Campaign News and Events

Obama to Seniors: 'Drop Dead' by Robert E. Moffit

2010-05-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

According to surveys, no group of Americans is more skeptical of Obamacare than senior citizens—and with good reason.

While bits and pieces of the massive law are designed to appeal to seniors—more taxpayer subsidies for the Medicare drug benefit, for example—much of the financing over the initial ten years is siphoned off from an estimated $575 billion in projected savings to the Medicare program. Unless Medicare savings are captured and plowed right back into the Medicare program, however, the solvency of the Medicare program will continue to weaken. The law does not provide for that. Medicare is already burdened by an unfunded liability of $38 trillion.

Medicare Advantage plans, which currently attract almost one in four seniors, will see enrollment cut roughly in half over the next 10 years. Senior citizens will thus be more dependent on traditional Medicare than they are today and will have fewer health care choices.

Initial Provisions

Under the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, Congress deliberately created a gap in Medicare drug coverage (the so-called “donut hole”) in which seniors would be required to pay 100% of drug costs up to a specified amount. Obamacare provides a $250 rebate for seniors who fall into the “donut hole” and requires drug companies to provide a 50% discount on brand name prescriptions filled in the hole.

In 2011, Obamacare will also impose a new tax (a “fee”) on the sale of these brand name drugs in Medicare and other government health programs, ranging from $2.5 billion in 2011 to $4.1 billion in 2018. Meanwhile, the law will freeze payments to Medicare Advantage plans and restrict physicians from referring seniors in Medicare to specialty hospitals where physicians have an ownership interest. In 2013, the law eliminates the tax deductibility of the generous federal subsidy for employers who provide drug coverage for retirees. This could further undercut provision of employment-based prescription drug coverage for seniors.

Fewer Plan Choices
With the freezing of Medicare Advantage payments in 2011, Congress has set the stage for a progressive reduction in seniors’ access to, and choice of, the popular Medicare Advantage health plans.

In 2012, the law will begin reducing the federal benchmark payment for these plans. In 2014, these health plans must maintain a medical loss ratio of 85%, and the secretary of Health and Human Services is to suspend and even terminate enrollment in plans that miss this target.

Enrollment in Medicare Advantage by 2017 is estimated to be cut roughly in half, from a projected 14.8 million (under current law) to 7.4 million. Since there are serious gaps in Medicare coverage, including the absence of catastrophic protection, roughly nine out of ten seniors on traditional Medicare already need to purchase supplemental insurance, such as Medigap. Without Medicare Advantage, millions more seniors will have to go through the cumbersome process of paying two separate premiums for two health plans.

Less Access to Physicians
In 2011, the new law provides a 10% Medicare bonus payment for primary care physicians and general surgeons in “shortage” areas. This is a tepid response to a growing problem.

With the retirement of 77 million baby boomers beginning in 2011, the Medicare program will have to absorb an unprecedented demand for medical services. For the next generation of senior citizens, finding a doctor will be more difficult and waiting times for doctor appointments are likely to be longer. The American Association of Medical Colleges projects a shortage of 124,000 doctors by 2025.

Obamacare has not ameliorated the growing problem of projected physician shortages and has surely made it worse. Under the new law, physicians will be even more dependent on flawed government payment systems for their reimbursement. Moreover, the congressionally designed Medicare physician payment update formula, the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), initiates cuts that are so draconian that Congress goes through annual parliamentary gyrations to make sure its own handiwork does not go into effect.

Payment Cuts Mean Rationing

The new law also dramatically expands Medicaid, a poorly performing welfare program with low physician reimbursement rates, and this expansion will account for roughly half of the 34 million newly insured Americans. Furthermore, the law creates an Independent Payment Advisory Board, which will recommend measures to reduce Medicare spending.
Formally, the board is forbidden to make recommendations that ration care, increase revenues, or change Medicare beneficiaries’ benefits, cost-sharing, eligibility or subsidies. For the board, reimbursement for doctors and other medical professionals seems the only target left. But payment cuts can effectively ration care.

More Medicare Payment Cuts

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS):

Over time, a sustained reduction in payment updates based on productivity expectations that are difficult to attain, would cause Medicare payment rates to grow more slowly than—and in a way unrelated to—the providers’ cost of furnishing services to beneficiaries. Thus, providers for whom Medicare constitutes a substantial portion of their business could find it difficult to remain profitable and, absent legislative intervention, might end their participation in the program (possibly jeopardizing access to care for beneficiaries).

Indeed, creating a real problem for seniors, the CMS Actuary estimates that roughly 15% of Medicare Part A providers—the part of the Medicare program that pays hospital costs—would become unprofitable within ten years.

Higher Taxes
Under the new law, seniors are going to pay higher taxes. The higher taxes on drugs (effective in 2011) and medical devices (effective in 2013) will affect seniors especially, as they are more heavily dependent on those very products. Older people, of course, have higher health costs than younger people. But the existing tax deduction for medical expenses will be raised from 7.5% to 10% of adjusted gross income in 2013. The reduced tax deductibility of medical expenses is waived for seniors only from 2013 to 2016. Likewise, older people have larger investments than younger people—and thus high-income older persons will be more heavily impacted by the new 3.8% Medicare tax imposed on unearned or investment income (effective 2013).

New federal health insurance taxes—both the premium taxes and the excise taxes—will also impact older workers and retirees. The federal premium tax (effective 2014) will be applicable to Medicare Advantage plans and health plans offered to federal retirees in the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP). Likewise, starting in 2018, there is a new 40% federal excise tax on “Cadillac” health plans (defined as $10,220 for individual coverage and $27,500 for family coverage). This will also apply to FEHBP plans, which enroll federal retirees.

