Re: ObamaCare: What Would You Like to Tell Them, Henry?

Walking in Manhattan Beach last month, I met a gentleman who had posted a piece of paper on his minivan.

 

The white sheet with back letters read:

 

“My insurance was cancelled because of ObamaCare.”

 

I would have never expected someone to air such a frustrating grievance, but such outrageous outcomes must be shared.

 

When I discussed the issue, he told me that because of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, his insurance coverage was cancelled. His heart doctor had informed him that if the law passed, he would quit his practice.

 

I wonder what Waxman was thinking when he helped pass the Affordable Care Act. The law has created the exact opposite of its intended effects, and all the emails in the world cannot cover up the continuous incompetence of this ill-conceived legislation.

 

In 2012, shortly before the June primary, Congressman Henry Waxman admitted in a House budget committee hearing that he did not know that General Motors went bankrupt.

The colleague asking about GM7, Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina, reminded him: “Well, it did. I am surprised you hadn’t heard about it. It was the second largest bankruptcy in US history, if not the largest.”

 

Relating how retired teachers and police officers’ pension funds were defunded to bail out GM, Mulvaney asked: “Since you supported the bailouts, what would you like to tell them?”

 

On behalf of every resident of the 33^rd Congressional district who is losing his health insurance, or struggling to find a doctor, or paying higher health care premiums because of ObamaCare, Henry

Waxman’s signature legislation, I ask the Congressman:

 

“What would you like to tell them?”

 

To everyone reading, I ask:

 

“What would you like to tell Waxman? What should happen to him in 2014?”

Waxman: Exempt Me, Too!

I encourage every resident of tghe 33rd Congressional District to contact Henry Waxman, or tweet to him:

#Exemptmetoo from #Obamacare

It's about time to use every tool at our disposal to deal with this terrible law.

Henry Waxman: "Is it Important that I read [the Obamacare Regulations]?"

Congressman Henry Waxman avoids public comments on Obamacare. He has avoided comments from other people, including constituents,

on major issues.

Waxman fumbled on the basic laws regulating steroid abuse and controlled substances, even though he was the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee investigating the issue.

Waxman has admitted on camera that he did not know that GM went bankrupt.

He also said twice that "We're not broke!", even though the national debt has soared to seventeen trillion dollars, and a growing part of that debt results from President Obama's annual trillion-dollar spending sprees and the rising costs of Obamacare.

Waxman's most recent gaffe exposed that he has not read the thousands of pages of regulations promulgated from Obamacare, or the assumption one concludes is that he does not have to.

What gives?

Penny Star, reporter for CNS News, gathered the following from Congressman Waxman:

CNSNews.com: "What I was going to ask you is if you've read those [10,535 pages] of regulations."

Waxman said: "Have you read them?"

CNSNews.com: "No. Have you read them?"

Waxman said: "Is it important that I read it [The Obamacare Regulations]?"

CNSNews.com: "Do you think that the American people should read it? I just asked you a very honest question. Whether you've read them? It's a yes or no question."

Waxman: "I think it is a propaganda question, and I refuse to talk to you about it."

First of all, about Congressman Waxman and legislation. He has admitted in a town hall before that he does not [3: 50 - 4: 20] read every bill which he votes on. Yikes!

Then, about the length of Obamacare:

2,500 pages of legislation was passed in the dead of night in March, 2010. How many Congressmen likely read the bill? One things for sure, Waxman not only has admitted that he does not read every bill, he sometimes does not read his own legislation.

The length of the Affordable Care Act alone should have prevented Congress from passing it, or President Obama signing it into law.

This legislation has faced scrutiny and setbacks ever since.

Loopholes in Obamacare can compromise an individual's getting health insurance.

Doctors are retiring in large numbers because of this law.

Obamacare has decimated the insurance industry in ten states.

The law is hurting major companies.

Individuals face rising penalties if they do not acquire health insurance.

There is too much in this law for anyone to ignore, least of all the Congressman who helped write it. By the way, the same paper which printed Waxman's opinion piece on Obamacare also denounced the first day of California's Medicare Exchanges, Covered CA, as "lame". Contrary to initial reports, only five hundred thousand, not five million, visit Covered CA the first day, and the number of hits diminished considerably the next day.

About the growing reams of Obamacare regulations, here is a picture taken earlier in 2013. From the floor to the ceiling, with a red ribbon all around it, Obamacare (regulations and all) is the only thing still holding together, compared with the health care industry, the medical profession, and to some extent the United States Constitution, which are unraveling because of the law.

So, of course an independent-minded reporter or constituent would want to know whether his Congressman, or the person crucial to the law's language and passage, has read the law and the growing number of regulations attached to the law.

I called Congressman Waxman's Manhattan Beach office, and I was directed to his LA office instead. When I mentioned his comment that he refused to answer questions about whether he had read the regulations of Obamacare, I was put on hold. I waited for two minutes, and then hung up. No one at the office answered me. I called a second time, and the gentleman who answered the phone informed me that Congressman Henry Waxman was aware of the law, and the regulations in the Federal Register pertaining to the law were so great, that any Congressman who read them would be getting even less done than the current Congress right now.

I had to ask: why pass such a law in the first place?

Perhaps it's time for more people in the 33rd Congressional District to give Congressman Henry Waxman a call. Maybe he should he explain why he does not have to explain whether he read the reams of regulations of Obamacare, which every American has to endure. Maybe he would also like to explain why he supports a law which is forcing businesses to cut hours or lay off workers, as well as push doctors out of the medical profession, and even frustrates unions who sill want their health plans protected.

