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November 6, 2009
An Open Letter to the House of Representatives:
Vote NO to Bigger Government, Higher Taxes in Health
Care!
Dear Representative:
On behalf of the 362,000 members of the National Taxpayers
Union (NTU), I urge you to vigorously oppose H.R. 3962, the
so-called "Affordable Health Care for America Act." This nearly
2,000-page monstrosity would do nothing to address some of the
most fundamental problems in health care today. Instead, it
would dramatically raise taxes and expand the size and scope of
a federal government that is already far too large.
People of all political persuasions can agree on one thing in
this debate: America's health care system is in need of an
overhaul. No other country in the world can compete with
American technology and innovation in new treatments, but costs
have made it difficult for many citizens to afford insurance.
Our employer-based insurance system hides the market price of a
given service behind a complicated web of bureaucracy and leads
to numerous instances of "transitional" lack of coverage when
people change or lose jobs. Furthermore, complicated regulations
prevent consumers from purchasing any insurance plan they would
like to choose. Perhaps most importantly, Medicare and Medicaid
have accrued more than $50 trillion in unfunded burdens on
future generations.
Rather than confront these issues, the sponsors of H.R. 3962
chose to raise taxes in the middle of a recession in order to
hand over an even larger part of America's health care system to
one of the most inefficient and untrustworthy entities in
existence: our federal government. The cure for our health care
woes is not a bill that will cost roughly as much over the next
decade as the ENTIRE value of federal revenue in 1988. The cure
is also certainly not to be found in more than $500 billion
worth of tax hikes, large portions of which will be borne by the
true backbone of America's economy: small businesses.
For these and many other reasons, I strongly urge you to
oppose H.R. 3962. We undoubtedly face challenges with our health
care system, but the best action Congress can take is to fend
off the "do-something disease" permeating Washington by heeding
the timeless advice: "First, do no harm." Roll call votes on
this legislation will receive the highest weight in our annual
Rating of Congress.
Sincerely,
Andrew Moylan
Director of Government Affairs
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