Blog @ MoreWhat.com

Do you suppose it is possible that Chuck Grassley and friends are missing the point? Prescription drug prices are merely one symptom of a health care system that is totally out of control. Another major symptom is the refusal of Congress to deal effectively with this problem.

From public and private sector components of the medical industry, including health insurance and medicare, to the legislature and the consuming public, we have it all wrong. Every facet of this issue is littered with no responsibility for the financial structure of providing health care. Providers are often unaware or unable to determine what to charge for services to break even. Consumers rely on insurance to cover the bulk of the cost. The government is complicit by adding to the pass the buck mentality on who pays for what. The system is so convoluted and drowning in regulations and paperwork it is ripe for fraud and abuse.

In other words Mr Grassley, your support of importing drugs from other countries solves nothing. There is no real competition or incentive for it in the health care system. And even if you were lucky enough to lower some prices it would not be universal nor would it affect the price of health care services. Even before the failed Clinton Administration health care reform, no one in Washington is interested in real health care reform. It is all smoke and mirrors and political rhetoric. Get a grip and do something real about health care or simply stop talking about something you will never fix.

C. Harris
MoreWhat.com

May 1st, 2007

GRASSLEY: IT SHOULD BE LEGAL TO BUY CHEAPER PRESCRIPTION DRUGS FROM OTHER

COUNTRIESSenator sponsors amendment to ensure timely access to safe, lower-priced pharmaceuticals

WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Committee on Finance, today joined in proposing an amendment that would make it legal for U.S. consumers to buy safe prescription drugs from other countries.

The legislation was filed as an amendment to the Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act that is under consideration this week by the U.S. Senate. Grassley sponsored the measure with Sens. Byron Dorgan and Olympia Snowe.

Why Americans Should Be Able to Import Drugs

(Sen. Chuck Grassley)
May 4th, 2007

Making it legal for Americans to import their prescription drugs is a top priority at the grass roots. It needs to be a top priority here in Washington. I have long advocated allowing American consumers access to safe drugs from other countries.

If the previous post does not show you that Senator Harry Reid is a contradction then understand he said they would not cut and run in Iraq or raise taxes. Right at the moment the tax thing is secondary. He said they would not cut and run. Senator Reid would you kindly explain the report below if you are not planning on cut and run?

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

US Senate Democrats Draft Plan to Revise Military’s Iraq Mission
By VOA News
23 February 2007

Democratic Party leaders in the U.S. Senate are working on legislation that would effectively revoke the 2002 resolution authorizing military action against Iraq.

Senate Democratic aides say the proposal, which is not expected to be adopted, would limit the U.S. military’s mission to training Iraqi troops and police forces, securing the country’s borders and combating terrorist forces. Regular combat forces would be withdrawn by next year.

The proposal, drafted by Senator Carl Levin, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Joseph Biden, who chairs the Foreign Relations panel is set to be presented to other Democratic senators next week.

If accepted, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would likely attach the proposal to an anti-terrorism bill. If passed by the Senate, which is not likely, the revised authorization would also have to be passed by the House and would be subject to a veto by President Bush.

Democrats and the independents aligned with them hold a slim 51 to 49 majority in the Senate, but hold a more comfortable majority in the House of Representatives.

The 2002 resolution gave President Bush authorization to take military action against Iraq, because of its alleged arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. In a speech last week, Biden said the original resolution is now irrelevant because the WMD program did not exist, and former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is “no longer there.”

The bill is the latest effort by Senate Democrats to challenge President Bush on his Iraq policy. A vote on a non-binding resolution criticizing Mr. Bush’s plan to deploy an additional 21,000 troops to Iraq failed in the Senate, but was passed in the House last week.

Meanwhile, Democrats in the House of Representatives are considering a proposal by lawmaker Jack Murtha that would link funding of the U.S. military mission in Iraq to strict conditions on troop readiness and training standards.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, The Right Nation, Leaning Straight Up, Maggie’s Notebook, and basil’s blog, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

So how did the United States Congress do in the first month of the 110th session? You be the judge. First, a little review of the fact that posts here have sometimes asked why we get so focused on what Congress does. After all, they legislate. That’s it. They legislate. The can pass laws. Whatever the House passes must be passed in the Senate also. So both Houses of Congress must pass the same version of a bill before it can become law. Then it goes to the President. He can sign it into law. He can veto it and send it back to Congress. He can pocket-veto at the end of the session. Or he can pretty much ignore it and it becomes law. All you expert legal types out there, feel free to refute this if you must.

Next, Congressional action is either a bill or resolution. Most of the time, resolutions are pretty much useless to the ordinary citizen. There is one example this past month that is not useless. It should not have to come to this but usually does. A joint resolution is similar to a bill. The one last month was for appropriations. You know, to keep the government operating until Congress and the President figure out what they’re doing.