Give Congressman Waxman a call, and let him know what you think:

Washington, DC Office
2204 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3976
Fax: (202) 225-4099

Los Angeles Office
5055 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 310
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: (310) 652-3095 / (323) 651-1040
Fax: (323) 655-0502

Manhattan Beach Office
1600 Rosecrans Avenue, 4th Floor
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Phone: (310) 321-7664
Fax: (323) 655-0502

Congressman Henry Waxman's Take on Obamacare -- and the Truth

Congressman Henry Waxman released another email in preparation for his 2014 run for Congress. Should the ill effects of Obamacare continue, Waxman will face a harder time convincing voters throughout the 33^rd Congressional District to turn out and vote for him, since he does not have the Obama campaign bringing in votes for him, as he did last year (and Romney will not be depressing the Conservative vote).

Dear Friends,

Republicans have voted more than forty times to defund, delay, or repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  They have shut down the government and are threatening to default on our federal debt if they don’t get their way.  But as these machinations play out in Washington, DC, the ACA’s health marketplaces launched as scheduled in all fifty states. 

The broken Medicare exchanges have failed Americans throughout the country.

Waxman’s blatant lie that the Republicans have shut down the government cannot go unchecked, uncorrected. The Democratic Party Leaders in Congress shoved the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on the American People through backroom deals, budgetary shenanigans, and irascible reconciliation efforts. Democrats in the House, who wanted to stay in office in swing-states and red-state districts, resisted this law.

One Democrat remarked that losing his seat in Congress for Obamacare was worth it, only to trot out every empty argument for the law, all of which have ended up not measuring up the expectations laid out by President Obama. The comments on the same page reveal the true sentiments of his constituents: they were glad to get rid of him.

The Republican Majority, with help from a growing caucus of moderate and sensible Democrats, has voted again and again to continue funding the government, yet at the same time to delay the individual mandate and to repeal the medical device tax hurting businesses all over the country. House Reps want to fund veterans’ affairs, national parks, and the City of Washington D.C., but Democrats continued to reject these appropriations on the floor of the House or in the US Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid has shot down any negotiations to end the shut-down between President Obama and the Republicans in both chambers.

California consumers can visit California’s marketplace at Covered California and compare plans and prices from a menu of health insurance options.  They can also determine whether they are eligible for financial assistance to make their coverage more affordable.  

No they cannot. The LA Times recently reported that the paper overestimated the number of people who visited Covered California. Glitches and hick-ups along the way have prevented many people from getting insurance, while those who had insurance plans claim that their premiums have increased.

As a member of a local union, I received a letter from the health insurance work-fund which informed me that my health insurance premiums will be increasing in the next year. I thought that Obamacare was originally known as “the Affordable Care Act”. What gives?

Covered California should be “Cover-up in California”, as in the number of health insurance companies which have left the California Medicare exchanges because of the prohibitive costs.

According to a recent report by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), individuals across the country will be able to choose from an average of 53 plans from eight different health insurance issuers, which far exceeds the options available in the current individual health insurance marketplace.

The Department of Health and Human Services is the government institution dead-set on dressing up Obamacare as a caring and compassionate program. Of course they will advertise that people “will be able” to choose. Promises, promises. The department is facing lawsuits from religious groups, has already issued exemptions to a law touted as “great”, and is wasting millions of dollars trying to convince people to join.

 This competition is resulting in lower prices, with the average plan premium coming in 16% below the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates even before taking into account the new financial assistance available to lower income households.  Simply put, consumers will find choice, competition, and value as they shop for their 2014 health insurance.

No it isn’t. I have spoken with constituents, I have heard from business owners, and I have learned from health care professionals that whatever pretended competition was expected from this law has not created the lower costs anticipated by the Obama Administration.

As you know, a number of benefits in the ACA are already in effect, including provisions that prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage to children with preexisting conditions, eliminate lifetime limits on coverage, allow young adults up to age 26 to stay on their parents' health insurance plan, and provide seniors with prescription drug discounts, free annual wellness check-ups, and preventive care without copays and deductibles.  

This classic line to justify individual, small business, and employer mandates is losing salience, seriousness, and relevance. Parents are losing their health insurance, so what good is it to provide the children coverage until their twenty-six anyway? Young people leaving college want jobs, and they want to purchase their own health insurance. One gentleman at a local seminar on Obamacare asked how the IRS is going to assess his coverage through his parents if he is no longer a dependent on their tax returns? Good question!

In California’s 33^rd Congressional District, more than 12,000 seniors have already received prescription drug discounts of more than $17.5 million; 236,000 individuals now get preventive services without co-pays, premiums or deductibles; 7,500 young adults have health insurance coverage on their parents' plans; and 31,000 children cannot be denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition.

I would like to see the statistics which justify these assertions, as I am sure would many voters in the Santa Monica Bay. Insurers in Beverly Hills, nurses in Redondo Beach, and health care professionals throughout the South Bay would differ on the actual benefits of this law.

As with any new large program, the launch of the ACA will have some initial snags that will have to be worked through.  I am optimistic that California’s experience will be smoother than many areas around the nation because our State has embraced, not fought, the law and it has worked methodically to implement it. 

Those glitches and snags have given way to frustration and delays across the country.

The United States now joins every other advanced nation in making health care a right, not a privilege.