A Better Policy

Forcing doctors and hospitals to comply with new rules and shaving reimbursement for treating senior citizens is not real reform. If Congress is going to reduce Medicare and impose a hard cap on Medicare payments to restrain per capita cost growth, at the very least it ought to channel those savings right back into the program to enhance Medicare’s solvency and lay the fiscal foundation for real reform. Seniors deserve better than what Obamacare gives them.

20 ways health care takes your freedom

2010-04-16T06:52:00.000-07:00

20 ways health care takes your freedom

1. You are young and don’t want health insurance? You are starting up a small business and need to minimize expenses, and one way to do that is to forego health insurance? Tough. You have to pay $750 annually for the “privilege.” (Section 1501)

2. You are young and healthy and want to pay for insurance that reflects that status? Tough. You’ll have to pay for premiums that cover not only you, but also the guy who smokes three packs a day, drink a gallon of whiskey and eats chicken fat off the floor. That’s because insurance companies will no longer be able to underwrite on the basis of a person’s health status. (Section 2701).

3. You would like to pay less in premiums by buying insurance with lifetime or annual limits on coverage? Tough. Health insurers will no longer be able to offer such policies, even if that is what customers prefer. (Section 2711).

4. Think you’d like a policy that is cheaper because it doesn’t cover preventive care or requires cost-sharing for such care? Tough. Health insurers will no longer be able to offer policies that do not cover preventive services or offer them with cost-sharing, even if that’s what the customer wants. (Section 2712).

5. You are an employer and you would like to offer coverage that doesn’t allow your employees’ slacker children to stay on the policy until age 26? Tough. (Section 2714).

6. You must buy a policy that covers ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment; prescription drugs; rehabilitative and services and devices; laboratory services; preventive and wellness services; chronic disease management; and pediatric services, including oral and vision care.

You’re a single guy without children? Tough, your policy must cover pediatric services. You’re a woman who can’t have children? Tough, your policy must cover maternity services. You’re a teetotaler? Tough, your policy must cover substance abuse treatment. (Add your own violation of personal freedom here.) (Section 1302).

7. Do you want a plan with lots of cost-sharing and low premiums? Well, the best you can do is a “Bronze plan,” which has benefits that provide benefits that are the actuarial equivalent to 60% of the full actuarial value of the benefits provided under the plan. Anything lower than that, tough. (Section 1302 (d) (1) (A))

8. You are an employer in the small-group insurance market and you’d like to offer policies with deductibles higher than $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for families? Tough. (Section 1302 (c) (2) (A).

9. If you are a large employer (defined as at least 50 employees) and you do not want to provide health insurance to your employee, then you will pay a $750 fine per employee (It could be $2,000 to $3,000 under the reconciliation changes). Think you know how to better spend that money? Tough. (Section 1513).

10. You are an employer who offers health flexible spending arrangements and your employees want to deduct more than $2,500 from their salaries for it? Sorry, can’t do that. (Section 9005 (i)).

11. If you are a physician and you don’t want the government looking over your shoulder? Tough. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized to use your claims data to issue you reports that measure the resources you use, provide information on the quality of care you provide, and compare the resources you use to those used by other physicians. Of course, this will all be just for informational purposes. It’s not like the government will ever use it to intervene in your practice and patients’ care. Of course not. (Section 3003 (i))

12. If you are a physician and you want to own your own hospital, you must be an owner and have a “Medicare provider agreement” by Feb. 1, 2010. (Dec. 31, 2010 in the reconciliation changes.) If you didn’t have those by then, you are out of luck. (Section 6001 (i) (1) (A))
13. If you are a physician owner and you want to expand your hospital? Well, you can’t (Section 6001 (i) (1) (B). Unless, it is located in a county where, over the last five years, population growth has been 150% of what it has been in the state (Section 6601 (i) (3) ( E)). And then you cannot increase your capacity by more than 200% (Section 6001 (i) (3) (C)).

14. You are a health insurer and you want to raise premiums to meet costs? Well, if that increase is deemed “unreasonable” by the Secretary of Health and Human Services it will be subject to review and can be denied. (Section 1003)

15. The government will extract a fee of $2.3 billion annually from the pharmaceutical industry. If you are a pharmaceutical company what you will pay depends on the ratio of the number of brand-name drugs you sell to the total number of brand-name drugs sold in the U.S. So, if you sell 10% of the brand-name drugs in the U.S., what you pay will be 10% multiplied by $2.3 billion, or $230,000,000. (Under reconciliation, it starts at $2.55 billion, jumps to $3 billion in 2012, then to $3.5 billion in 2017 and $4.2 billion in 2018, before settling at $2.8 billion in 2019 (Section 1404)). Think you, as a pharmaceutical executive, know how to better use that money, say for research and development? Tough. (Section 9008 (b)).

16. The government will extract a fee of $2 billion annually from medical device makers. If you are a medical device maker what you will pay depends on your share of medical device sales in the U.S. So, if you sell 10% of the medical devices in the U.S., what you pay will be 10% multiplied by $2 billion, or $200,000,000. Think you, as a medical device maker, know how to better use that money, say for R&D? Tough. (Section 9009 (b)).

The reconciliation package turns that into a 2.9% excise tax for medical device makers. Think you, as a medical device maker, know how to better use that money, say for research and development? Tough. (Section 1405).

17. The government will extract a fee of $6.7 billion annually from insurance companies. If you are an insurer, what you will pay depends on your share of net premiums plus 200% of your administrative costs. So, if your net premiums and administrative costs are equal to 10% of the total, you will pay 10% of $6.7 billion, or $670,000,000. In the reconciliation bill, the fee will start at $8 billion in 2014, $11.3 billion in 2015, $1.9 billion in 2017, and $14.3 billion in 2018 (Section 1406).Think you, as an insurance executive, know how to better spend that money? Tough.(Section 9010 (b) (1) (A and B).)

18. If an insurance company board or its stockholders think the CEO is worth more than $500,000 in deferred compensation? Tough.(Section 9014).

