Sunday, August 16, 2009
Lawmakers take debate to people
U.S. Reps. Boucher, Goodlatte and Perriello say they want to know what their constituents think about health care.
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roanoke.com/politics
No topic before Congress right now is more debated or publicized than health care.
The America's Affordable Health Choices Act before the House of Representatives has motivated voters across the country to take to the streets in rallies in support of and opposition to proposed reform.
Local legislators say it has been a long time since public debate and interest has been so high.
Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke County, said this isn't the first time there's been a surge of interest in Congress. He said he saw something similar during his first year in the House in 1993, when then-President Clinton pushed for a revamp of the health care system. That push, however, never made it to the House floor.
In his 27 years in Congress, Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, also figured the 1993 health care reform debates as the last time the public came out in droves to address an issue. That year he had a town hall meeting in Montgomery County where 500 to 600 people attended, he said.
"Health care is an extremely personal thing," Goodlatte said. "When government proposes to make significant changes to the system, it's not surprising that an awful lot of people have opinions."
Bob Gibson, executive director of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia, agrees. Not since Congress addressed the Panama Canal Treaty in the 1970s, has there been such intense public debate, he said. Immigration reform -- another emotional issue -- also drummed up a lot of public interest, he said.
Boucher, Goodlatte and Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Albemarle County, are in their districts during this month-long recess to hear those opinions.
They anticipate high attendance and tough questions, Boucher said.
He will host two town hall meetings this week, in Dublin on Tuesday and in Abingdon on Thursday. Each will start with presentations from Boucher and health care professionals and conclude with questions and comments from the audience.
Perriello has hosted eight "Tom in your Town" meetings to date with another 13 to come.
Some of the meetings have been filled with vocal residents, denouncing any type of government takeover of health care. Some have been unruly, with protesters heckling and booing the congressman and dropping an expletive or two. Last week in Bedford, for instance, about 300 people turned out on a Saturday morning at a Perriello meeting.
Perriello, in his first year in Congress, said he is excited that people are coming to the meetings and participating in the democratic theater.
Goodlatte said he plans to hold a series of "tele-town halls" that will allow thousands to participate and ask questions about the health care issues. He said he will also announce a series of in-person town halls next week.
Local and national groups are encouraging people to attend these town hall meetings and vocalize their displeasure or support.
Goodlatte said that a number of political groups are working to generate enthusiasm on each side of the issue. He noted that Americans For Prosperity has done a lot of work in opposition to the proposed bill, while Organizing For America has pushed in favor of it.
But most of those who are calling his office are doing so on their own initiative, he said.
"I definitely think these are people engaging because of their own concerns on the issues," Goodlatte said.
The Roanoke Tea Party had an organizational meeting scheduled for Saturday to encourage members to sign up for various rally opportunities.
Vocal opposition isn't saved for town hall meetings.
The American Liberty Alliance is planning a "Recess Rally" on Aug. 22. It's encouraging people to rally at the offices of each member of Congress and deliver a letter stating their opposition.
"These events will represent a strong statement that we've been pushed to the edge and simply cannot be pushed any further," said a description of the event on the Web site www.recessrally.com.
While media coverage and snippets from late-night talk shows show angry protesters around the country yelling at their representatives in Congress, Gibson said there isn't one side that dominates.
There are people voicing their support and opposition at the meetings. The town halls have proven that there can be a civil and respectful forum for all sides to be heard, he said.
Some groups are organizing protests, but others such as MoveOn are organizing groups to attend meetings across the country and support health care reform.
On its Web site, MoveOn has suggestions for questions to ask as well as signs to download and display at town hall meetings.
The National Education Association and its local Virginia chapter have teamed up with the Main Street Alliance to finance a television commercial thanking Perriello for his work on health care reform.
The commercial will run in the Roanoke market through Tuesday.
The town hall meetings will serve not only the voters, who can get their questions answered and voices heard, but members of Congress as well. Some have not decided how they will vote and are using the meetings to get a feel for what their constituents are thinking.
Perriello told a crowd in Bedford last weekend that he does not support the bill as it stands. But he said he hopes changes are made to the bill so that he can support it by the time it comes up for a vote in September.
He said he will not support a bill that includes federal funding for abortions or a single-payer system.
Boucher said he prefers a health care cooperative owned and operated by its members rather than a government-run system.
Both would serve the same purpose: to serve as a check on the prices that private insurance companies charge policy holders, he said. But he thinks the cooperative opens the door to more bi-partisan cooperation.
In an Aug. 3 statement, Goodlatte called the proposal "misguided" and called for "common sense health care reforms."
Reform has to start by making health care affordable and accessible, Goodlatte said in the statement on his Web site.
"To accomplish this goal, we must start by eliminating the unnecessary waste, fraud and abuse in our current health care system," he said. "We must focus on prevention and wellness programs to help prevent costly procedures."
Goodlatte is also calling for medical liability reform.
The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the proposal when the session resumes in September.
Upcoming town mall meetings
Rep. Rick Bocher
9 a.m. Tuesday at Edwards Hall, New River Community College, Dublin
9 a.m. Thursday at Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, Abingdon
Rep. Tom Perriello
11 a.m. Aug. 29 at The Franklin Center, 50 Clairborne Ave., Rocky Mount