What advanced nations is the Congressman referring to? In Great Britain, rationing and long lines have become the norm for health care. In Canada, residents will seek out black-market health care clinics just to get help. In most cases, individuals suffer in long lines, meeting with one bureaucrat after another, assuming that resources are available. Towns often hold a lottery, and the lucky winner’s prize is to meet with a family doctor.

Regards,

Henry A. Waxman

Waxman's Letter on 2013 Compared to Today -- and the Truth

In early February of this year (2013), Congressman Henry Waxman released the following email to his campaign/district followers.

Waxman cited three “major” issues, which must be qualified with quotation marks only because his efforts have only contributed greater problems to the already problematic policies and legislation promoted by the Obama Administration.

Dear Friends,

Earlier this month, President Obama gave his State of the Union address to Congress and laid out his priorities for the next year. As the senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, I will play a major role in advancing his initiatives, especially implementation of the Affordable Care Act and taking action on climate change.

As Chairman of the Energy Committee, he did not know what was in his own Cap and Trade bill. He also sped-read through a perverse and disconcerting passage of the Affordable Care Act (which would have permitted employers to remove employees from their insurance plans) He also claimed that the law would hold down health care costs, which has not occurred.

As for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the law has grown unaffordable, while also losing its first official moniker “Patient Protection”, since fewer patients feel protected under this law. President Obama’s signature legislation may sign off on the growing failures of his presidency, in which has buffered medical professionals with more paperwork, higher costs, and less time to care for patients. Doctors have indicated their growing reluctance to practice medicine, and the state of California now faces an unprecedented doctor-shortage in combination with an unprepared rate of demand for newly-insured to visit local clinics.

Local legislators have been holding forum after forum to educate Americans to enroll for online health coverage. Those who already have plans, however, have witnessed not just the marked increase in premiums, but a weary reluctance on the part of many to pursue a single-payer system, an abortive plan which will ensure waste, fraud, rationing, and poor quality health care for us.

In the last Congress, House Republicans voted 33 times to chip away at parts of the Affordable Care Act or repeal it altogether.  With President Obama’s reelection, Republicans know they can’t repeal the law, so they will try to cripple the Administration’s ability to implement its provisions.  I will work to make sure the law is fully realized and millions more Americans gain access to insurance coverage.      

Republicans have now passed a forty-second attempt to repeal Obamacare, and a growing majority of Americans support repeal of the law. President Obama’s campaign tours have diminished effect, and a plan of “repeat the lie often enough” is not working. Businesses and individual citizens reject his law, from inception, implementation, and implication.

House Republicans also voted 53 times to block action on climate change, even going so far as voting to deny its existence.  Study after study has shown that the effects of climate change are occurring sooner and with greater impacts than expected.  It is long past time to move forward to protect our planet for our children and future generations.  Because Republicans refuse to address this challenge, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and I have formed a bicameral task force on climate change to educate the American public about the urgency of addressing climate change and develop effective policies.

Which studies is Waxman referring to? Climate change has been disputed by thirty thousand and growing experts on climate, meteorological, and scientific matters. Even though politicians, skeptics, and experts have challenged these findings, the fact remains that the argument and consensus on climate change as a serious matter remains unsettled.

As you know, our immediate task is to prevent automatic across-the-board cuts that will occur on March 1 if we don’t reach an agreement on reducing the debt.  President Obama has offered to work with Congress on a comprehensive plan to reduce the debt, create a fairer tax system, and rebuild the middle class.  He and Democrats in Congress are insisting on a balanced approach, however, and won't allow the burden of deficit reduction to be put on the elderly, poor, and disabled.  We can find a solution without destroying the integrity of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.   

Since the release of this email, the sequester has been enacted, with negligible effect. The mainstream media could drum up very little action about the dangers of the automatic cuts. In a September town hall meeting, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles/Torrance) attempted to play up the devastating consequences of the automatic budget cuts. The effects have been unnoticed and unnoticeable, and a majority of Americans then and now approve the cuts, anyway. Besides, Waters outrageously inaccurate claim  that the sequester would cost 170 million jobs has simply not come to pass.

If there is a failure in Washington regarding compromise and fiscal responsibility, look no further than President Obama and the Democratically-controlled US Senate, which have ruled out lasting, substantial cuts and reforms to maintain our present and protect our future.

I deeply appreciate all of the support you’ve shown me in the past and look forward to working with you in the new Congress.

Henry Waxman

Waxman's Opposition to Keystone Pipeline -- and the Truth

The Democratic Party in Washington is divided on a number of issues. Blue state senators in red states defend the Second Amendment, placing themselves at odds with President Obama and the liberal caucus driving his policies.

Environmental regulations are also causing friction for the Democratic Party. Union interests and advocates for blue-collars workers demand the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would not only create jobs, but would pipe in expanded energy independence while strengthening political and economic ties with Canada, one of the United States’ strongest global allies.

Nevertheless, from 2012 until the present day, Congressman Henry Waxman has resisted the Keystone extension, claiming that “all that dirty oil” will cause irreparable harm to our nation’s groundwater without providing substantial benefits in bringing down gas prices or solving our nation’s energy concerns.

Earlier this year, Congressman Waxman issued the following email, championing his continued efforts to block Keystone.

Dear Friends,

On May 22, the House of Representatives voted for the fourth time in two years to give a special deal to TransCanada’s Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.  H.R. 3, which passed the House with heavy Republican support, would effectively exempt TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline from all federal permitting requirements, including environmental requirements every other construction project in the U.S. must meet.  It is an extreme proposal, and it shows how far House Republicans are willing to go to let the oil companies set the agenda.

