Porkulus Bill Contains Hidden Socialized Medicine
By TVC Chairman Rev. Louis P. Sheldon and TVC Executive Director Andrea Lafferty.
Action is needed immediately to stop passage of this monstrous waste of money – and the imposition of socialized medicine on our nation. Contact your two U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative and ask that they vote NO on any so-called stimulus package.
Conservative Republicans are angry that this was rushed through with so little thought. This massive bill was rewritten over the weekend and was rammed through for a vote. There is no chance that any Senator actually had time to read this 778-page bill before voting on it. Tragically, such irresponsibility is common in the making of our laws. We are being governed by political ideology not by facts or reasoned thinking.
The House version, which passed with no Republican votes, contains $100 billion more in new spending and $100 billion less in tax cuts than the Senate version. Both versions are government waste – not stimulus.
We spent hours on the phone last week and in person speaking with Senators and Representatives on this porkulus bill.
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) fought to have an anti-Christian section deleted from the bill. This section had promoted anti-Christian discrimination in institutions of higher learning. It would have prohibited any college or university from using funds if those funds were for the renovation or repair of any facility that housed religious activities (prayer meetings, church services, etc.). DeMint’s amendment was defeated by the liberals who continue to wage war against Christians.
During the debate, Andrea Lafferty, Executive Director, spoke with numerous key Senators about the anti-Christian bigotry in both Senate and House stimulus bills. Most of them were unaware that this language was in the original Senate stimulus bill. After she spoke to them, this language did not appear in the Senate compromise version. The House-passed version still contains this anti-Christian provision, so there will be a fight in the conference committee as to whether it will remain or not.
Stealth Socialized Medicine In Bill
The hidden section on cost-effectiveness is a step toward socialized medicine – a goal that Tom Daschle outlined in his book, Critical. Daschle was to become Secretary of Health and Human Services until he withdrew his name over his failure to pay taxes.
In Critical, Daschle gave some advice to the next President on how to impose socialized medicine on our nation without public debate or Senate oversight. On page 196-197 of Critical he says this:
If the next President is dedicated to reform, he or she can use the formidable power of the White House to create a sense of urgency on this issue and forge a consensus on how to move forward. This means going on the offensive; we cannot wait for the next “Harry and Louise” ad to define the debate. We cannot assume that the public recognizes the distortions and fallacies peddled by reform opponents; we have to educate people on the emptiness of the anti-reform rhetoric.
The next President should act immediately to capitalize on the goodwill that greets any incoming administration. If that means attaching a health-care plan to the federal budget, so be it. This issue is too important to be stalled by Senate protocol.
Did you get that? Daschle was telling President Obama to create a “sense of urgency” and to attach his socialized medicine plan to the federal budget! That’s precisely what was done.
Daschle’s plan would force everyone into a “play or pay” scheme. This would order everyone into a government-managed system or pay a fine or tax. Daschle’s socialized medicine scheme with a federal health board will wreck our health care system.
The federal office is to be called the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology. It will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective! The federal government will “guide” your doctor in making health care decisions for you.
The Institute for Health Freedom has also pointed out that the health section mandates electronic health records for every citizen without an opt-out or patient consent provision. A person’s health records could be shared wit h any of the 600,000 covered health organizations. This is a violation of privacy of every American and will violate physician-patient confidentiality.
Destroys Welfare Reforms
This legislation also undermines the successful welfare reform measures passed in 1996 by a Republican-controlled Senate and Congress. Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) points out that in this legislation, there’s a hidden section that undermines the work requirement in order to get welfare. The Obama porkulus bill won’t require welfare recipients to work for their welfare checks. The legislation also removes a cap on the amount of federal dollars that can be shipped to states.
As Boehner states: The bill “also includes billions in old-style welfare spending that would undermine the historic and highly successful welfare reforms enacted in 1996. Congressional Democrats are proposing to ‘stimulate’ the economy by discouraging Americans from working, loosening welfare reform’s work requirements, and encouraging more Americans to become dependent on government programs.”
Democrats are bringing back the welfare state and condemning millions of Americans to permanent dependency on the federal government!
This “compromise” porkulus bill also still has other questionable spending in it – with little emphasis on job creation – except for government bureaucrats. For example:
- $2 billion for a near-zero-emissions power plant in Mattoon, Ill.
- $200 million for workplace safety programs in Department of Agriculture buildings
- $650 million for coupons for consumers to buy converter boxes for digital TV
- $300 million for the federal government to buy hybrid and battery-powered cars
If is difficult to figure out why giving away $650 million for TV converter boxes helps preserves jobs.
The earlier versions of the porkulus package were even worse – with money going to condom distribution and for the building of a polar bear exhibit.
Money For Corrupt ACORN Group
These two sections alone, will provide ACORN and other liberal community groups with endless sums of tax dollars to push their political agendas under the guise of helping the poor and homeless.
ACORN not only conducts voter drives, but focuses on housing issues, racism, and home ownership. ACORN (with the help of Barack Obama when he trained ACORN activists) pushed banks to give risky loans – thus helping create the current mortgage crisis in America.
ACORN has also been routinely involved in voter fraud and is currently under investigation in several states for its dishonest activities.
The Obama porkulus package will give his allies in ACORN a goody bag of billions of dollars to push its liberal agenda, buy votes, and fill its bank account with millions of taxpayer dollars.
It is interesting to note that while the Senate and House are willing to let ACORN have access to billions, our legislators were willing to discriminate against universities that permitted religious activities on their campuses.
One positive item in the porkulus package was offered by Sen. Johnny Isakson, (R-GA) who offered an amendment to double the tax credit for homebuyers to $15,000 and allow many more homebuyers to qualify. This was a $35.5 billion tax cut. It appeared clear that only Republicans were interested in cutting out the wasteful spending in this bill – and offering tax incentives that will actually stimulate the economy.
TAKE ACTION: Contact your two U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative and ask that they vote NO on any so-called stimulus package.
Additional Resources:
OBAMA BIG SPENDING BILL STIMULATES ANTI-CHRISTIAN BIGOTRY
Republicans Offer Alternative Stimulus Plan Creates 6.2 Million Jobs
‘Stimulus’ Bill Includes Hidden Anti-Christian Bigotry Section
Washington Times - GOP plan to block stimulus fails
Newsmax.com - Obama's Stimulus Promises, Facts Don't Add Up
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