19. You will have to pay an additional 0.5% payroll tax on any dollar you make over $250,000 if you file a joint return and $200,000 if you file an individual return. What? You think you know how to spend the money you earned better than the government? Tough. (Section 9015).

That amount will rise to a 3.8% tax if reconciliation passes. It will also apply to investment income, estates, and trusts. You think you know how to spend the money you earned better than the government? Like you need to ask. (Section 1402).

20. If you go for cosmetic surgery, you will pay an additional 5% tax on the cost of the procedure. Think you know how to spend that money you earned better than the government? Tough. (Section 9017).

SEE YOU AT THE TEA PARTY!!

2010-04-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at the TEA party tomorrow in Alton!! I'll be there from 1:00-3:30 pm and then on to Sesser for a Town Hall at the American Legion Hall at 6 pm!

April 10th Tea Party 1 pm-3:30 pm Town Hall 6 pm Sesser IL

2010-03-28T19:36:00.000-07:00

I have two events on April 10th. At 1 pm to 3:30 I will be at the Tea Party in Collinsville Woodland Park, 302 Pine Lake Road Collinsville, IL 62234 and at 6 pm I will be doing a Town Hall at the American Legion Hall in Sesser, IL and I look forward to meeting all of you there!

"I'm Tired" by Robert A. Hall

2010-03-28T19:32:00.001-07:00

"I'm Tired"

by Robert A. Hall

I'll be 63 soon. Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce, and a six-month period when I was between jobs but job-hunting every day, I've worked hard since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income. I worked to get where I am. Given the economy there's no retirement in sight, and I'm tired, very tired.

I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth around" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned - by force if necessary - and give it to people too lazy or stupid to earn it.

I'm tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to "keep people in their homes." If they lost their jobs or got sick I'm willing to help. But if they bought their McMansions at three-times the price of our paid-off $250,000 condo, while earning one-third of my salary; then require the left-wing members of Congress who passed Fannie, Freddie, and the Community Reinvestment Act - which created the bubble in the first place - to pay them with their own money, not the money of Americans who have lived responsibly.

I'm tired of being told how bad America is by the latest Hollywood entertainers-of-the-week and left-wing millionaires like Michael Moore and George Soros; all of whom live in luxury because of the opportunities only America offers. If we take their advice, in thirty-years the United States will likely have the crime and violence of Mexico, the freedom-of-the-press of China, the economy of Zimbabwe, the freedom-of-speech of Venezuela, and the tolerance for Christianity of Iran. Won't "multiculturalism" be beautiful?

I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace" when every day we can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives, and daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight-offense in a child's cartoon; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't Muslim "believers;" of Muslims burning girls' schools; of Muslims stoning teenage rape-victims to death for their "adultery" of being raped; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls - - - all in the name of "Allah" because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to. Religion of peace?

I'm tired of being told that "race doesn't matter" in Obama's post-racial world; when it's all that matters in government-mandated affirmative-action, lower college-admission & graduation standards for minorities (which, by the way, harms them the most), government-contract set-asides, and appointment of U.S. Senators from Illinois. I believe, as Dr. Martin Luther King believed, that a man should be "judged by the content of his character, not by the color of his skin." But so-called "tolerance" for the ghetto-culture of violence and fatherless-children hurts minorities at least as badly as the Klu Klux Klan.

It speaks well for America that we have a black president, and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. I trust "tolerant" liberals will forgive me for wishing America's black-president was Colin Powell or Condi Rice, two heroes in my book - or someone like them who believes in freedom of individual-initiative, and less in an arrogant, all-knowing, all-powerful government.

I'm tired of a media-reporters who think Bush's fundraising and inaugural expenses were obscene, while Obama's, at triple the cost, were wonderful; who thinks Bush's daily-exercising was a waste of presidential time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control weight and stress; who picked-over every line of Bush's military records, but never demanded that Kerry release his; who slammed Sarah Palin for being too inexperienced for Vice President, with her two-years as a very-effective governor of our largest state, but touted Obama as potentially the best president ever, with his three totally unproductive-years as a junior-senator from corrupt Chicago. Get a clue. Why are people dropping their subscriptions or switching to Fox News? I didn't vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to his camp in 2004.

I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil-money to fund mosques and madras Islamic-Schools in America to preach hate; while no American group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue, or religious school of any kind in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance.

I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming - which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughters live. Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore's. If you're greener than Gore, you're green enough.

I'm tired of being told that drug-addicts have a "disease," and I must help support and treat them and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white-powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off? I don't know if gay people choose to be gay, but I'm damned-sure druggies chose to take drugs. I'm even more tired of harassment from "cool" people treating me like a freak when I tell them I've never tried marijuana.

I'm tired of illegal-aliens being called "undocumented workers" - especially the ones who aren't working but are living on welfare or crime. What's next? Calling heroin or crack-dealers "undocumented pharmacists?" And, no, I'm not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic, and it's been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my religion. I'm willing to fast-track for citizenship any Hispanic person who can speak English, doesn't have a criminal-record, and who is self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for three years in our military. Those are the citizens we need.

I'm tired of latte-liberals and journalists who would never wear the uniform of the United States - or worse still, let their entitlement-handicapped kids near a recruiting station - trashing our military. They sit at home with their kids and bad-mouth better people than themselves, never having to make split-second decisions under life-and-death circumstances. Do bad things happen in war? You bet. Do our troops sometimes misbehave. Sure. Does this compare with the atrocities that were - and still are - the policy of our enemies for the last two centuries? Not even close.

So I'll make this deal with my latte-liberal friends: I'll allow myself be subjected to all the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists by our misbehaving troops at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, if in turn the critics will let themselves be subject to captivity by the same Muslims who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture-rooms our troops liberated in Iraq, or who cut-off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia because the girls were Christian. Then we'll compare notes. As author and historian, Stephen Ambrose observed, British and American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilians come to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.