The matter is not about oil companies setting anything but more pipeline for Americans to receive more access to hydrocarbon. Does the Congressman insist on forcing Americans to pay high prices at the pump? Not even six years ago, the average cost of fuel was $2.50 a gallon. Even though the drivers in the United States have not been reduced to waiting in lines and visiting their gas stations on certain days, hard-working men and women are still hurting just to drive from work to home.

I have fought hard against the Keystone XL pipeline, which would triple the production of tar sands, the dirtiest form of fuel on the planet.  Each gallon of tar sands-based fuel burned releases up to 40% more carbon pollution than a typical gallon of gasoline.  This increase in pollution would only make our job to avoid catastrophic climate change that much harder.  That makes no sense. 

What are the stats on tar sands production and pollution?

There is indeed significant research and reports which confirm the dangers of tar sand spills in general. I would counter that following the crash and massive oil spill of the Exxon Valdez in the early 1990s, the world did not stop shipping oil on large barges.

Then The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality conducted its own study, even after TransCanada agreed to divert the flow of the pipeline away from a major aquifer.  Despite the horrific consequences of oil-bearing trains which collide and explode, the incidence of such accidents is rare, according to policy experts who were commenting on a recent explosion in Quebec. The rising number of trains transporting oil has increased, with fewer accidents.

There will always be risks, whether building bridges or pipelines. The world is fraught with risk, yet the resiliency of men and women in our communities cannot be discounted, either. If politicians and policy makers followed the arguments and advocacy of environmental activists to their logical limits, we would never drill for oil, we would not cut one acre of wheat, and very likely, the pursuit of any forms of fuel would be futile.

I offered a modest amendment to H.R. 3 that would have required TransCanada to offset the increased pollution associated with the tar sands fuels with projects that would lower greenhouse gas emissions.  My amendment failed, as did all of the sensible environmentally-friendly amendments offered by my Democratic colleagues.

What proof did the Congressman provide to prove this pollution? These amendments are frustration in their obscurity. TransCanada is in the oil production business, not the greenhouse gas demission-emission trade.

H.R. 3 would trample American laws to get Canada’s dirty tar sands oil to the Gulf, where it could be refined and exported to other countries.  It would be a boon to tar sands developers and refiners like the Koch Brothers, Valero, and Shell, but it would be a terrible deal for the American public.  You can count on me to continue to work hard against the Keystone XL pipeline and every Republican effort to rig the process in favor of the oil companies.

How would this project be terrible for the public? Because other nations would be purchasing the oil? Congressman Waxman should have considered that if other nations are able to purchase oil from a greater expansion of reserves, then the greater availability of hydrocarbon would bring down gas prices.

Sincerely,

Henry A. Waxman

The arguments against Keystone XL  are insincere and unverified. There will always be potential dangers, including spills and explosions, associated with the expansion of oil production. Yet research and reported responses relate that such concerns should not prevent the construction of the Keystone Pipeline.

Waxman's Thoughts on Syria Are. . .?

President Barack Obama faces overwhelming domestic conflicts in his second term. Department of


Then there's Benghazi, in which the President and his diplomatic corps presented a narrative of sudden surprise attacks rising up against the Libyan consult because of an offensive YouTube video. The reality has proven quite different, including reports from the consulate that terrorists were planning an attack on the American consulate in Benghazi. Even though embassy officials requested more security, the State Department never delivered, and four Americans died on September 11, 2012. Every major network covered a one-year anniversary tribute to the victims.

In spite of his domestic failures and the growing scandals assaulting his administration, President Obama has attempted to distract the country from the pressing issues of high unemployment, his train wreck of an insurance mandate, and our nation's diminished standing in the world.

He wants to attack Syria and end the humanitarian crisis overseas.

Justice officials were seizing phone records of AP reports. The NSA has been spying on everyone's cell phone and reading emails. The IRS was targeting conservative groups, refusing to grant them tax-exempt status. The EPA was also engaged in this invidious discrimination. Operation Fast and Furious permitted Department of Justice officials to run guns to Mexican drug cartels, weapons which killed American law enforcement officers.

Former Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) asserted that if President Obama insisted on attacking Syria without Congressional approval, he will face impeachment. For administrative cover, Obama finally sought Congressional approval (as if he did not have to)

I recently contacted Congressman Henry Waxman's office regarding Obama's request for authorization to strike Syria. According to his staffers, Waxman has not issued a public opinion on whether to authorize President Obama to engage Syria with military strikes or not.

Frankly, the majority of voters in this country are tired of foreign wars, tired of military ventures into the Middle East, which strengthens radical elements while displacing allies and destabilizing Israel's stance.

Syria does not post a direct military threat to this country. Our reconnaissance operatives have little knowledge about the rebels fighting against Syrian dictator-President Bashar al-Assad. The embattled President has taken back Damascus, and the rebel forces are a muddled amalgam of secular and Islamic extremist forces, including Al Qaeda. If the United States military insists on military strikes, our leaders will have no idea whether they are assisting "

If conservative Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

has made up his mind, if liberal Democrat Brad Sherman has published his views on the matter, then Congressman Henry Waxman has no excuse for taking so long to published a reasoned opinion.

Urge Congressman Henry Waxman to vote "NO!" on any resolution which authorizes the President to send American troops to Syria. Call Congressman Henry Waxman's office, and demand that he vote "No!" on any resolution to strike Syria. There is no reason for our troops to invade Syria, nor is there any reason for our air force to attack the region.

What Would You Like to Tell Them, Henry?

