There is a great debate going on currently on HR3200 because the House and Senate did not meet the president’s deadline to pass it before they went on recess. But we should not get mired down and forget the need to look forward!
In September, when the Congress returns from their recess, The Senate will be completing their own bill and The House will finalize their bill. At that time there will be a series of conferences between the two houses and a compromise will emerge. If the Stimulus bill is any example, and especially based on the comments of the Speaker of The House and the leader of The Senate, there is likely to be a rush to vote within hours of the agreement, even potentially before the bill is complete, as was done with the Cap and Trade bill in The House.
We need to make our voices heard now, loud and clear, that we expect the final compromise bill to be fully written and distributed on the Internet at least 15 days before they vote, to allow the public to read it and respond to our elected representatives. Even more importantly we need to know that our representatives have had the time to read it and to communicate their feelings on it to us before they vote.
We should also let them know that we expect a list of basic principles, in clear language that a 5th grader can understand, that form the basis of the bill and are incorporated in it to provide guidance and control to the regulators who will be charged with writing all of the ancillary regulations that are required to implement the bill. These should certainly include some of the promises that we have been given such as, “There will not be any rationing of care for Senior Citizens,” and “Final decisions of care and treatment will be left to the doctor and the patient and their family and will not be subject to limitations by any government agency.” It should also state clearly that only US Citizens will be eligible for these services.
Having read large portions of the bill, I am convinced that much of it is unintelligible due to its many references to changes to be made to other bills including the original Medicare bill and subsequent related bills. There is a clear need to have the basic principles spelled out clearly and completely within the bill.
The funding should also be clearly spelled out in the bill in clear language for all to understand and verified by the Congressional Budget Office prior to any vote.
The limitations on existing providers of services that will be changed or eliminated should be summarized as well.
Throughout our history the documents that have had the most positive impact on our nation, from the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to the Gettysburg Address and The Emancipation Proclamation, all written in clear language that citizens can clearly understand. When Congress is attempting to change something that involves 16% of our economy, they owe it to us, to our future generations and to themselves to make their actions clear and readily understandable.
More importantly, they owe us and themselves a clear and open debate on the final bill before it is approved.
