Rep. Lummis looking forward to August District Work Period Meg Lanker
Wednesday, August 5, 2009 12:21 PM MDT
The U.S. House of Representatives recessed Monday for August, but for Rep. Cynthia Lummis-R, Wyo., it’s anything but a break.
The website for the U.S. House calls the break the “Summer District Work Period,” and bills it in news releases as a chance for representatives to meet with constituents, hold town hall meetings, and gear up for the next session.
Lummis said in an interview with The Underground Friday she is looking forward to meeting with constituents in Wyoming and discussing issues important to them. “I have, I believe, six town hall meetings, multiple interviews with the press and many constituent meetings,” she said.
With a vote on health care reform looming large in September, Lummis is using August to prepare for discussions on the House floor. Lummis does not support the health care plan the Democrats are proposing, and instead, supports the ten-point plan set forth by Sen. Mike Enzi R-Wyo.
“Sen. Enzi’s ten steps, which are laid out in bullet points on his website, are, in fact, extremely comprehensive, well thought-out, well fleshed-out, and have a lot of support on a bipartisan basis here in Congress,” Lummis said. “Sen. Enzi’s work is highly respected, and is based on years of experience.”
According to Enzi’s website, the “Ten Steps to Transform Health Care in America” include providing cross-state pooling to reduce health care costs and increase accessibility for small business owners, individuals, and families; increasing affordable options for families to purchase health insurance through a standard tax deduction; and emphasizing preventive benefits.
Lummis is using the time in August to read the entire proposal authored by House Democrats and said the proposal is a “1000-page plus” bill. She said she has not seen what it covers in its entirety, but said, “I do know this – it creates at least 31 new government agencies, and has a health commissioner that will decide whether the plan I have meets their criteria.”
Lummis is concerned about portability of health insurance and potential penalties to employers. “One of the employers I talked to in Wyoming, a physician’s office, went through the Democrats’ bill and found out it would be cheaper for them to pay the eight percent penalty and shift their own employees onto the government plan rather than provide the insurance they have now,” said Lummis. “The President’s express notion that if you like your insurance you can keep it is not embodied in the Democrats’ bill.”
Proponents of the health care plan disagree, including Milt Shook, a former Washington D.C. paralegal-turned-author who read the entire bill and purports to debunk many of the Republican Party’s statements on the health care bill on his website. Referring to the eight percent penalty, Shook said, “The section [on penalties to employers] only refers to any employer who doesn't offer any insurance to his employees. If they offer either private insurance or the public insurance, they do not have to pay the 8%, regardless of the size of their payroll.”
However, if the employer’s payroll is over $400,000 a year, the eight percent payroll tax would kick in, potentially affecting small business owners who may find it cheaper to pull the current insurance and not offer the government’s health care public option. In this case, an employee could enroll in the public option and pay an amount indexed to the employee’s current yearly pay.
Lummis is also worried about whether or not people could keep their current insurance in all circumstances. “Yesterday [Thursday], in the House Energy and Resources committee, a number of Republicans offered amendments to that bill to make sure the bill allows you to keep your insurance if you like it, and all of those amendments were defeated,” she said. “I have serious reservations, and am in fact, opposed to the Democrats’ health care bill as it is written now and am very concerned about the notion of a public plan and how it could bring about lower quality health care and health care rationing.”
Lummis acknowledged people are seeing somewhat of a rationing due to high health care costs, but said the plan will bring about “more serious rationing on a broader level.” She said, “My big concern is that it will not elevate opportunities for those who cannot currently afford insurance, but will instead decrease opportunities for affordable health care for those who do have insurance.”
Lummis also supports a review of the reimbursements doctors and hospitals receive under current Medicare and Medicaid fee schedules. “I know from visiting with Wyoming hospitals and Wyoming doctors that they are under-reimbursed,” said Lummis. “It’s critical, that for Medicare to perform properly, that we level the playing field in order to ensure the long-term health of the Medicare system.”
She said that fixing Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements is particularly important for Wyoming, since some providers have stopped accepting Medicare and Medicaid – reducing the number of already limited providers available to patients.
“I want our doctors and our hospitals reimbursed at rates that will allow them to continue to take Medicare patients as Wyoming people age, as our population ages,” said Lummis. “Health care reform will be my highest priority when I return in the fall.”
Numerous energy issues are on the table as well. Lummis opposed the cap-and-trade bill, called the “Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009,” and was uneasy about promises made by Democrats in the House that the bill would not increase energy costs for the average consumer.
Lummis emphasized the need for Washington to look to Wyoming for energy resources including solar power and uranium for nuclear power. “We are number one in uranium reserves and I am a big supporter of nuclear energy. It is the most abundant, zero-emissions source of energy our country has,” she said.
She cited large numbers of nuclear plants in Europe as an example of implementation that could take place in the U.S. “Currently nuclear power produces 20 percent of the electricity in this country, and without it, we will not be able to meet the kinds of standards that are required under the cap-and-trade bill,” she said.
Democrats and Republicans alike in Wyoming – and the rest of the U.S. – worry about storing nuclear waste as a by-product of a nuclear power plant, but Lummis supports other renewable energy resources such as solar and wind power, calling solar power an “efficient energy source” that Wyoming could lead the way in developing. She said, “Our moderate, cooler temperatures allow solar panels to operate more efficiently. That’s an area where I see tremendous growth for Wyoming.”
Lummis acknowledged the need for clean energy development to reduce air pollution, especially in urban areas. “Urban communities like Los Angeles do have higher rates of asthma, and that’s tied to things like automobile emissions. Whether or not a person believes in global warming, these issues must be addressed.”
She is working with other legislators to draft and sponsor numerous bills to benefit Wyoming residents. Before the House recess, Lummis introduced the “Statewide Public Television Access Act,” which will allow DISH Network subscribers in Wyoming to have access to Wyoming Public Television.
Many subscribers in Wyoming receive their public television from Denver, Salt Lake City, or Rapid City, SD. According to Lummis, federal law prohibits satellite television subscribers from receiving Wyoming Public Television, but this new bill would attempt to change that.
Lummis cited the bill as an example of reaching across the aisle in an environment that she said is divided along party lines. She is the lead sponsor, with three Democrats and three Republicans co-sponsoring the bill on public television access.
Wyoming PBS features programming relevant to the state. According to the Wyoming PBS website, one popular series, Main Street, Wyoming, highlights the uniqueness of Wyoming’s communities, history and people. During the election cycles, Wyoming PBS also features local candidate forums and debates – unavailable to those subscribers who have DISH network.
“Over half of the Wyoming counties do not get access to Wyoming Public Television. And, I believe, 18 other states are in the same boat as Wyoming – where you cannot get your own public television within the four corners of your state,” Lummis said. “When you have so many Wyoming residents getting their public television from neighboring states, it’s not possible to have a cohesive community dialogue.”
Lummis also pointed out the bill would allow for easier access to local news, weather and sports and said it did not make sense that residents don’t already receive Wyoming PBS.
August has already been packed full by Lummis’ staff with what she called a “near-campaign schedule.” She said, “I just can’t wait to be back home in Wyoming. This will be a great opportunity to get feedback from the people I represent, so when I do come back in September, I have wise counsel and good Wyoming common-sense to carry back with me.”
However, Lummis does plan to take some time to relax after a grueling House session full of discussions on controversial issues by going fishing. After describing her schedule, she chucked and said, “I would just love to be able to stand in a stream and drown a fly.”
The U.S. House will reconvene after Labor Day in September.
