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Preparing to send this, and thought I'd ask for the DU treatment.
Thanks in advance...
KJ
Dear Senator Baucus:
I am a supporter, voting for you in each election since 1996 (the first election in which I could vote that you were on the ticket). I’m an avid democrat, a monthly contributor to the DNC, and a daily participant in the blogosphere. I’m also senior bankruptcy counsel for the Montana Department of Revenue, and my unit (two attorneys, two and a half paralegals) reviews every bankruptcy that is filed in Montana to ensure that the debtor does not owe the State any taxes. As you can imagine, our workload has increased greatly in the last year.
You may have heard about the results of a study published by the American Journal of Medicine, finding that over 62% of bankruptcies in 2007 were “medical bankruptcies,” i.e., caused by loss of significant income due to illness or mortgage of a home to pay medical bills. Montana filings reflect this national trend, and, in many instances, it is my unit’s unhappy duty to advise these troubled folks that, in addition to their other problems, they owe taxes. Notwithstanding this aspect of my work, I enjoy my job, and I enjoy serving the taxpayers of Montana, which I have done for the past seven years.
I am writing to you because you, too, serve Montana’s taxpayers, and a great disservice is being done to them. The health care industry in this nation fails its people, forcing pyrrhic choices between bodily and economic well-being while wrenching personal dignity each $6 band-aid and $20 Tylenol at a time. Every week, the statistic “62%” comes to life before me, and, in so many cases, it simply shouldn’t be. The purpose of bankruptcy is to provide protection, and it is unconscionable that so many citizens of our state and our nation must seek protection from an industry whose primary charge is “first do no harm.”
We Montanans are a strong and proud people, and we suffer many indignities in silence rather than risk being perceived as complaining. But in our silence is an expectation that those that we’ve elevated to a position of public trust and service will maintain their loyalty and nurture their constituency. We are a simple and forthright people, naturally suspicious of how you can craft health care legislation that protects and serves Montanans while keeping millions of health industry dollars at your disposal. Judges are required to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, a heightened standard of conduct for those elevated to the role of gatekeeper of justice. It always bothered me when Conrad Burns insisted, “I’ve broken no law,” because our leaders should strive to provide a better example than simply not breaking the law. Regardless of the laws and restrictions on lobbying, donations, and gifts, and beyond any legal gymnastics explaining compliance therewith, simply accepting health industry dollars while being a chief crafter of national health legislation, at the least, appears improper.
You are my senator, and I support you. I supported Senator Tester’s election, I worked for President Obama’s campaign, and I will continue to seek replacement of Representative Rehberg. Our nation is at a crossroads, and you are of a select group with the ability to have a major impact on the direction we go. Your state (and the nation) watches, in silence, in need, and in hope.
Sincerely,
keithjx
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