Here Is What I Just Received From My Congressman - Lipinski (D - IL 3rd) On HCR - Help Me Answer Him

[global1]

This is his message to his constituents:

"With a final vote on the health care reform bill expected next week, Congressman Lipinski has been fighting to make sure that the bill does not include federal funding for abortion.

So far, House leadership has not released a copy of the reconciliation bill that both the House and Senate will have to pass in order to make substantial changes to the Senate health care bill. Congressman Lipinski has numerous concerns about the Senate bill as it stands, so the details of the reconciliation bill are critical. The current Senate bill contains an excessive tax on insurance plans, was tarnished by backroom deals with drug companies, hospitals, doctors, and others, and provides special treatment for certain states. As he has from the beginning, Congressman Lipinski will also continue to focus on the bill’s impact on seniors and Medicare and on whether it does enough to rein in skyrocketing health care costs. Finally, there is the total cost of the bill and its impact on the budget, which will remain unclear until the reconciliation bill is released and the Congressional Budget Office h! as a chance to analyze it.

In the meantime, Congressman Lipinski remains firmly opposed to any health care bill that allows taxpayer dollars to fund abortion. On Tuesday, he issued the following statement on his position regarding abortion and the health care bill:

“Last November, I helped lead the successful battle to force House leadership to allow the vote to attach the Stupak-Ellsworth-Pitts-Kaptur-Dahlkemper-Lipinski-Smith amendment to the health care bill to prevent federal funding of abortion. This measure preserved the status-quo prohibition on the use of tax dollars to pay for abortion or insurance that covers abortion, and maintained the decades-old restrictions contained in the Hyde Amendment. My position on this issue has not changed since then. Protecting the sanctity of life is a matter of principle for me and tens of millions of Americans. In addition, an overwhelming majority of Americans oppose the use of tax dollars to pay for abortion. Therefore, if a health care bill that fails to prevent federal funding of abortion is brought to the floor of the House, I will vote against it. Furthermore, I will continue to fight to make sure that any bill ! that comes to a vote in the House retains the Stupak-Ellsworth-Pitts-Kaptur-Dahlkemper-Lipinski-Smith amendment.

“It is clear that the current Senate bill would not only allow tax dollars to fund abortion, but in some cases would require the direct payment of an ‘abortion premium.’ Specifically, for any insurance plan that receives federal subsidies and provides abortion, all participants would be required to contribute at least $1 per month that would fund abortion services, regardless of whether they want abortion coverage or not. This is not acceptable, and is one reason why I cannot support the Senate bill. The Senate bill also allows insurance plans that receive federal funds to cover abortion and does not ban health centers receiving federal funds appropriated in the act from providing abortions. Both of these provisions directly contradict the Hyde Amendment. In addition, the bill contains loopholes that could allow the government to mandate that insurance plans in exchanges created under the! bill cover abortion.

“I recognize that our health care system is deeply flawed. Health care costs are too high and continue to soar, and insurance coverage is difficult or impossible to afford for many middle-class people. We need to alter incentives that increase spending rather than improve health outcomes, increase competition and transparency to drive down costs and help consumers make better choices, help those who are sick or cannot afford insurance, and stop abuses by insurance companies, drug companies, and other health care providers. Reform is needed, but it must be done right. A health care bill that provides federal funds for abortion is not right.”

Congressman Lipinski’s leadership on the abortion issue was highlighted this week in National Journal. Click here to read: http://www.lipinski.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1118&Itemid=31

Congressman Lipinski welcomes your thoughts and views on the health care bill. Click here to share your position. http://www.house.gov/formlipinski/zipauth.html

Back to my comments: I really don't like this guy. He is a joke. He inherited his seat from his 'daddy'. The district he represents has a large Polish population (me included) and the reason he continually gets re-elected is the 'ski' in his name. I went to his town hall meeting last summer and he ducked most questions by having a panel of so-called experts talk about health care - he ran the time short with the panel - and didn't answer but a few questions. I called his office the other day and was told he was undecided as to how he'd vote for the bill coming up in the House. Now today - I received this message and it appears he has kind of made up his mind. Looks like he is going to vote with Stupak. He, Stupak and the rest of his ilk will be on the wrong side of history if they vote against this most historical piece of legislation that might ever come down the pike during the time he serves in Congress.

[laughingliberal]

1. Dear Asshat...I mean Misogynist...

But seriously

Dear Congressman Lipinski,

I appreciate hearing your views on the Health Care Reform bill. I would like to let you know, however, I am vehemently opposed to the Stupak amendment and it is my firm belief that none of the language in the Senate bill poses any threat to the Hyde amendment. I resent the attempt of Congressman Stupak to use this important piece of legislation for promoting his agenda of finding a backdoor to incrementally overturning Roe and I resent your support of him in that effort.

I also have concerns about the Senate bill and am curious about the details of the reconciliation bill now being negotiated. I am strongly in favor of a public option which people who will be mandated to purchase health insurance may choose if they so desire. It is also my belief the House versions of the community ratings model would prevail over the model in the Senate bill. I favor the House version of a national exchange over the state by state exchanges in the Senate bill and I am against the excise tax on comprehensive employer sponsored health benefits.

In short I prefer as much of the House version in contrast to the Senate version as possible except with respect to the Stupak amendment which it appears will not make it into the final bill to my enormous relief.

I would urge you to support a bill which contains most of the fixes I listed above and to vigorously stand against any erosion of the reproductive rights of women.

Thank you for this opportunity to express my views which I know you will keep in mind as you deliberate this most important and historic piece of legislation.

[corpseratemedia]

2. everything you said at the very bottom is important to let him know

i might change the part about "ski" and just say that he gets reelected in part because he shares the same ethnicity. The most important thing (imo as a woman) that you could say is that abortion is a constitutional right, and by limiting this right only to wealthy women, he is discriminating against poor women. I guess you can say s/th like "until a fetus is viable, the law and science, which overrides religion when it comes to the HEALTH of actual humans (women), is still a the a part of a women's body. It is not your part. It is not anyone else's part. And if early by choice or later because of danger to the woman, she has a constitutional right to take care of HER body the way she feels is best, not the way you feel or a religious group feels. You is supposed to uphold the law, not uphold part of a woman's body to the detriment of the rights, the health and the actual life of the woman."

I hope you'll have a primary challenger for this schmuck. Maybe add that intelligent people didn't appreciate his deception regarding his "not making up his mind" when it was made up against the rights of women to control their bodies.

Just like the drug war hasn't stopped people from doing drugs, prohibiting poor women from access to abortion will not prevent abortions. They'll just die from their abortions. I guess that's what he wants.

ok this turned into a personal rant (sorry!) but maybe you can use something here.

[B Calm]

3. Tell him theres' an election coming up! and your choice is to vote

for a real republican or a fake one!!

[zeemike]

4. I would make it simple.

Thank you for your views and I intend to oppose your re-election.