Posted on 03/22/2010 7:38:47 AM PDT by Born Conservative
Calling it among top three most difficult votes he has cast in 25 years in Congress, U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski voted for the Democrats' health care reform bill.
In a telephone interview just before the vote, Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, portrayed the bill as essential to the country's economic future. As part of his decision, he extracted a promise that could save local jobs at Sallie Mae's student loan servicing center in Hanover Township, he said.
"If we lose this fight today, it will be 15, 20 years before we get a president and a Congress that would take this on," Kanjorski said.
Kanjorski acknowledged his vote was politically risky because opponents will criticize him, but said the risk is worth it.
He said the bill's effectiveness is unlikely to be known for certain for several years, but "now we have the platform" that can be tweaked by future Congresses the way Social Security was after it passed in the 1930s.
"It didn't cover an awful lot of people. It took nine series of amendments over the years to real make it a very effective piece of legislation. That's going to happen here," Kanjorski said. "There isn't any question in my mind that if we didn't get our arms around medical care, this could be our Waterloo as a country."
Without reform, the uncontrollable costs of health care would damage the American economy and leave the country even less competitive internationally than it is now, Kanjorski said.
"When we bid goods against a Canadian manufacturing company, they get an 8 percent advantage right off the top because our companies have to add their health care costs onto the bid and the Canadian company doesn't," he said.
Kanjorski said he was lobbied heavily by President Barack Obama and especially by Vice President Joseph Biden, with whom he had 20 or 30 telephone conversations.
In a statement, Kanjorski said this bill "is the best we can do at this time."
The bill will improve prescription drug coverage for senior citizens by gradually closing the coverage gap known as the "doughnut hole"; bars federal funding for abortions; creates an exchange to create competition among health insurance plans; forbids discrimination based on pre-existing health conditions; eliminates lifetime caps on care; allows children to remain on their parents' insurance plans until age 26; and "does not empower the federal government to take over health care."
"If people are happy with the insurance they have, nothing needs to change," he said in the statement.
In the interview, Kanjorski said he was certain he would vote yes until two weeks ago when the Obama administration decided to attach a student loan legislation. Under the student loan provisions, the government would stop subsidizing banks to provide student loans and would lend directly to students itself. Obama wants to do that to save the subsidy money for other purposes.
Kanjorski said he opposes direct loans because the government does not do a good job of collecting on them.
But he agreed to go along because Secretary of Education Arne Duncan promised to "use all of the tools within his authority to save those 1,100 jobs in my district" at Sallie Mae.
Duncan could do that by giving loan servicing contracts "to organizations that would commit to locate in areas like my district and several others."
"That doesn't guarantee it absolutely because there isn't any absolute in the law or otherwise, but we had very serious discussion on it," Kanjorski said.
"I'm thoroughly convinced that the district's jobs that would be negatively affected will not be negatively affected."
He declined to say if he would have voted no without the assurance.
He has been there too long. He needs a change!
Go to www.loubarletta.com and donate to get rid of this piece of crap Kanjorski.
Lou Barletta 2010!
“District, jobs, district, jobs, district, jobs”....I guess he might be a little worried about being re-elected.
“He has been there too long. He needs a change!”
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See my post about Lou Barletta. Time to man up and pony up some money.
Already did and will do again!
I gave last time to Lou and will do so this time. Will the idiots in the district still vote for this evil idiot like Murtha’s district?
Obamacare will increase premiums and force people into government run exchanges as employers drop health care insurance for their employees and pay the fines, which are cheaper.
Clearly, it will be a platform for blame on Fascicrats. The bad parts will be owned by the Fascists and the good will be improved by the Republicans. I sure hope there is a good part.
“Kanjo” must be senile.
You all may remember, right after the economic collapse and emergency measured by the Fed, he is the one Rep. that spoke out of school and made statements about the “electronic run on the banks” that had it not been stopped would have “caused the American economy to crash immediately, within 24 hours it would have brought down the world economy as well.” (exact quotes).
Whether he was right or wrong, how in hell can he say what he is saying now, when any intelligent person can see is only going to make our national financial position even more precarious and put the nation further at risk of default?
Senility is the logical answer. Go, Kanjo. Please.
Go Mayor Lou!!!!!
Kanjorski is a fool. Who’s running against him?
Getting rid of Kanjorski and Carney will clean up the NE corner of the state. Toomey should beat Kanjorski and Carney is toast from what I read in the comment section of the Scranton paper after the vote .
Barletta is up against Kanjorski (if both win the primary); Toomey is up for Specter’s Senate seat.
You are right ! Screwed up in the heat of the moment. Beginning to work on bouncing Carney’s a$$ out of district 10 today !
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