"Together, those two pension funds lost millions of dollars of their retirement money [for the 2009 auto bailouts], and my question to you as a supporter of the bailouts is What would you like to tell them?" (Congressman Mick Mulvaney)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4ooSseFOmY

Congressman Henry Waxman claims to lead the fight for workers, for the poor, of the environment; however, in a 2012 budget committee hearing, he was caught off-guard, first failing to acknowledging (or rather refusing to acknowledge) that General Motors went bankrupt in 2009.

Then he dodged questions about the bailouts which saved the industry in Detroit cost public employees, teachers and police officers in Indiana, hundreds of millions of dollars.

Mr. Waxman could only muster: "People get hurt."

The retired teachers and police officers were robbed by the Obama Administration in order to pay off the unions who had supported him in 2009, but less so in 2012, and probably not at all in 2014, and 2016.

What would you like to tell those retired teachers and police officers, Henry? What about the unions whom you claim to support?

Other constituents have been hurt by Congressman Henry Waxman's ignorance, lack of oversight, and attention to less pressing matters.

The thousands of homeless veterans in Los Angeles County have languished for decades without proper food, shelter, and medical treatment, all of which should be theirs through the Brentwood Veterans Administration, a property which deeded to the veterans primarily and exclusively.

The ACLU just launched and won an injunction against the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the current secretary Eric Shinseki for the poor use of the facility.

Congressman Henry Waxman has done nothing to support these legal measures, and has instead grandstanded in local veterans receptions, or has blamed House Majority Leader Eric Cantor for attempting to sell the land. For forty years, Waxman has represented the Westside, and the veterans have received nothing from their representatives. Majority Leader Cantor was wearing diapers when Waxman entered office, so for him to blame a younger legislator for his lack of oversight is just reprehensible immaturity.

What would you like to tell the homeless veterans, Henry?

Steroid abuse in baseball was all the rage in the Sports pages these past few months, yet Waxman said nothing. However, six years ago, as chairman of the House Oversight Committee, he was investigating steroid abuse in baseball. A concerned citizen, who featured in the documentary "Bigger, Faster, Stronger" asked for his advice and information on the matter. Waxman inadvertently exposed that he did not the basic laws regulating steroid abuse, or even cigarette and alcohol us, and he also had no knowledge of $15 million earmarked for steroid abuse education.

What would you like to tell the youth in athletics and the major sports franchises, Henry? How do you explain your lack of investment and interest in this subject after so many years?

Postal workers face losing their Saturday hours, and residents throughout the 33rd Congressional District face losing the service because of the bankrupted United States Postal Service. Of course, Henry Waxman contributed to this problem because he cosponsored legislation in 2006 which forced the USPS to supply seventy-five years worth of healthcare benefits in ten years.

What would you like to tell our overworked postal workers, Henry?

While Congressman Henry Waxman continues to demand government intervention regarding climate change, he resisted legislation which would prevent the abuse and waste of federal subsidies for green teach companies, nineteen of which went bankrupt in the last two years.

What would you like to tell the taxpayers, Henry?

Waxman hosted a gun violence forum in Santa Monica in July, claiming that friendship circles in Manhattan Beach, or that more gun control legislation in Washington, would limit the gun violence in the Santa Monica Bay. The same Congressman believed that anyone who suspects the federal government of taking away his or her rights should have their guns confiscated alone bears witness to Waxman's hostility to the United States Constitution and the individual rights of his constituents.

Doctors, nurses, and other health practitioners are fleeing the healthcare industry because of Obamacare, which has increased the red tape, the costs, and the difficulty of accessing quality healthcare. Eight health insurers have left the state of California, and the massive confusion surrounding Obamacare has only worsened.

What would you like to tell the doctors, nurses, patients, and health practitioners, Henry?

From homeless veterans to health care professionals, from postal workers to professional athletes, Congressman Henry Waxman has been leading the fight for no one.

And all we can ask is:

"What would you like to tell them?"

Waxman's Top Ten on Obamacare, and the Truth

Rep. Waxman Releases Top Ten List of Republican Efforts to Undermine and Obstruct the Affordable Care Act

Los Angeles Office
5055 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 310
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: (310) 652-3095 / (323) 651-1040
Fax: (323) 655-0502

Manhattan Beach Office
1600 Rosecrans Avenue, 4th Floor
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Phone: (310) 321-7664
Fax: (323) 655-0502

Los Angeles Office
5055 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 310
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: (310) 652-3095 / (323) 651-1040
Fax: (323) 655-0502

Manhattan Beach Office
1600 Rosecrans Avenue, 4th Floor
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Phone: (310) 321-7664
Fax: (323) 655-0502

Aug 1, 2013 Issues: Health

WASHINGTON, DC— On the day before Republicans cast their 40th vote to repeal key protections against insurance company abuses in the Affordable Care Act, Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman released a memorandum prepared by Democratic Committee staff listing ten ways Republicans have undermined and obstructed implementation of the law.

The memo finds that Republican leaders at the state and federal levels have acted in an unprecedented fashion to undermine the Affordable Care Act.  Nonpartisan analysts have accused Republicans of trying to “sabotage” the law.

The Republicans in Congress and throughout the country should receive a standing ovation for standing up to the overt encroachment of the unaffordable Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is not protecting patients, is proving to be unaffordable, and shows no care for the best interests of patients, practitioners, or any other law-abiding with any abiding sense of common sense.

“The law has become the Republicans’ great white whale.  They will stop at nothing to kill it,” said Rep. Waxman.  “Republican leaders’ obstructionist policies will prevent millions of their poorest constituents from receiving health insurance coverage.”