I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers, and politicians of both parties talking about their "innocent, stupid, or youthful mistakes" - when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor. Speaking of poor, I'm tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs, two cars, and fancy computers and cell-phones I can't afford being called "poor." The majority of Americans didn't have that in 1970, but we didn't know we were "poor." The poverty-pimps have learned to keep changing the definition of "poor" to keep their dollars flowing.

I'm really tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. Nobody forced them into a lifetime-practice of skipping school, spending more than they earn, and never saving anything for a rainy-day or retirement. Nobody held a gun to their heads and forced them to max-out 6 credit-cards for high-priced junk I didn't even know existed. Nobody forced them to move into over-priced homes that anyone who took 8th-grade arithmetic would know they couldn't afford. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination, or big-whatever for their problems.

I'm tired of people telling me their party has a corner on virtue, and the other party has a corner on corruption. Bums and crooks are bipartisan. Read the papers. And I'm tired of people telling me we need bipartisanship. I live in Illinois, where the Illinois-combine of Chicago-mob Democrats have looted the public for years, and who also provided the tax-cheats in Obama's cabinet. There is no "bipartisanship" permitted in Chicago.
Speaking of government - I'm especially tired of Senators such as Chris Dodd, and Congressmen like Barney Frank saying I should re-elect them to "save" the economy they wrecked. They were the geniuses who engineered the banking rule-changes during the Clinton administration which eliminated the separation between banks and investment-institution, and made those foolish and untenable "no-doc, "no down-payment," loans possible. It didn't take a rocket-scientist to know that couldn't end well.

Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughters.

Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam-veteran who served

five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate.

Belleville Buyout--Exactly as I predicted!!

2010-03-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

Report: Costello asked for $1.4 billion in earmarks after switching health-care vote

Anti-abortion lawmakers seek billions, report says

BY WILL BUSS - News-Democrat

A government think tank Friday cited Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, and other anti-abortion House members for having dramatically increased their earmark requests after passing the health care reform bill earlier this week.
The Sunlight Foundation in Washington, D.C., reported that Costello and five other anti-abortion representatives who were part of the so-called "Stupak 11" requested more than $4.7 billion in earmarks for the fiscal year 2011 federal budget. The nonpartisan and nonprofit organization also reported that these 11 anti-abortion legislators -- who include and are named for fellow Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan -- were targeted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats because the 11 House members threatened to vote against the health care bill if it included coverage for abortions.
The bill passed late Sunday evening by a seven-vote margin, and President Obama signed the bill into law Tuesday.

U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello. - Zia Nizami/BND

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According to the foundation's report, earmarks from the anti-abortion Democrats were led by Costello's request for $1.4 billion in earmarks -- a jump from the $256 million Costello requested for fiscal year 2010.
But a spokesman for Costello said late Friday that the foundation's numbers are inaccurate and have nothing to do with the health care vote.
Spokesman David Gillies said the $1.4 billion is wrong and that the actual number is much less, although he did not have a specific figure.
"There is absolutely no connection between our earmark requests and the health care reform bill," Gillies said. He said any implication that higher earmarks were a payoff for voting for health care reform is false.
In fact, Gillies said one of Costello's earmarks included a $1.35 billion request along with 44 other congressmen to fund a federal program called Impact Aid to assist local educational agencies.
"That is not like an earmark for our area," he said. "It is a government program we supported. That is really not what we put in. That is among our requests, but that is really not an earmark request."
A Web site for the House Appropriations Committee provides a partial list of Costello earmarks for 2011 totaling about $70 million. Most of the money is for Southern Illinois University, Scott Air Force Base and the Melvin Price Lock and Dam.
"The fact that the appropriations date coincided with the (health care) vote is really neither here nor there," Gillies said. "We really didn't increase or do anything different because of the health care vote."
An earmarks is an appropriation request from an individual lawmaker, usually for money that will be returned to that person's home district.
Not all of the Stupak 11 increased their earmarks between the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years. According to the Sunlight Foundation's report, Reps. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio; James Oberstar, D-Minn.; and Solomon Ortiz, D-Texas, each requested less.
Efforts to reach a spokesman from the Sunlight Foundation for comment were unsuccessful.
Although granting earmark requests has been a way party leaders influence how lawmakers vote, SIUE political science assistant professor Ken Moffett said he does not believe this was the case for the Stupak 11.
"I'm not convinced," Moffett said. "That is not as simple as they make it out to be for a few different reasons. One lies in why members require earmarks anyway. Members tend to request higher amounts of earmarks over time. And a second thing is that we have to remember that this year is an election year. If members are going to request a higher amount, they are probably going to do it during an election year."
In all, only 34 House Democrats joined all 178 House Republicans in voting against the health care reform bill. A spokesman for fellow metro-east Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, declined to comment about the report over Costello's earmarks.
"We're not going to get into that debate," said Steve Tomaszewski. "I don't want to go back and try to verify all of their stuff or get in the middle of that."

Contact reporter Will Buss at wbuss@bnd.com or 239-2526.

THANK YOU for your support 12th district! Let's have a Town Hall Meeting!

