Marsha Blackburn is the House Representative from my district, the seventh in Tennessee. I am grateful for the fact that she has been outspoken about the State of Tennessee's experiment with universal health care, called "Tenn-Care." It nearly bankrupted the state before being attacked by sanity. One key "lesson learned" from the Tenn-Care debacle was that projected costs proved to be only one fourth of actual costs. Not a good sign for Obama-Care!
I sent her a letter today and thought I might invite your comments. Should Ms. Blackburn respond, I'll be sure to let you know. There is MUCH MORE I have to say about this issue, but letters to Congress have to be short and sweet, so here it is:
Dear Congressman Blackburn,
I am grateful for your service as my Representative for the 7th district. Particularly because of your membership on the Energy and Commerce Committee, I thought it prudent to express my thoughts on HR3200. Although we seem to share similar views, I have put a few thoughts in writing to clearly express what I want you, as my Representative, to convey to Congress and Committee.
My first concern has to do with a failure to appreciate the wisdom of Proverbs 18:13: He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him. As it pertains to HR3200, passage of a bill before a proper reading, let alone a thorough examination and thoughtful consideration, is a disgrace! Your insistence on a 72 hour preview, including on-line publication, is an improvement, and one I support. But it falls far short: A meaningful assessment of the provisions, costs, and implications of this massive bill should be provided to every Representative’s district. An adequate period and suitable mechanism for public comment ought to also be provided. Anything less betrays this frantic approval process as an attempt to sell a pig-in-a-poke. Show me the pig!
My second concern has to do with a violation of what I call “the hungry man” principle based on Prov. 16:26: A worker’s appetite works for him, for his hunger urges him on. When a man’s need is met without his associated effort, why should he expend his energies? Does HR3200 satisfy one man’s need at the cost of another’s labors? Then it subsidizes the lethargy of the former while penalizing the industry of the latter. This is a sure path to the ruin of a people, not their improvement.
Both of these are acute concerns, but they pale by comparison to a third. There is no warrant in the Constitution of the United States for the programs HR3200 establishes. In the absence of such a warrant, the Tenth Amendment is clear in denying the federal government the power to impose compulsory participation in government subsidized health care on the people of the United States. Congress should apply its energies to the responsibilities clearly assigned it by the Constitution. All unassigned responsibilities are not its legitimate domain. HR3200 is the kind of meddling the original framers of the Constitution would have immediately and unanimously condemned. I’m with them!
Thank you for your attentiveness to my concerns.
Sincerely,
D. James Fleming
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