For the record, a growing faction of voters and even Democrats have opposed and continue to oppose this blue whale of a law, 2,500 pages and growing, with tens of thousands of pages of regulations. Congressman Henry Waxman is notorious for not reading the bills which he votes on. He did not even know the contents of his own Cap and Trade bill.

Republican leaders have acted to undermine the Affordable Care Act by:

•Casting 40 votes to repeal the law, futile efforts that have done nothing but create uncertainty and confusion in the mind of the public about the law’s implementation.

Obamacare by itself has created nothing but confusion and uncertainty for voters, as well as doctors and hospitals. It was a Democratic Senator who deemed the law “a train wreck”.

•Refusing to expand Medicaid coverage in over 20 states, preventing millions of Americans from receiving health insurance coverage.

This decision reflects the respect and savvy which Republican governors and state lawmakers commands for their constituents. While federal level Democrats like Congressman Henry Waxman and his climate change caucus have pursued inane legislative nullities, Republicans at the local and federal level have advanced legislation which will lower taxes, cut spending, and undo the red tape of bureaucratic regulations strangling businesses, obstacles which Obamacare has only worsened.

•Refusing to establish state-based health insurance marketplaces, complicating HHS efforts to implement the law and “increas[ing] federal involvement in … state affairs.”

California attempted to establish insurance exchanges, and of the ten which considered enrolling, eight have already pulled out, with one more ready to leave, as well. Only one insurance company will remain. Whatever hopes of creating competition that Waxman envisioned with this law, the results are quite disappointing.

•Undermining enrollment in health insurance marketplaces via a multimillion-dollar campaign to “dissuade uninsured Americans from obtaining health coverage.”

How can anyone enroll in health care coverage when the President himself has signed off on delays by executive order? The President has behaved in the most unconstitutional manner to date, arbitrarily delaying the employer mandate until 2015, for example.

•Refusing to provide funding requested by the Obama Administration to implement the law.

Republicans and Democrats have opposed funding this terrible legislation, and the House of Representatives as a legislative body has every right to withholding funding. For the record, only under the Obama Administration has this country witnessed a federal government which creates trillion dollar a year deficits without any compunction or conscience about the profligate spending, and Obamacare has not only added to the debt, but has deprived billions from Medicare.

•Attacking efforts to educate the public about the Affordable Care Act.

The President attempted to educate the public about this law with one speech after another, and the  more that people learned about this law, the more that they hated it.

•Intimidating potential participants in public education efforts about the law.

Congressman Henry Waxman remains vague as usual about intimidation and discouragement. Frankly, he has no business castigating anyone about shutting out discussion on an issue. Just this  past week, he prevented constituents in his own district from attending one of his advertised functions in Torrance, CA.

•Insisting that the Affordable Care Act be defunded as a condition of preventing a government shutdown.

The federal government is heading toward default every day that Congress spends money which it does not have. From the debt ceiling dance in 2011 to the fiscal cliff fallout in 2012, Republicans have demanded serious cuts and entitlement reforms to maintain a solvent government while abiding by the promises of previous legislative terms.

•Threatening to deny basic, Affordable Care Act-related constituent service requests from citizens who request help with understanding or signing up for health insurance benefits under the law.

The Los Angeles Times has reported that premiums are rising because of Obamacare. Market forces are doing a much better job advertizing against Waxman's legislation than anything that Republicans could do. More Americans are rejecting the insurance exchanges to begin with.

•Misinforming citizens about the impact of health care reform on insurance premiums, leading many to believe that premiums will skyrocket by failing to provide accurate assessments of the true costs in 2014.

The assessments have been true and valid, but Waxman refuses to accept that his legislation is unacceptable. For all of his protests about Republicans and Obamacare opponents, his raging about the law's benefits have all backfired, with Republicans in the wings ready to take down any Democrats who supported this terrible law.

Waxman Does Townhall Meetings (Not!)

Talk to Me! (Shut Up!)

Congressman Henry Waxman visited South Torrance last night (August 19).

Supporters in large arrays attended the function at Arjay Plaza on the corner of Hawthorne and Lomita Blvd. The forum was also advertized in the Daily Breeze.

Even though the ad gives the impression that the function was a town hall meeting for South Bay residents, a few constituents were not allowed to attend.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=538429822872909&set=a.464669930248899.93551.350558538326706&type=1

Sandra Goetz shared her displeasure with me and on Facebook that she and a few others were not allowed to enter the function. Why? Because they did not have a "D" after their name on their voter registration card.

She wrote:

We tried to get into the Waxman meeting last night in Torrance.  We were told that we could not go in unless it said democrat on our voter registration card.

This was from Jimmy Gow, their leader.  We held a sign asking when Waxman would hold a town hall.

Congressman Henry Waxman has claimed time and again that he is bipartisan, wants to work with the other side on issues. However, time and again he evinces a steady resistance to anyone attending his public functions who disagrees with his policies, or even those who are interested in holding him accountable for his record, and especially those who would prefer to see someone else representing them in Congress.

I have experienced his public rejection of voters' First Amendment Rights. He shut me down in an open forum in Redondo Beach, and he apparently did the same thing to a voter in Venice.

http://venice.patch.com/groups/arthur-christopher-schapers-blog/p/bp--henry-waxman-afraid-of-an-open-forum-1173b9bc

Yet on August 19, the Torrance Democratic Club announced his arrival in a flyer, with no mention that the meeting was for Democrats only.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Torrance-Democratic-Club/350558538326706#!/photo.php?fbid=533333116715913&set=a.464669930248899.93551.350558538326706&type=1&theater

What is Waxman afraid of? Why is he displeased with allowing voters to disagree with issues?