2010-03-26T06:33:00.000-07:00

I know that beating Jerry won't be easy but I believe the time is right and people are very very angry. I've had volunteers and support coming out of the walls and falling from the sky since Sunday night because for the first time people realize what they are losing. I need everyone's help and I'd sure like to have yours too. I'm sure you are busy, but this is for America--I'm not looking to replace Costello to get rich on the backs of the IL taxpayers. If you want to see who's paying him and what he's spending it on, www.opensecrets.org is a good place to start. It's an eye-opener when you see that he spent 30K on a new car December 9th from his campaign donations. www.jerrycostello.net is a stinging truth site that doesn't pull any punches and I am getting requests from his neighbors for more yard signs. Please feel free to email me directly: TeriDavisNewman@aol.com or call me if you would like to arrange a town hall with me. Kathie is handling and coordinating all of my speeches and visits and you can email her here: VoteforTeri@hotmail.com. I've done quite a few more interviews and positions that are posted here and on my other blog: http://runningforcongress2010.blogspot.com that can be clicked through from my campaign site which is located here: www.voteforteri2010.com and you can read about my campaign platform. We need to repeal this pig of a health care bill that Jerry Costello lied about supporting for weeks and then vindicated my numerous statements to the newspapers that he was indeed lying when he said he wasn't going to vote for the nightmare health care bill. Come visit me on April 10th at the Alton TEA party's Collinsville event and we'll talk about how Jerry's going to get the boot in November. I'm looking forward to meeting as many of the good people of the 12th as possible and if you have an event you'd like me to attend, email Kathie or me and we'll get it on the calendar! Jerry is too afraid of the people of the 12th to have a town hall and hasn't had one since 2005 but I'll be having a lot of them! Hang in there--we're going to win this!

Alton TEA Party April 10 1-3:30 in Collinsville. See you there!

2010-03-26T05:14:00.000-07:00

Come meet me at the TEA party in Collinsville and we'll talk about this horrid health care bill and how to get it repealed. Michele Bachman (R-MN) has introduced a repeal bill that I will support.
It's being held here: Woodland Park, 302 Pine Lake Road Collinsville, IL 62234
Here's the website so you can find out more: http://www.altonteaparty.com

Also on the 10th of April I will be having a Town Hall in Sesser IL at the American Legion which will start at 6 pm. I will be there and I will be answering questions for as long as there are questions being asked. I'll have the exact address in a day or so and I'll post it!

I'm a big believer in Town Halls because it's a great opportunity for me to meet the great people of the 12th district. I am not one for long boring speeches, so I love the Question and Answer format of the Town Halls!

I have a goal of doing as many Town Halls as possible between now and November 2 when we go to the polls to give ole Jerry the boot and I will continue to have Town Halls every month for as long as I am privileged to serve the great people of the 12th district. If you want to have a Town Hall, let me know and I'll be there to answer questions and meet everyone. I'm looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible!

WOW!! Jerry Sure Stepped in it This Time!

2010-03-23T08:08:00.000-07:00

I've been swamped with calls and emails from hundreds of very very angry voters. They are livid that Jerry Costello lied to them repeatedly and then voted for this horrendous health care bill. I appreciate their anger as I am furious too, and I appreciate the support and the volunteers who are coming from everywhere. I believe that Jerry Costello has totally lost whatever credibility he had left when he lied repeatedly to the 12th District both in person and in the newspapers. It's going to be a new day for the voters of the 12th district on November 2, 2010 when the people take back America!

Q & A interview from Jamie van Wagtendonk

2010-03-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

Here's an interview courtesy of Jamie van Wagtendonk
electioninfo.wordpress.com and it's also on this site:

http://electioninfo.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/qa-with-teri-davis-newman-republican-candidate-for-illinois-12th-congressional-district/

Teri Davis Newman, Republican for Illinois’ 12^th Congressional District

Why do you want to be the US Representative for Illinois’ 12^th District?

I am a 4^th generation Illinois resident. My mother, grandparents and great-grandparents were all born in Alton Illinois, which is part of the 12^th District. I was not born here but when I did become an Illinois resident, the people here have been nothing short of wonderful to my husband and me. These hardworking, honest Americans deserve FAR better than the mediocre representation they are currently getting from the incumbent. They are being taxed to death and Costello voted for this pig of a health care bill in November, which allowed it to move forward against the wishes of the 12^th district. He has not had a town meeting in years and has placed numerous relatives in high-paying jobs that they did not have to compete to get and that were not made available to anyone who was not a Costello relative. He took nearly 3 million dollars in campaign “contributions” in 2000 and 2006 while running UNOPPOSED. He SPENT almost $1,130.133.00 in the same cycles. How does an honest politician spend over a MILLION dollars running unopposed? The great people of the 12^th district deserve much better. I have no relatives to place on the public payroll and no one has to pay me to do my job. My phone number will remain in the phone book the entire time I am in office and I plan to be having a town meeting at least 1-2 times a month EVERY month I am in office and to be very active and visible in the district. I credit all of my business success to creative solutions and customer service. Whether you call them clients, customers or voters, if you don’t take care of their needs, they will become someone else’s voters, customers and clients. I’m as comfortable in jeans sitting on a cornfield fence as I am in a dress at the Garden Club and I want the people of the 12^th to know that I am here for them—and they can call me at home if they need to. I don’t mind a bit. I am a woman of the people, I am one of the people, and I consider it an honor to be chosen to serve.

The district you are running to represent is located in the southwest corner of the state. What do you think are 3 places that every visitor to the district should make sure not to miss?

It is hard to choose just three! You should not miss Chester, Illinois, which is the home of Popeye, and the Opera House in Red Bud is beautiful and on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been beautifully restored and the woodwork is breathtaking. The Great River Road (143) is filled with Bald Eagles, which nest there. The Bald Eagle is such a magnificent bird—just to see them is an experience and I’m proud they are our national bird. They have a fiercely proud look as if they know they are the symbol of the greatest nation on Earth. I also love downtown Belleville, Scott Air Force Base and the view of the Arch and the mighty Mississippi from East St. Louis. The Carbondale area is more modern, but I love the charm of the historic districts. I was born in Florida but I am going to die in Illinois—I love it here!

You have lived overseas for extended periods during your professional life. What did you learn from your international experiences that has shaped your personal political framework?

