NWI Patriots Blog

Over 100 people came together at the St. John Township Community Center in Schererville on Thursday, September 3, 2009, to hear Rep. Peter Visclosky (D), IN District 1, speak and take questions on a variety of topics.  The Lake County Republican Party hosted the meeting.  It began around 6 p.m. and lasted a little over an hour.

The meeting started with some ground rules for the session.  People were asked to allow the Rep. to finish his answers and not talk over him.  It was up to him whether to allow followup questions.  John Curley, Chairman of the Lake County GOP, was introduced.

Representative Visclosky spoke about his voting history.  He said he voted against last fall’s bailout bills twice, and voted for the stimulus.  He said he would vote against any second stimulus bill.  He gave his reasons for voting against the cap and trade bill:  his concerns for its effects on the local steel industry, and its effectiveness in reducing emissions if other countries aren’t also acting to reduce emissions.  He mentioned that cap and trade is currently pending in the Senate and expects action on it in late September.

About health care reform, he said he wants the discussion in Congress to be based on facts.  He said health care reform is part of the country’s economic problems and is considering the disadvantages to business that may result.  He doesn’t want any solution to exacerbate the problem.  He did not say how he will vote on the health care reform bill as it stands now.

He spoke of his view that the federal government needs to invest in northwest Indiana.  He spoke of past investments in its economic infrastructure, citing the steel industry and the construction of expressways.  He said that the South Shore transportation system needs to be expanded and that the lakeshore needs to be opened to more public use.  He talked about how local college campuses are involved in bringing hi-tech businesses to the area.

The meeting was then opened up for audience questions.  I counted 16.  A brief summary of them:

A gentleman said that since the Rep. took the time to find enough out about the bailout bills last fall to vote against them, what’s the rush to vote on health care reform?  Rep. Visclosky’s reply:  He didn’t rush this past August because there was no vote in the House, and said Congress could use more time on the bill.

A lady asked why Congress and government don’t solicit the opinions of self-reliant lay people with life experience to give suggestions on health care reform.  His reply was to say that if you have health insurance you will be able to keep it.

A man said it’s not the government’s responsibility to give everyone health care, it’s a personal responsibility, and said health insurance should be opened up to competition like car insurance is, in a free market.  I didn’t catch the reply, if there was one.

A man asked how health care insurance for everyone would be paid for, and brought up cost of living increases for Social Security recipients.  He asked why there would be no increase.  Rep. Visclosky said there is no freeze for cost of living adjustments.

Another man said he got a letter saying there would be no cost of living adjustment for Social Security.  He expressed concerns about decreasing Medicare benefits and increasing costs, and asked, where will someone in his situation be able to go for additional health insurance if the current bill passes?  The Rep’s reply:  he talked about government mandatory spending programs, said Social Security is not in financial danger but Medicare is, and can’t say that the costs and benefits for Medicare won’t change.  He talked about where savings would come from, saying that the drug makers aren’t carrying their weight.

He was asked if he thinks the government option in the bill will lead to a single-payer system.  He said no.  People in the audience remarked that President Obama says it will.

A woman who said she has read the entire bill asked why tort reform isn’t in it.  She suggested getting tort reform first and putting a ceiling on claims.  She spoke about coverage for illegal immigrants in the bill, and about the Congressional Research Service report (an organization that does analysis of legislation for members of Congress) that says “all individuals” is in HR 3200, implying that illegals are included.  Rep. Visclosky said that tort reform is on the table in Congress and thinks it’s needed.  He said that the bill excludes illegals from coverage.

A woman asked him about his comfort level with all the unconfirmed-by-the Senate “czars” in the Obama administration and their links with 9-11 conspiracy theories, communism, population control through forced abortion and others.  His reply was, “I don’t work for the President,” her claims were exaggerations, and he’s not a lackey.  She also asked him what he thought he would be doing for a living in 2010.

A gentleman named Woodrow Wilcox presented Rep. Visclosky with handouts about physicians’ concerns with the bill.  He is involved in helping people with Medicare billing problems and looks at government involvement in health care.  The website is here.  http://www.localbizblogs.com/46319/medicareproblems

He was asked about Constitutional authority for the recent government takeover of various industries.  His reply:  If a law is unconstitutional, it will be overturned by the Supreme Court:  we’ve had Medicare since the 1960′s and it has not been called unconstitutional:  the health, safety and well-being of citizens is part of government’s job.

Privacy concerns were raised.  A woman expressed concern about the increased access to private (IRS) financial information by health care officials contained in the bill.  He answered that people who require federal subsidies to buy insurance would be affected by it.

A man brought up alternatives to government health care that he thought should be considered:  free market solutions, cleaning up waste and fraud, and tort reform, and asked the Rep. if he would vote for them or add them to the bill.  His replies:  as to tort reform, he would have to see the proposal:  vouchers and tax incentives should be on the table:  about the public option, he said that people without insurance need the public option.  About controlling waste, fraud and abuse, he said it’s not easy to do, even President Reagan couldn’t do it.  He thinks better management of the system would help.

Another question was, have you read the bill, and how do you know what the pertinent parts are?  (In a previous town hall meeting the Rep. had replied to a similar question by saying he would be sure to read the pertinent parts of it.)  He said that he will be sure to have an informed opinion of it before he votes on it.  He compared HR 3200 to the Bible, saying, in effect, that a person doesn’t have to know every word in a document to understand the bigger picture.

He was asked why it will cost so much to insure a relatively small number of uninsured people.  The person asking that question cited news accounts of how the commonly-quoted number of 46 million uninsured Americans is overstated, as it includes illegal immigrants, people who are temporarily without insurance because they are between jobs, people who are eligible for Medicaid but don’t apply for it, and people who choose not to buy insurance.  He answered that he is concerned about how the $236 billion shortfall in the bill will be covered, and that the person’s information about the number of uninsured is inaccurate.

The last question was about his vote against an amendment that would have cut off taxpayer funding for abortions.  He said that he personally doesn’t believe that taxpayers should pay for abortions, but that he voted against it because the amendment would have cut funding completely to Planned Parenthood.

That ended the question and answer session.  Rep. Visclosky spoke briefly to people as he made his way out of the room.  People lingered in groups, talking, for a short time.  It ended at around 7:10 p.m.

The session was calm and civil for the most part.  It was hard to hear some of the questions at times.  The audience voiced their disagreement with many of his statements, sometimes loudly.  There was at least one police officer in the back of the room, but there was no occasion for his intervention in the meeting.

Local media coverage from the NWI Times:  Visclosky grilled at town hall