I was pleased to see close to 400 citizens attended the town hall meeting conducted a couple of weeks ago by Congressman Todd Tiahrt. The 4-H building was a good site for the event as there was a good crowd and there was adequate seating. We need to get a portable microphone for audience use.
Todd spoke briefly about the proposed Health Care plan currently before the House of Representatives. For the next hour he accepted questions from the audience and answered them in a very professional manner. The crowd was attentive, well mannered and respectful.
One thing for sure, most of the people I talked with were fearful the federal government was trying to move too fast with a program that has not been fully explained for which has a funding source that is not clearly defined.
I was asked how a bill gets into law and would we at the State of Kansas Legislature be moving so fast on such a hot issue? In my view very little is of such critical necessity or in this case so huge in scope, that we can not take the time to thoroughly review the proposal, play the devil’s advocate and try to uncover all the unintended consequences.
Most importantly we as your elected representatives must solicit citizen input if we are unclear of the potential effect any legislation may impose upon our citizens.
Most proposed legislation that I have seen would encompass less than a dozen pages, so we do have time to read the entire document. Through the committee process and interaction with fellow legislators all questions and scenarios are discussed. The committee process allows for open presentations from all sides of any proposal and then we must wait a day before “working” the bill in the committee.
During the committee process any proposed legislation will normally have proponents and opponents and they are provided equal time to present their position. During these presentations the committee members ask for clarification or additional information to clarify their understanding of the issue. The chairman normally will determine a date to “work” the bill and hear debate within the committee.
Following this discussion, if the bill deserves further consideration on the floor of the house, a motion to pass the bill favorably is made and voted on by the committee. The measure then proceeds to the calendar and when appropriate the measure will be presented to the full chamber by a selected representative from the committee. If passed by the majority vote, it then goes to the Senate for the same process.
In any event each proposal is given a full review, I suspect the federal health care reform bill has not received this measure of consideration. Too many congressmen have said they do not know all that is contained in the bill and even with staff review, the congressman or senator needs to fully understand what is contained in the legislation. This review takes time.
Health care reform needs to contain: accessibility, transportability, cost containment, adequate compensation to the health provider for care given, pre-natal care, geriatric services, ease of understanding of conditions for service, timeliness, extended care, prompt diagnosis, prosthetic devices, surgery where indicated, administrative burden, etc.
We should also discuss; individual responsibility, lifestyle changes, preventative measures, exercise, wellness programs, pre-existing conditions, diagnostic services, pre-natal care, priority of services, premium costs, limits for services, drug and alcohol abuse, counseling, priority for care based on limited resources, etc.
There are a lot of moving parts to any proposed legislation and for that reason alone we should not proceed until questions can be answered honestly and so that we all can understand the affect it will have on our families and us. It would be critical to see the funding source and understand the impact on our own personal budget.
I reported earlier that we will formally go back into session on January 11th, 2010 and if you would like to come up for a day and shadow me I would welcome the opportunity to show you the ropes. I start early and we can run late sometimes. There will be limited space so call me and we will see what we can arrange. February, March and April will be the best months to come up.
This is different than the “page program” where high school students come up for the capitol tour, and a short introduction to the process. The shadow would be a more mature person that has the time and energy to see what a typical day can include.
I met last week with Jim Garner, Secretary of Labor in my office and this week I will have a joint meeting in Topeka with Roger Werholz, Secretary Department of Corrections and Mike Hayden Secretary of Wildlife and Parks. We are trying to work out a best solution for the temporary use of the recently closed El Dorado North Unit (aka Honor Camp).
Several proposals and options have been discussed and based on the agencies needs and budget constraints, a temporary use could run for up to 2-3 years. If you have any suggestions feel free to call me.
I consider it an honor and privilege to be your Representative in Topeka and I want to know what you think. Contact me at home 1115 Rim Rock Road, El Dorado 67042, 316-321-2087, e-mail at johng@carlisleinc.net, www.johngrange.net. My Topeka office will be open on January 11th. Thanks, John
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