I learned the value of customer service from the Japanese and I admire their excellent education system. The powers that be in Japan demand that their workforce be literate and well educated. When a Japanese child graduates from High School, they have the equivalent of a US 4-year degree. Their children go to school year round from early in the morning until evening and then attend extra classes similar to home schooling in the evenings and on weekends. There is a startlingly low crime rate because the pressure to conform (at least it was in the 80’s) is very strong. Values and morals are instilled from early childhood and peer pressure to conform to society is stressed. While this tends to stifle creativity in the young, it does have merit and teaches social responsibility. I loved Japan but China is a different story. The government of China is a totalitarian regime and they have a great social structure—work or die. If you don’t work, they put you in a slave labor camp and MAKE your work and if you survive your sentence, they turn you over to your family (if you have one) to take care of you until you die. The average factory worker in China makes $130 a MONTH and they are using the interest from financing our debt to build more factories to take more jobs—our jobs, Japan’s jobs, South Korean jobs and every other country’s jobs. The Chinese are a huge threat and being heavily in debt to them is a dangerous thing for America.

You also worked in the health care industry and, during this campaign, have taken a hard-line stance against current health-care reform proposals. What would you do, as a Member of Congress, to change the current health-care system (if anything) ?

Very few people have an understanding of how insurance companies work. Theoretically, there are “uninsured” people in the USA, but in actuality, everyone’s health care is paid for or the hospitals would have to close their doors! The poor have Medicaid which is the government health insurance and the illegal aliens use it by having an anchor baby who is a US citizen at birth. The baby is then used to qualify for welfare benefits and Medicaid and it is automatically granted to underage US citizens. The illegal aliens along with those who choose not to buy health insurance are covered by what is known as “cost shifting”.

Cost shifting is the process by which hospitals bill the insurance of covered people for the cost of their care AND THE CARE OF THE UNINSURED. The hospitals shift the cost of the care of the uninsured onto the bills of those of us who DO have insurance—if they did not do this, they would have to close their doors since they are legally required to provide care for any sick person or emergency. Do you really think that two aspirin cost the hospital $30 to provide? NO ONE in America is denied health care because of inability to pay because either they have Medicaid, health insurance or the cost of the care is shifted to the insured. It has been going on forever and worst of all; the illegal aliens know that they cannot be denied care in an EMERGENCY ROOM so they use ERs as their primary physician, which is horrendously expensive. In order to bring down costs, we need to change the incentives that govern spending. Right now, $5 out of every $6 of health-care spending is paid for by someone other than the person receiving care, insurance companies, employers, or the government. Individuals are insulated from the reality of what their decisions cost. This breeds over-utilization of low-value health care and runaway spending. To reduce the growth of costs, individuals must take greater responsibility for their health care, and health insurers and health care providers must face the competitive forces of the market. Three policy changes will go a long way to achieving these objectives: Eliminate the tax code's bias that favors health insurance over out-of-pocket spending; remove state-government barriers to purchasing and providing health services and reform medical malpractice laws.

What book are you reading right now and what was the last movie you watched?

I just finished Sarah Palin’s book “Going Rogue” which was interesting. I read quite a bit and I take online college classes in whatever I am interested in at the moment. I am in the middle of a political science course from UCLA now and I am always learning how to do something new. I don’t really go to many movies, but I did enjoy the new Star Trek movie last summer and my husband and I also enjoyed the Batman movie “The Dark Knight”. I thought Heath Ledger gave one of the most outstanding performances I have ever seen in his re-creation of the role of the Joker. Caesar Romero was wonderful in the TV series and Jack Nicholson was very good in the earlier Batman movie but Heath Ledger truly defined the madness of the character with his chilling, but at times hilarious, portrayal and absolutely deserved the Oscar he received posthumously.

On your website, you call for the deportation of immigrants living in the United States without documentation. As a Member of Congress, how would you propose to remove the estimated 14 million undocumented aliens?

Rounding them up, putting them on a plane, and sending them home works just fine for me.

Who did you vote for in the 2008 presidential primary and the Illinois gubernatorial primary this past February?

I'm skipping this one. Secret ballots are sacred to me.

You have also highlighted the influence of money on politics and the ability for incumbent Members of Congress to raise large sums of money from corporations, wealthy individuals and foreign interests. As a Member of Congress, how would you fix the campaign finance system?

Campaigns should be publicly financed with each candidate receiving a set amount for the campaign upon winning the primary. It is the only way to keep special interests out of the process and makes it easier for the voters to decide. The only advantage would be to the candidate that spent his or her dollars wisely, which is a necessary skill for someone entrusted with public money--and so few of them seem have it.

East Saint Louis is a part of your district. Over the past decade, it has fallen into a great deal of disrepair, as many people are moving out of the city into the suburbs. What would you do as a Congresswoman to help the renewal of East Saint Louis?

Over the past decade? Where have you been? It has been 30+ years and counting! I think it is an absolute disgrace that Costello has used the people of ESL for their votes and then ignored them until the next election. I actually have a plan for ESL, which is a three-pronged strategy to bring them into mainstream America. First, they need more police officers to take back control of the streets. Until people can go to the store without worrying about being shot at, there will never be any redevelopment, but when the streets are safe and the blighted buildings razed, industry will come. The location of ESL on the river with five interstates and railroads plus being in the center of the United States makes it a valuable transportation hub. When businesses start moving back in, they will need workers and the unions can set up apprenticeships and I also want to put in a Vocational-Technical school so that the kids that didn’t finish High School can learn a trade and make a living. Blue-collar skills are always in demand and Vo-Techs are a great way for kids to get those skills quickly and a High School diploma isn't necessary to do auto body repair. I visualize an America where everyone works and pays small taxes, not the one where 40% of the population is outside the tax system.

Who are three people (famous or not) that have helped shape your political beliefs the most?

My Husband who defines the term Compassionate Conservative and lives it every day. He is the most honorable man I have ever known and I am blessed to have him in my life. He introduced me to the Fair Tax program which I strongly support because when 51% of the people are voting themselves a key to the public Treasury, democracy cannot survive.

