Clearing the record on health care bill

This is in response to a letter to the editor “Obamacare repeal bill was bad legislation” in the March 28 Mercury.

The author provided some insights from a perspective that sees the return of tax dollars to their rightful owner as a bad thing, as she stated that receiving a tax cut costs the government lost revenues. Those dollars don’t belong to the government, they belong to the person who earned them. So we must consider the framework that has been cast before progressing into the details and trading facts.

First, Congressman Ryan Costello did not vote on the tax provisions in the AHCA. Those provisions were considered by the Ways and Means Committee, of which Costello is not a member. The fact that he did vote to advance the AHCA out of the Energy and Commerce Committee accelerated its demise on the floor of the house. So the first point is moot.

Second, Medicare negotiation of drug prices. The author talks about the need for Medicare to negotiate drug prices, citing it as a goal of President Trump’s. This is true, Mr. Trump has discussed openly about the benefits of market forces on government costs. His approach has returned cost reductions on several DOD programs already and we haven’t even reached the 100day mark of this new administration. It is a lofty goal to reach entitlement reform, there will be many suggestions on how to reign in the largest category of expenditures, the U.S. Treasury services. We may not get there in this first Trump administration. However, we the people will benefit in the long run if we are able to shrink the size and scope of government and return commercial activity, like healthcare insurance, to the private sector.

We, Americans, must consider our future. We must consider our debts, our programs, their costs and benefits and arrive at a place where we can see far enough on the horizon to chart a course we can navigate without depriving our citizens of their rights and hard earned property in order to serve momentary political conveniences.

The system will work if we are engaged, informed and hold our standards high. Petty squabbling about the inane intricacies of subparts to massive bloated government programs is equivalent to arguing about the color of a life preserver as the ship is sinking. Let’s do better, think bigger, abandon failed policy and chart a course to a better future.

Congressman Costello has done an excellent job thus far in representing us, by keeping us informed of the weekly actions, proposals and bills under consideration by his committees and the Congress at large. Let’s support him as he defends our interests.

— Troy Beane North Coventry