By the way, Congressman Waxman does not seem to consider the interests of South Bay voters pertinent or even important, since he has fewer staff in the Manhattan Beach office. When I called the South Bay office, I was automatically transferred to his Los Angeles office. What gives?

Now for the real kicker. The secretary at the Los Angeles office told me that the August 19 meeting was OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

What?!

There is no excuse for a public official picking and choosing his audience and excluding certain people just because of their voter registration. There is no excuse for a representative to claim that he wants to speak with voters and visit with constituents, yet when members of the public arrive, they get turned away.

If Waxman is working in Congress for his district, then he has the responsibility to represent all of us and present himself to all of us.

Then again, for decades Waxman had been picking his own constituents with the help of political-machine comrade (and now retired) Howard Berman and Howard's brother Michael. As long as Sacramento politicians decided the boundaries for Congressional and state legislative districts, then Waxman could choose his voters, rather than the voters choosing their representatives.

The Citizens Redistricting Commission changed all of that. However, Waxman criticized this reform in the same open forum (which was not open to me), and he shared that every state should have adopted the reforms of citizens' drawing district boundaries, not just California

As if!

Call Congressman Henry Waxman’s office, and tell him to practice some truth in advertising and stop rejecting constituents who want to visit and speak with him! Demand that he hold a real town hall meeting, one which everyone can attend.
And find out why his Manhattan Beach office is understaffed: the South Bay (and the 33rd Congressional District) deserves better!

Henry Waxman’s Los Angeles Office

5055 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 310
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: (310) 652-3095 / (323) 651-1040
Fax: (323) 655-0502

RLn Covers Waxman -- Finally

 

Finally, Random Lengths News did a story on Congressman Henry Waxman. Most Harbor-area residents and even some Palos Verdes homeowners have not learned that Waxman now represents them, along with West Los Angeles and Agoura Hills. The new 33^rd Congressional District is quite a spread, but the Citizens Redistricting Commission felt compelled to lump residents of the same economic and social classes together, joining the South Bay and the Westside by “the ribbon of shame” along Dockweiler Beach. Writing letters as always, Waxman shared his concerns about potential terrorist threats with the Rancho LGP facility in San Pedro.

Yes, Waxman went after Big Tobacco in 1995. He also spent months investigating steroid abuse in baseball as Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, yet he had no knowledge of the basic laws regulating steroid use – all of this you can see in the Documentary “Bigger, Faster, Stronger”.

Congressman Henry Waxman declared in open committee “We’re not broke!” even though this nation faces a sixteen trillion dollar national debt. He has decried the two Bush wars not paid for (Iraq and Afghanistan), yet Waxman voted for both of them. There are thousands of homeless veterans in Los Angeles County, yet Waxman has done nothing to renovate the Brentwood VA, and even allowed private leases on the property.

He pushed Cap and Trade, but did not know what was in his own bill. The legislation would have killed one million jobs along with setting up a carbon market Ponzi scheme which would enrich the rich and impoverish those still struggling to get by. He even admitted in a recent budget committee hearing that he did not know that General Motors went bankrupt. Did you know, RLn editors, that retired teachers and police officers lost millions of dollars from their pension funds in order to bailout GM workers? Whatever happened to “An injury to one is an injury to all?”

Like most conservatives, I support properly financed public transit projects. Waxman killed the Subway to the Sea for decades, which would have permitted Los Angeles to construct a metro line beneath Wilshire Blvd. and provide a faster commute from Downtown to Santa Monica.

Congressman Henry Waxman is hardly the progressive which progressives claim to champion. I wish that Random Lengths News would “Know the hell out of the lie” (per Charles Bukowski) about Henry Waxman and his historic three plus decade tenure in Congress.

Please visit "Waxman Watch" (waxmanwatch.blogspot.com) for more information.

Hard Times in Santa Monica Bay With Henry Waxman

The Argonaut ran a column featuring Amy Heckerling’s 1980’s flick “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, which defined a generation.  Sadly, not this one, and not in the Santa Monica Bay.

I cannot think of a better title to describe conditions in the 33^rd Congressional district than “Hard Times in Santa Monica”, where Southern Californians still struggle to find work, pay their bills, and provide for their future. I imagine a darker comedy, headlined by Congressman Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles/South Bay). Businesses are fleeing the heavily-taxed and regulated anti-business climate in the area. Instead of “Hey, bud, let’s party!” Santa Monica Bay residents are wondering why their health care premiums are rising up, why they may be losing Saturday mail service, why there are so many homeless veterans still on the street, and why President Obama has been monitoring our phone calls and reading our emails.

How can anyone party when there’s no Subway to the Sea to avoid the time-wasting commute on Wilshire? LA Weekly reported that Waxman has gotten into turf wars with Congresswoman Maxine Waters about the expansion of LAX. ”I have lost all respect for the man,” Waters admitted. Resident in Mar Vista, Venice, and El Segundo should share the same disappointment.

Like the overbearing teacher Mr. Hand, Waxman has extended government encroachment into our lives, ignoring our nation’s diminishing entitlements, instead chasing after climate change. The Ballona Wetlands has not received due attention. The Clean Water Act remains unamended. Two historic Venice and Santa Monica post offices are closing, partly because the Congressman cosponsored legislation which required the postal service to fund health care for employees seventy-five years in advance (Obamacare for the Post man).

