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Murphy Should Listen To Voters
January 31, 2010
Recently I attempted to speak with Congressman Patrick Murphy about the disappointing voting going on in Washington as the current Congress squanders an historic opportunity to improve health coverage for all Americans. He told me to call him later.
Bucks County natives have been waiting months for their Representative in Congress to hear their concerns about the gaggle of bills under consideration in the Capitol. Despite repeated calls for a town-hall meeting where constituents can meet their elected federal representative face-to-face, questions and concerns have gone unanswered.
The reason: Mr. Murphy is in favor of national health care. I know because he told me so.
And in his quest to vote for a “strong public option” (read: the beginning of the federal government taking over our health decision making), he rushed head-long into H.R. 3962 which provides:
• For Individual Taxpayers: Higher taxes on high-income filers, federal mandates to purchase health insurance or be subject to federal penalties and exemptions for non-resident aliens. In conjunction with the passage of H.R. 3962 (by the slimmest of margins and with Mr. Murphy’s full support), H.R. 3961 was passed (increasing physician reimbursements) representing deficit spending and adding to the federal debt.
• For Employers: Practically every small business is now federally mandated to provide “qualified” coverage or be subject to a new eight percent tax. We are also limited in use of Flexible Savings Accounts, which I use to pay out of pocket medical expenses for my children and used for my own recent medical expenses in cancer recovery.
• For Seniors: $571 Billion has been slashed from your allocated Medicare funding. $170 Billion has been cut from your Medicare Advantage Plans. Your Medicare D premiums will be increased to help pay for new federal programs your Representatives deem nice to have.
Mr. Murphy’s bill is packed with problems too numerous to mention in my limited space available. But Mr. Murphy’s bad bill got worse in the U.S. Senate. Now we find out that, in addition to paying new Medicaid increases for Pennsylvania residents, we also are expected to pick up the cost for Nebraska residents because they “cut a deal” to buy Sen. Ben Nelson’s support. Still no comment from Mr. Murphy. Still no town-hall meeting for his constituents.
Provide tax relief that makes it easier, not more difficult, for employers to provide health coverage. Reform the health justice system. Incentivize innovative solutions that fight health-care fraud. There is $250 billion in easy money — currently wasted — in the federal health programs. Recover the money and use it to cover pre-existing conditions and to reward health-care clinics that already provide coverage to the uninsured: the Mother Bachmann clinic in Bensalem, HealthLink in Southampton and The Free Clinic at Doylestown Hospital.
I firmly believe that the best solutions already exist in the communities across America. Our representatives should spend more time listening to us and less time listening to the partisanship inside the Beltway. An old-fashioned, town-hall meeting back home in Bucks County would be a good start.
Mike Fitzpatrick is an attorney with Begley, Carlin & Mandio. He is running for Congress in the 8th District, which includes Montgomery County, Bucks County and parts of Northeast Philadelphia.
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Postal workers rally to thank Fitzpatrick
9/28/11 | phillyBurbs.com
Dozens of postal workers and supporters rallied in front of the
office of Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, R-8, Tuesday afternoon and
thanked him for supporting a bill they say will save the country's
postal service.
As one of 492 rallies nationwide scheduled for Tuesday, the
rally attracted about 60 people to the parking lot of the
congressman's Middletown office. Earlier in the day, the workers
rallied outside the Frankford Avenue office of Congresswoman
Allyson Schwartz, D-13, in Philadelphia.
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