My Parents who taught me never to back down or take crap from anyone and to stand up for what I believed in no matter what. They gave me values and instilled me with a sense of worth and a belief that there’s nothing I can’t do if I try hard enough—and if I failed it only meant that I had to try harder the next time. They also taught me that I live in the best country on Earth and that freedom was something to be protected at all cost.

KSDK St. Louis News Interview

2010-03-17T08:15:00.001-07:00

U.S. House of Rep. IL 12th District, Teri Newman (R)

KSDK -- Teri Newman is running for the 12th Congressional District seat for the U.S. House of Representatives in the Illinois Republican Primary on February 2.
NewsChannel 5 sent an email to each candidate asking them to answer a series of questions to better prepare voters for the primary election.
Newman's responses are below.
Do you think healthcare needs to be overhauled in the United States? If no, why not? If yes, to what extent?
Health care does need to be reformed but not with the bill currently before Congress. I support extensive tort reforms and allowing interstate insurance coverage and competition. Doctors should contribute to tort reform by better policing their profession, removing bad doctors from the practice of medicine and making disciplinary records public instead of hiding dangerous and incompetent doctors and nurses behind a cloak of secrecy. Medicare and Medicaid fraud is staggering because of the incredible inefficiency in policing the providers. With the technology available today it should be easy to spot false claims and those who are cheating the taxpayers, and prosecution should be swift and certain with harsh punishment. Decisions about patient care are best made by doctors, not bureaucrats and government policies. Government does not belong in the health care business or any other business for that matter. It's nothing but an ill-disguised power grab to take over one-sixth of the U.S. economy.
How long should U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan? Also, how many troops would you support sending to Afghanistan?

As many as we need and they stay until we win. The terrorists are intent upon killing all of the infidels which is anyone who isn't Muslim. The war on terror is one that we MUST win and I am totally supportive of our military. Cut-and-run Costello voted to cut the funding for our troops; what kind of a message is this from the man who calls himself "the patron saint of Scott Air Force Base"? Of course anyone who takes close to 3 million in PAC "contributions" when running unopposed isn't working for the people, so Jerry has some explaining to do to the taxpayers.
What is your plan for bringing jobs to Southern Illinois?

Tax breaks and incentives have a long history of being successful in job creation and bringing in business. When tax incentives are used to lure businesses to a community to encourage economic growth then it should be obvious that increased taxes have the opposite effect.The government's right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing and this is responsible for billions in waste and mismanagement and the reason people hate to pay taxes is because they watch the government waste their hard-earned money. Fiscal responsibility should be the first priority of the government. Illinois has a horribly unfriendly business atmosphere and businesses are crossing the river to a place where business is welcomed. Less government, lower taxes and cut social spending programs that duplicate each other. We need LESS government, not more! I am a strong supporter of the Fair Tax plan that eliminates the IRS and people keep their entire paycheck. As a businesswoman, I know that there is NO WAY to spend your way to prosperity--and it's insane and irresponsible that the government thinks it's the solution. People are also LEAVING Illinois in droves over taxes and we are going to lose ANOTHER Congressional seat in the next census. Additionally, the more people that leave, the higher they raise the taxes for the rest of us--which means more people leave in a vicious circle that benefits no one and harms many of us. I also have a three-prong plan for turning East St. Louis into a vibrant part of 21st century America and breaking the decades-long cycle of poverty in the city. Jerry Costello has done nothing for the people of ESL except use them for their votes and then dump them until the next election.
Do you support bringing prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to a prison in Northern Illinois? Why or Why not?
Guantanamo Bay should not be closed and the terrorists that are being kept there should be tried by the military. They committed acts of war while calling themselves soldiers so the military should retain jurisdiction over them and in Cuba, should they escape, it's a 90-mile swim through shark infested waters to reach American soil. They certainly don't belong in Illinois and would someone PLEASE explain to me how housing 100 prisoners will create (according to Governor Quinn) 3000 jobs. I don't have a math degree but that works out to 30 jobs per prisoner at a cost of about $150,000,000 per year in a state with an 8 BILLION DOLLAR BUDGET DEFICIT this year, so this is yet another example of fiscal irresponsibility. I also think that it is beyond insane to allow terrorists in our prison to recruit new members from the dregs of society who will assist the terrorists in their quest to kill us all. Government needs to take the long view and do what's good for the citizens and the country, NOT the political PACs and special interest groups who give them millions of dollars in "contributions" every campaign. I don't accept PAC money because I refuse to be a special interest tool.
It's time to take back America for Americans!
For additional information about Newman, visit her web site.
KSDK

Requirements for Run for U. S. Congress

2010-03-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

It has come to my attention that JERRY COSTELLO (after 22 years in Congress no less) DOES NOT KNOW THE REQUIREMENTS TO SERVE IN CONGRESS. This doesn't surprise me as he is a mediocre representative at best, but for him to continue to spread ignorance for political gain is typical of the kind of expertise he has brought to the office of U.S. Representative. I think it's time to replace him with someone who DOES know the requirements for the office as set out by the U. S. Constitution, so here it is:

From Page 15 of the Illinois Candidate's Guide: REQUIREMENTS TO RUN FOR US CONGRESS:
OFFICE: U.S. REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS
MINIMUM AGE: 25 years (United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 2)
RESIDENCY: United States citizen for seven years. Inhabitant of Illinois at the time of
the election. (United States Constitution, Article I, Section 2)
http://www.elections.state.il.us/Downloads/ElectionInformation/PDF/2010Canguide.pdf

I am not required to live in the 12th District. I am only required to be a resident of the State of Illinois--which I most assuredly am. I would not be on the BALLOT if I weren't eligible, Illinois wouldn't put me on the ballot if I weren't eligible to serve. I find it incomprehensible that the actual sitting Representative DOES NOT KNOW the rules--of course he's used to breaking the rules. Collecting almost 3 million in "donations" while running unopposed (and SPENDING 700 Thousand dollars running unopposed!!) certainly makes me wonder WHO IS JERRY WORKING FOR??
He gave $51,000.00 to Rod Blagojevich in 2006 while the FBI was investigating Blagojevich!!
Want to see who owns Ol' Jerry? www.opensecrets.org and check out his list of donors and donations. It's a who's who of every donor and liberal from here to Timbuktu!