So six bills and one joint resolution have the term “on passage” next to them in the voting record in the House. Being that it is joint and includes the Senate, that’s the only thing showing up on their completed list. Then there are the six bills. You’ll remember them from the daily reminder of the 100 hour agenda. Here’s a take on that.

On January 9, 2007, House of Representatives 1 or HR1 was passed.
This is to implement 9/11 Commission items.
On January 10, 2007, HR2 was passed.
This is for increasing minimum wage over 26 months.
On January 11, 2007, HR3 was passed.
This is to “enhance” stem cell research.
On January 12, 2007, HR4 was passed.
This allows government to negotiate medicare drug prices.
On January 17, 2007, HR5 was passed.
This lowers interest rates on government backed student loans
On January 18, 2007, HR6 was passed.
This is an act for alternative energy creation. That’s quite an act.
On January 19, 2007, HR475 was passed to revise the House Page Board.

The above items are what the House passed. The Senate passed the one joint resolution with the House. And one item became law that was posted here earlier. It is for renaming a National Recreation Area.

One law was passed to rename a park. And the other bills have many hurdles to cross before they can become law. Even if they become law there is no guarantee they will have any positive effects. No one, with any regularity, will follow up on them. So the Congress has done nothing for one month. They have solved nothing. There is only one item as law and it is not critical. 21 Senators are worried about 2008 due to re-election. Other Senators are worried about running for President. And the rest have passed one joint resolution and participated in renaming a park.

We would be better off paying more attention to the remainder of government. At the federal level at least, nothing productive is happening in the legislative branch. Ask anyone from the House or Senate if they care to dispute this. The new Democratic majority are developing disharmony among themselves as are the GOP members. If any of you still hold out optimism for the 110th Congress, good for you. Currently, the chances of Congress contributing to the overall good of the country are slim. That is unless they change their ways. And they will not.
Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Check the Beltway Traffic Jam 

There will not be a commentary here covering the entire State of the Union speech in one pass. This annual event is more significant than the importance most citizens place on it. But what is clear is that the media, some politicians and members of the public have made the Iraq War the primary issue. So that will be the topic of this post in brief.

Below is an interesting excerpt from a site that offered some stats on America at war. It is rather well written and more importantly, to the point. The point being the surprising lack of resolve in military matters that this country has been accused of and is quite simply guilty. Below is the excerpt.

The United States of America has a somewhat unique relationship with war. While America is considered to be the most militarily powerful country in the world today, Americans as a whole have never experienced war in the way that many other countries of the world have. There is a huge disparity between the American experience of war and the global experience. This may have an impact on American attitudes towards war

Which brings us to the subject of casualties. Follow the link above for the numbers if you like. The main point raised in opposition to the war is not on policy but casualties. Let’s just call it 3000 in three years. Of course, one death is unacceptable to most, but in war it is inevitable. Any way you slice it, the answer is the same. In terms of war, this nation’s casualties are extremely light. Granted, it is a different kind of war, but the numbers are still light.

I fear the opposition by elected officials is purely political. For those related to active duty service personnel, their opposition is understandable. But to increase the likelihood of bigger problems down the road with no guaranteed upside in leaving Iraq, the opposition makes no sense. It certainly makes no sense to leave without first trying one more (maybe the only) coherent proposal to date. That would include the initial decision.

MoreWhat.com urges those reading this and anyone they can tell, to contact your elected representatives to back the President’s Iraq strategy that was repeated tonight in the State of the Union address.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com
( photos or other distractions were intentionally omitted from this post)

November 29th, 2006
Posted by Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley

on blog.thehill.com
If the office of Citizenship and Immigration Services can’t keep
track of the files it has a hold of now, it seems to me that it would
be nearly impossible for them to implement a guest worker
program in which millions of new applications would flood the
agency. The GAO’s report exposed mishandlings within the
agency which resulted in 30,000 citizenship applications processed
without an A-file last year. Not only is national security at risk, but
it also creates unwarranted delays for the thousands of honest, hard
working immigrants who are waiting to become citizens.

I can’t believe I’m agreeing with Sen. Chuck Grassley. But in this
case Sen. Grassley has it right. So what do you say, Senator, how
about we pass that pesky ol’ HR 4437 and some additional security
for the borders? That includes the ports, intelligence, the leaks, the
holes so big Al-Qaida can stroll through, etc. Let’s clean it up and
stop employers from hiring illegals and fattening campaign funding
for H1b visas. Stop outsourcing American jobs, importing foreign
workers and basically abandoning life long citizens. We have no
problem with immigration except when it causes undue burden on
current citizens. So let’s try to get it right this time. If as some have
suggested, Congress will let HR 4437 fall by the wayside and not
enact strong, enforced immigration reform, this Congress will find
the same outcome as the last in the next election. Count on it.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com