September 9, 2009--The major political players in Louisiana issued the following statements after Barack Obama’s speech to Congress concerning health care. Here are statements from the Louisiana Republican and Democrat Parties and from Sen. David Vitter-R and Congressman Charlie Melancon-D who are running for US Senate:
Louisiana Democrat Party
Louisiana Democratic Party Chairman Chris Whittington issued the following statement after Rep. Charles Boustany offered the Republican rebuttal to the President of the United States’ address about his health insurance reform plan.
"Tonight the GOP once again put forward a politician from Louisiana to provide a response to an address by the President of the United States and once again a Louisiana Republican has provided a response that can be described as nothing but an embarrassment to his party and the people of Louisiana.
"Congressman Boustany failed to offer a plan to help Louisiana families who are struggling under our current insurance system and instead repeated false claims about the health insurance reform plan currently before Congress.
"Congressman Boustany should spend less time playing partisan games and either come up with his own plan or explain to his constituents why it is better to do nothing.
"Louisianans want solutions, not more lies and more of the status quo. As a medical professional himself, Congressman Boustany should have a lot more to offer than just saying no."
Louisiana Republican Party
Republican Party of Louisiana Chairman Roger F. Villere, Jr. released the following statement following President Obama’s speech to a joint session of Congress:
"Tonight we heard an able orator do his very best to convince Americans that more government and more spending is the only way to move our nation forward. Despite the President's claims, the Democrat plans advancing in Congress increase the role of government in decisions best made by patients and their doctors, increase taxes, and increase our national debt. The president admitted that 'there remains some significant details to be ironed out,' and just as it has always been - the devil will be in those details. I sincerely hope that the White House and Congressional Democrats will reach out and acknowledge the Republican proposals that we can all agree on. As Louisiana Representative Charles Boustany said 'working together in a bipartisan way, we can truly lower the cost of health care while improving quality for the American people.'"
Rep. Charlie Melancon
Tonight, Congressman Charlie Melancon (LA-03) made the following statement following President Barack Obama’s address to Congress on health care reform.
“Louisiana needs a bipartisan solution that will lower health care costs for families, seniors, and businesses.
“And we need reform that protects individual choice and maintains competition within the marketplace, so every person can get the quality treatment they need, when they need it, and from the doctor they choose.
“Finally, health care reform must strengthen the doctor-patient relationship by curbing the ability of insurance company bureaucrats to make medical decisions.
“There is a lot of common ground in this discussion, and we should build on that foundation. Both Democrats and Republicans agree that we can start by cutting the waste in the current health care system, and find savings that will bring down costs for everyone. That is a good beginning.”
Senator David Vitter
U.S. Sen. David Vitter today issued the following statement regarding his expectations for President Obama’s joint address to congress this evening.
“President Obama is most certainly a good talker, but this speech tonight will show if he’s a good listener. The American people have been speaking loudly and clearly throughout the August recess whether he’s heard them remains to be seen.
“I’ve held 21 health care town hall meetings all around Louisiana, and what I’ve been hearing is absolutely ‘no’ to any government option of any kind, and ‘no’ to any 1,100 page bill. It’s very clear that people think that any bill that big must contain some sort of mischief.
“The American people want a more focused effort on those problems that do exist. But they want to use a scalpel, not a sledgehammer, and they don’t want to disrupt those who have good health insurance and want to retain those benefits,” said Vitter
The idea of providing care for the poor is great, the downside for tax PAYERS is they will pay for the government plan, then pay for their own plan. So ANY public option will mean the end of private insurance. I do think that - with government rationing - there should still be the option (some countries forbid this) for people to pay for services the government plan will not cover. Those of us who have saved (instead of spending our earnings on cocain or whatever else) should be able to purchase anything "legal" with our money, including health care the government would deny us. The Devil's in the details, the Democrats' popularity will probably undergo a significant shift with passage of this, "which direction" will depend upon the details in the bill. Written by kpf
on 9/10/2009
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The insurance industry is already denying health care to those with pre-existing conditions and to those who can't afford it. I see nothing wrong with a public option for those the health insurance industry clearly does not want. Let's try non profit co-ops to reduce costs and let people keep their existing health insurance policy if they want to. Written by David Quidd
on 9/10/2009
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I don't know what Vitter said about health care reform, but he isn't the only one telling lies. Health care will cost more than what government says it will ($90 billion additional a year is a mere fraction of what it will cost), other governments who have universal healthcare have to cut costs by denying care to senior citizens (as much of the costs in health care is spent on the last year or two of people's lives) - our government health care will be no different, and the "young people" will not only be saddled with higher taxes throughout their lifetimes to pay for this, they will also have inflation devalue their money and have a huge amount of interest paid by the government to pay for all the government "benefits" we are bestowing on ourselves today. That dosn't necessarily mean "don't reform health care" - rather it is the truth about the costs of health care reform (needed, IMHO) and how we spend money over and above what we collect in taxes (foolish and irresponsible, IMHO). Written by kpf
on 9/10/2009
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Seantor Vitter mailed out a piece to his constituents filled with mis-information and lies about healthcare reform just this week. Senator Vitter, how can you look your constituents in the face, those working class families, those senior citizens, those young people struggling to find jobs....when you PURPOSELY mislead them about legislation? You may have no shame, I am ashamed for you. Written by Linda Baugh
on 9/10/2009
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