Rep. Kevin McCarthy: Obama's speech more of the same; time to rein in the the "czars"

 The latest update from Washington from Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield. Let him know how you feel by posting to the "comments" section below.

 Health care reform was at center stage this week as the President addressed Congress Wednesday night.  I was able to talk with the President some before his speech as I was on his Congressional Escort Committee.  In his speech, I appreciated the President’s call to work together, even though this should have happened a while ago.  In May, I joined my GOP colleagues in sending a letter to the President requesting a health care meeting.  Unfortunately, the response from the White House did not grant that request, and we could not engage in a dialogue where both sides exchanged policy solutions – like my view that we need medical malpractice reform, which is projected to be a cost-saver of $100 billion/year.  If you would like to see these letters, they are posted on my website (kevinmccarthy.house.gov) under the Health Care Solutions section.

During August, I held two town halls--one in Bakersfield and one in San Luis Obispo County--and three tele-town hall meetings.  These meetings were very helpful, as I was able to listen to solutions and ideas from local residents.  Unfortunately, the President’s speech on Wednesday night was more of the same government takeover proposals outlined in his 28 other health care speeches, which many of our local residents and many Americans strongly disagree with. I had hoped the President would have heeded the call of the American people, abandoned H.R. 3200, and sought to start over with common-sense solutions.  Many of these solutions were supported by local residents at the Bakersfield town hall meeting.  Below are some more of the top solutions that people were in favor of. I plan to release the full results in an e-newsletter.  To sign up for my e-newsletters, visit my website - kevinmccarthy.house.gov.

· Allow small business to band together to pool & reduce risk when purchasing health insurance:

-Yes-93%

-No-2%

-Undecided-5%

· Allow individuals and companies to purchase health insurance across state lines:

-Yes-91%

-No-3%

-Undecided-6%

Also the continuing appointment of “Czars,” which do not go through a Congressional approval process and are also unaccountable to Congress is a growing concern for me.  To address this I cosponsored H.R. 3226, the Czar Accountability and Reform (CZAR) Act of 2009.  Our government continually needs to strive for accountability and transparency, and this bill is a common sense solution to ensure this happens.

As we go into the weekend, we should all take time out to reflect on the anniversary of September 11^th.   We should remember our local soldiers like Evan Morgan who was seriously injured during his second tour in Iraq or Ricardo Ruiz who just returned from abroad--both are reminders to us all of the bravery and courage of the men and women that defend our nation. Now eight years later, our memories should strengthen our nation’s resolve to support our present day servicemembers and their families, continue to care for our veterans, and continue the fight against extremism that threatens our way of life.