Puerto Rico Ping! Please Freepmail me if you want on or off the list.
Posted on 03/22/2010 10:16:07 AM PDT by Ebenezer
(English-language translation)
San Juan - Governor Luis G. Fortuño expressed gratitude today for the U.S. House of Representatives' modifications that improve the federal healthcare reform dispositions regarding the territories, while at the same time acknowledging that "work needs to be done".
The Puerto Rican Governor maintained that the federal healthcare reform reconciliation bill approved last night by the federal House contains substantial improvements in the treatment and the assigning of funds the island will receive.
Prior to the vote, the Governor had stated that the legislation would involve assigning $8.624 billion in Medicaid funds to the island over the next 9 years and that it allowed for the requested flexibility regarding the use of the funds.
Fortuño had announced the island's inclusion in the creation of new Health Insurance Exchange Centers, with an assignment of $925 million to the budget.
"The approved federal legislation will be an additional tool we will use to improve healthcare services for all Puerto Ricans," the Puerto Rican Governor said while stressing that his commitment "is to strengthen the government's healthcare program and create programs to make quality, reasonably-priced healthcare services more accessible to the middle class."
He added that the changes to the federal legislation make the healthcare plan more attractive to the territories, including Puerto Rico.
"Although we will still receive less than we would receive if Puerto Rico were a state, it's a significant improvement compared to President Obama's original proposal.["] Likewise, he pointed out that ["]working as a single team, we accomplished this important step.["]
[Fortuño] stressed that thanks to "excellent teamwork", in which Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi did an "extraordinary job", as well as the support of other sectors and congressional leaders, Puerto Rico's inclusion was accomplished.
The Governor urged the U.S. Senate to adopt these modificiations as soon as possible.
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I have no respect for Fortuño, enamored as he is with Obama-inspired socialized medicine.
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This is from the “handout capital of the world, PR”!
Puerto Rico Ping! Please Freepmail me if you want on or off the list.
Maybe we will have to buy new birth certificates in September because the ones issued in July are not valid as well.
He may be conservative in a Puerto Rican context, and obviously his first audience is the island. He is probably a social conservative, and in the island context a fiscal conservative.
But he is making it clear that he is not GOP or conservative in the sense that we mean it, which is classic liberal constitutionalism.
After his dust-up with the island unions I was ready to promote him for national office, but I realize I’ll have to rethink that.
It is disheartening to see that pro-statehood leaders in Puerto Rico, especially those who identify themselves with the Republican Party, have embraced Big Brother.
But then, isn’t the government the largest employer in the island?
I don't recall ever thinking of receiving medical care through the government system when I was growing up in Puerto Rico.
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