John DuBois, University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

A number of House Republicans argued Wednesday that cutting medicare funding will put both the program and its recipients in danger.

Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said that the belief that the U.S. will be able to cut medicare funding without negative consequences is “the biggest fallacy in this new plan as we move forward.”

Blunt said he was also concerned that the cuts would take money away from senior citizens who already have pre-paid into Medicare, a move Blunt says “will damage the system.”

“It’s inappropriate to reduce the foundation of medicare in order to pay for a new government health plan,” Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) added.

By Laura Woodhead – Talk Radio News Service

A government run health care plan will increase cancer mortality rates, said a group of GOP congressmen on Tuesday.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), who survived bladder cancer after being diagnosed at age 19, said that the higher cancer mortality rates in the UK and Canada have shown him that a government run health care system will decrease cancer survival rates.

“We have a unique advantage as cancer survivors, that we can go through the bill and debate the bill knowing the personal consequences of what they are proposing would do to somebody just like us,” he said. “We know for a fact that our survivability rates are going down.”

Rogers warned Americans who have had cancer or are currently undergoing treatment to be wary of the current health care bill.

“85% of Americans have health insurance of some sort. What they are talking about doing is taking that away from you in order to fix 15% of the problem, and in order to do it we will have to ration health care for individuals,” Rogers said. “There is no compassion in that, there is to extra treatment in that.”

The congressmen spoke alongside a chart which depicted cancer survival rates in countries with government run health care plans versus the United States. Rep. Todd Atkin (R-Mo.) said that the statistics on prostate cancer speak for themselves.

“Among men between the UK and the US, we are talking about an 18% difference in survival rates. When its your life, 18% means an awful lot to you” Atkin said. “When the government takes over the health care system that’s the kind of results you get.”

Atkin added that he fully expects cancer patients to oppose the legislation.

Said Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a survivor of renal and prostate cancer, “If you want a system where your chances of surviving renal cancer are less that even….a government system, all throughout Europe, produces those lower survivor rates for cancer”

Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) said that better survival rates in the U.S. can be attributed to the speed at which diagnostic tests can be performed within the current system.

“Under a government health care plan like in the UK and Canada, I would not have had the advantage to get [diagnostic tests] done in such quick time. And it might have been too late.”

“We need to focus on those good constructive policies that we all know are going to work, and continue to deliver the best health system in the world,” Myrick said. “We don’t need to create one that will limit people’s choices and ability to go see their doctor.”

Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) says there has been no forum for debate between parties regarding health care reform, and adds that Republicans have been trying to engage Democrats on the issue for the past six months (0:46).

 

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As the talkathon on the House floor continues, Republicans addressed an unusual crowd compared to their Democratic opponents: Tourists in t-shirts and shorts coming from as far away as Texas. (more…)

During a press conference by House Republicans, Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) talks about his conversation with a radio hosts about whether Democrats are more concerned with caribou than Americans who drive Dodge Caravans. He says that Democrats need to consider Americans who live in places without reliable public transportation. (0:42)

 

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“Let out people go,” entreated Rep Joe Barton (R-Tex.) former chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Barton was speaking at a press conference on the fifth day of Republican grandstanding in the House of Representative. Barton and Republican Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who returned from his district for the event, called on the Democratic leadership to call the House back into session for debate on the American Energy Act, a bill which the Republicans call their “all of the above” energy solution. Minority leader John Boeher (R-Ohio) has called for this “revolt” to last up until the tart of the Democratic National Convention.

The members which included, Representatives Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Steve Scalise (R-La.) pointed out statements made by Democratic members of the House calling for a vote on energy legislation, particularly to for votes on expanded drilling measures. Blunt said that the group will be sending letters to every member of the Democratic caucus asking that they return from August recess to debate and vote on energy legislation.

The Republicans will get a vote on off shore drilling sooner or later, as the Congressional ban on offshore drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf expires Sept. 30 of 2008. Blunt said that if the ban where to expire on that date “fuel prices will head back down October 1st.” Blunt also said that threats of a government shutdown by opposing a continuing resolution were dependent on whether legislation to renew bans on off shore and oil shale drilling are included.

Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Texas) called the Democratic leadership the “very best friend OPEC has in the entire world,” accusing House Democrats of funding “both sides” of the war on terror by standing in the way of opening up more U.S. territory for oil exploration.

The protesting House Republicans held another press conference calling for an immediate vote on their American Energy Act, despite Congress being out for a five-week vacation. House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) returned from Missouri to participate in the protest. Blunt said it takes only five minutes for a representative in their home state to realize that the most important and urgent issue is the economy. (more…)

House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) returned from Missouri to participate in the House Republicans’ energy protest. He says the Republicans became increasingly frustrated over the past few months that the most important issue in American was not dealt with in Congress. He goes on to say that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has time for an online chat on her book, but no time to deal with the urgent problem of energy.(0:49)

 

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Republicans continued their impassioned speeches on the floor of the House without lights or microphones today. Tourists flooded the floor, taking advantage of a rare opportunity to sit in seats generally held by congressman and to listen to the congressmen speak.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) commented on the outbursts of applause from crowd members, pointing out that these expressions from the public in attendance would never be possible if Congress were in session. He went on to discuss new energy options, said in response to nuclear energy, “I’m not a big fan of doing things how France does them, but we have to keep the option on the table”. He went on to say “San Francisco may have the majority speaker from there, but [their views] are not the will of the American people!” to the cheers and applause of many attending the speech.

Rep. Ron Lewis (R-Ky.) said in response to allegations that Republicans are working for the benefit of big oil companies, “If anyone is working for big oil, it’s the Speaker who is keeping the prices high by not allowing us to increase [oil] supply”. Rep. Gohmert also brought bumper stickers for audience members which said “It’s the supply, stupid”, referencing former President Clinton’s 1992 campaign slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid.”

House Minority Leader Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) will be returning to the floor August 6th.

House minority whip Roy Blunt (R-MO.) says that the United States is the only nation with deep sea oil reserves that does not take advantage of it. He believes tapping into resources like these would solve the problem of America’s gas prices. (:25)

 

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