Several of the Republicans running to replace current U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp in Congress made their feelings known after Saturday's narrowly affirmative vote on HR 3962.
HR 3962 just passed the House. I cannot believe that 220 House member3 are so out of touch with the people. We will have to show them
Once again the liberal leadership in Washington has proved how out of touch they are with the American people and how out of touch they are with common sense ideas in general. They just don’t get it.
Prior to passing this bill, during the debate on the House floor, Speaker Pelosi said that the 3,000 town halls attended by members of Congress this past summer helped to make this a better bill. Excuse me?
A health bill that increases the national debt and includes jail time, fines, and fees for non-compliance is not the reform needed. There is hope the Senate will pass a health bill with legitimate reforms without the extreme costs and other problems of the House version.
It speaks to the dishonesty of the House leadership that Speaker Pelosi broke her promise to place the text of the bill online for 72 hours before a vote. Her actions demonstrate without question that the liberal agenda in Washington is not about reform, it is about expanding government control of our lives. I commend the members of the Tennessee delegation, Republican and Democrat, who voted against this bill.
The remaining candidates have been contacted to request comment. Democratic Party candidate Paula Flowers is on a mission trip to Nicaragua, according to status updates on social networking Web sites.
UPDATE: Ms. Flowers sent the following comment.
Congress has taken an important step toward comprehensive healthcare reform. I will make a thorough review of the House legislation when I return to the United States and evaluate its merits.
UPDATE 2: Mark DeVol, to date the only independent candidate in this race, responded as follows.
The debate on the issue of Healthcare Reform is not about reform, it’s about the fact that Congress has no authority under the Enumerated Powers to legislate or regulate our countries healthcare system and by extension the State Legislature’s as well.
If the healthcare legislation becomes law, government appointees will have access to healthcare, financial, employer, physician, and hospital records. This is a violation of the 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
If the healthcare legislation becomes law, it will impose either a fine or a tax if healthcare insurance is not purchased or if the private insurance is not deemed “acceptable.” If a fine is imposed, this is in violation of the 5th Amendment protections (due process) or if it’s a tax, Section 8 of the Constitution requires Congress to collect taxes for the sole purpose of paying the debts of the specifically enumerated powers.
Simply stated, Government does not have the authority to require (mandate) American citizens to purchase anything.
Joe Lance
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