are saying should not be part of the debate. We need to have an adult discussion.”

The current health care legislation (HR 3200) that would affect 18 percent of the U.S. economy passed through the gatekeeper Ways and Means Committee in less than 24 hours, McCarthy said.

In contrast, another major bill in Congress was 100 pages and took seven weeks to work its way through the process to a vote, McCarthy said.

“We are not being honest with one another,” he said.

Business not as usual

McCarthy, who is the House chief deputy minority whip, said the path of legislation in Washington used to follow certain procedures - introduction, on to committee, then amendments, then to the other side (Senate or House).

“That's not how it's working in Washington,” he said. “Today [legislation] is introduced in the back room. The Rules Committee decides on amendments.

“It's all different. Where are the checks and balances?”

On the upside, “More people are paying attention to politics than ever before,” he said.

Several people in the audience sounded worried.

Saying that administration policies have been unable to deal with foreclosures and a struggling real estate environment, one person said, “We can't wait 'til he's [the president] out of office to fix it.”

“I hope he has a learning moment this August,” McCarthy said. “[Congressmen] are going to come back to Washington with a little different attitude. People are pissed off. They are anti-incumbent.”

Another member of the audience said, “I'm scared of Obama. I'm scared of his motivations.”

McCarthy responded, “I am less fearful of Obama than [Speaker of the House] Nancy Pelosi, [Chairman of House Energy and Commerce Committee] Henry Waxman and [Chairman of House Committee on Financial Services] Barney Frank.”

The president, he said, laid out a plan and has allowed other people to write a bill that doesn't meet his policies.

“He should show leadership to tell them 'no,'”

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A coverage proposal

Rep. Kevin McCarthy said that in the United States, 253 million people have health insurance and 48 million don't. Of those 48 million, he said eight million are age 18 to 25 and “think they don't need it.”
Those young people, he said, could be covered by extending their parents' policies to age 25.
Another 11 million of the uninsured 48 million are eligible for existing government programs -- “Why create more?”
The eight to 10 remaining uninsured Americans, he said, could be placed in an insurance pool.

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Health Care Town Hall

Rep. Kevin McCarthy has increased the size of his Health Care Town Hall venue three times to accommodate the demand for information.
“I'm getting calls from San Francisco,” he said.
McCarthy's Health Care Town Hall meeting will be held at the Icardo Center on the California State University, Bakersfield campus, Aug. 26, 2009, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.