March 22, 2010 at 5pm

2010-03-07T07:52:00.000-08:00

A one-hour question and answer session with the Conservative Republican nominee for the 12th Congressional district of Illinois. Callers will be able to ask the candidate questions on positions and policies on any topic. Questions are unrehearsed and there are no holds barred. Here's your chance to talk to the future Congresswoman from Illinois about your concerns for the district and how the candidate plans to address your concerns. Health care, economic policy, fiscal responsibility and any other topic is welcome. Callers are addressed on a first come-first answered basis and the discussions get quite lively!

(646) 915-9289 Call in Number to participate in the show.

PLATFORM AND POSITIONS: INSURANCE

2010-03-07T07:43:00.001-08:00

We all know that the Obama administration is trying to ram government health care down our throats and is planning to use the rate increases applied for by Blue Cross/Anthem in California to justify their position that government control is needed. This is untrue for several reasons, but the rate increase asked for in California is largely due to having to shift the cost of health care for illegal immigrants to people who DO have insurance.

Very few people have an understanding of how insurance companies work. Theoretically there are “uninsured” people in the USA, but in actuality, everyone’s health care is paid for or the hospitals would have to close their doors! The very poor have Medicaid which is the government health insurance and the illegal aliens use it by having an anchor baby who is a US citizen at birth. The baby is then used to qualify for welfare benefits and Medicaid and it is automatically granted to underage US citizens. The illegal aliens along with those who choose not to buy health insurance are covered by what is known as “cost shifting”.

Cost shifting is the process by which hospitals bill the insurance of covered people for the cost of their care AND THE CARE OF THE UNINSURED. Do you really think that two aspirin cost the hospital $30 to provide? Of course not!! The $30 pays for the aspirin and the care of the uninsured. The hospitals shift the cost of the care of the uninsured onto the bills of those of us who DO have insurance—if they didn’t do this, they would have to close their doors since they are legally required to provide care for any sick person or emergency. NO ONE in America is denied health care because of inability to pay because they either have Medicaid, health insurance or the cost of the care is shifted to the insured. It’s been going on forever and worst of all, the illegal aliens know that they cannot be denied care in an EMERGENCY ROOM so they use ERs as their primary physician which is horrendously expensive. Hospitals routinely deny that they are shifting the cost to the insured people, but they are. Just from a business standpoint, they MUST in order to remain open and provide care—and Medicaid is also billed through cost shifting.

To bring down costs, we need to change the incentives that govern spending:
* Right now, $5 out of every $6 of health-care spending is paid for by someone other than the person receiving care -- insurance companies, employers, or the government.
* Individuals are insulated from the reality of what their decisions cost.
* This breeds overutilization of low-value health care and runaway spending.

To reduce the growth of costs, individuals must take greater responsibility for their health care, and health insurers and health care providers must face the competitive forces of the market. Three policy changes will go a long way to achieving these objectives:
* Eliminate the tax code's bias that favors health insurance over out-of-pocket spending.
* Remove state-government barriers to purchasing and providing health services.
* Reform medical malpractice laws.

I intend to drop a bill in the hopper immediately after being sworn in that will repeal Obama-care if it should manage to become law before the election. It will be my very first act as your Representative and then I will work towards a sensible set of insurance reforms. Please feel free to call me with any questions or suggestions as I welcome your input.

St. Clair County Republican Convention 7 pm March 3 2010

2010-03-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

I'll be at the St Clair county Republican Convention tonight at Fisher's Restaurant in Belleville. Do stop by and say hello if you are in the neighborhood! I'm looking forward to meeting everyone!

MEET ME AT THE GUN SHOWS!

2010-03-02T13:58:00.000-08:00

Collinsville Mar 6 - 7

Belleville Mar 13 - 14

Belleville May 1 - 2

Belleville June 26 - 27

Belleville Aug 28 - 29

Belleville Oct 2 - 3

Come to the Gun Show and meet me!!

Radio Show Interview

2010-03-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/davesmith/2010/02/27/politically-incorrect-experience--corner-of-luna

Here's a link to the radio show I did on Friday night. Click on the link to listen to it, it's about an hour long but worth the time. Thanks for visiting!

New Government Needed!!

2010-03-02T12:02:00.000-08:00

The economic policies of the USA have been a disaster since Lyndon Johnson started the war on poverty in the 60s. We've spent money like drunken sailors on every stupid social program to try to make the USA a place where everyone was happy and taken care of by the government. We gave our poor handouts instead of a hand up and we promoted welfare instead of workfare and vocational training. We taught our children sex education instead of God and morality and we allowed the murder of unborn babies for convenience sake. We've taught dependence on the government instead of responsible self-reliance and community involvement. We've ignored the transgressions of our public officials and allowed them to write laws that don't apply equally to them and to us and they aren't subject to the disaster of Obamacare either, God forbid it should be passed! We need fiscal conservatives all over the country or we aren't going to have a country soon. Nothing personal Bob, but I think allowing lawyers to dredge for clients via advertising was one of the worst things that ever happened to this country. It has created an entire generation of people that view suing someone to be a way to get rich instead of working hard and saving for retirement. The poor quality of education they have received has kept them from realizing that the payment for all these court decisions comes from all of our pockets--not just the 'rich insurance company' and I am terrified that the country has gone so far into debt that we won't be able to turn it around. We must turn out as many incumbents as possible to break the stranglehold of the lobbyists and their millions in available bribe money and get back to government by the people FOR the people!

Check here for Teri's campaign news and events!

2010-03-01T08:33:00.000-08:00