The real party will start when Waxman is no longer in office. Then Hard Times will end in Santa Monica Bay.

Issa vs. Waxman -- the Saga (of Sorts)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/26/henry-waxman-darrell-issa-solyndra_n_981482.html

Congressman Darrel Issa (R-Vista) serves as the current Oversight Committee Chairman.

Instead of wasting time going after steroid abuse in baseball, instead of investigating lead in toys, and instead of partisan witch-hunts which place him before the camera and serve the interests of trial attorneys, Issa has pursued waste in the Post office, the IRS abuses of conservative groups, the flagrant lapses of security which doomed Benghazi to terrorist attacks, and also the infamous gun-running operation Fast and Furious.

Issa has also investigated the federal subsidies to green tech companies, including Solyndra.

And he had some terse words for Congressman Henry Waxman, demanding to know whether the Westside legislator had any connections or financial interest in the company.

Waxman denied any corrupt connections with the industry, yet his weak regret "I'm sorry Solyndra happened" was a slap in the face to the voters and taxpayers in this country.

Darrel Issa -- leading the fight, from which Waxman took flight.

Media Bias on Waxman -- Easy Reader News

Easy Reader News

is an unapologetically liberal apologetic publication in the South Bay. One of their cover pieces last year highlighted former El Segundo resident Rosanne Barr's abortive run for President as a Green, then a Peace and Freedom candidate.

As if a third-party run by a third-rate comedienne is even newsworthy, let alone noteworthy.

Easy Reader News

is a liberal organ, one which regularly printed editorial cartoons by E. Wunder, whose leftist policies are unmistakably obvious. The liberal bias in South Bay media needs to be exposed.

Here is the first of a series of conservative indictments.

　

I had submitted a few times to their "Letters to the Editor" Section. The ER editors printed some of my pieces about decriminalizing marijuana, or about the Post Office Blues which were forcing Redondo Beach postal workers to work into late night hours. They even published my extended praise for Hermosa Beach City Council leaders, including current Mayor Kit Bobko, for brokering an extended deal with E and B Natural Resources about oil drilling and future revenue streams, which would allow the city of Hermosa Beach to avoid costly litigation fees and potential bankruptcy.

　

Then I read a letter in the late August, 2012 edition of ER, in which Hermosa Beach resident Julian Deveroux commented that Hermosa Beach is turning into "Little Santa Monica" because of the progressive bans on smoking and plastic bags, and the devolving deviant behavior beneath the Hermosa Beach pier.

Sadly, I could think of another reason why "Little Santa Monica" would be an apt title for this wealthy Beach City: Santa Monica-based Congressman Henry Waxman, whose hegemony of tax-and-spend nanny-state liberalism is now infiltrating South of Dockweiler to the Beach Cities, as the district as joined with part of Waxman’s former 30^th district courtesy of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.

The unsightly oversight chairman even paid an undisclosed visit to Councilmember Michael Keegan’s Hermosa Beach home August 29, 2012, which ER reported in the same issue as Deveroux's letter. "Why were the voters in the area not informed sooner about Waxman's visit?" I wondered. What is Waxman hiding?

　

I had commented in another letter about this telling comparison between Hermosa Beach and Santa Monica, but ER refused to run the piece.

I cannot think of a more unqualified candidate to represent the Beach Cities, including my home in West Torrance, than the same Congressman who bullied baseball players in 2009, yet had no standing knowledge of the standard steroid laws in this country when questioned by a constituent. He went after Tobacco executives in 1994, yet he did nothing during the Congressional Post Office scandal, which brought down House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Illinois). And what about the "Congressional check-kiting scandal" which broke at the same time, which brought down the entire Democratic majority! Where’s was the imperious oversight Chairman doing then?

In open committee, he has declared that he did not know what was in his own Cap and Trade legislation, he brazenly assumed that "We’re not broke", even though this nation is now facing a $16 trillion national debt, to which his signature legislation "ObamaCare" will add significantly.

In the August, 2012 article, Hermosa Beach Democratic Club President Diane Wallace claimed: "We need people from both parties who are willing to work with other. . .One of the things (Waxman) reflected on is how he has been so successful in Congress because he has a good working relationship with Republicans." He shoved Cap and Trade, including a last-minute three hundred page, amendment, without input from Republicans. ObamaCare received no insight from Republicans. Both bills passed with opposition from Democrats as well as Republicans on the slimmest of majorities. This man even threatened to throw one Republican out of committee because he demanded respect for normal order.

In the same August article, Waxman commented: "If there’s ever a chance that anybody’s going to try to close that air force base [in El Segundo], they’re going to have to do it over my dead body."

After picking his district and voters for over thirty years, Waxman so readily assumed that he’s going to swing into another term in office.

He did win the election, but by a mere five votes compared to his 60% plus average in the previous three decades.

ER

reported a different result, treating Waxman's independent challenger Bill Bloomfield as

a "long-shot". Bloomfield funded the major electoral reforms in this state, both of which Waxman opposed. Bloomfield's campaign shook up Waxman enough for him to launch commercials and advertising for the first time in his thirty-eight year tenure. If Romney had not depressed the voter turnout, Bloomfield would likely be in Congress today. Waxman chalked up his tenure to accomplishing individual favors for constituents, yet he has not amended the Clean Water Act, and he ignores LA County's homeless veterans.

　

But that's not how ER sees it. The unabashed bias of Beach Cities reporting needs to be challenged, because media bias alone accounts for some of the challenge which Republicans and conservatives face in local as well as state-wide California races.