Four commonsense alternatives to Obamacare


On Tuesday, President Barack Obama continued to sell his government takeover of health care to seniors. Despite the Administration’s PR gimmicks, more Americans continue to reject the product, price and process of Obamacare. Since he signed the bill into law on March 23, Americans have seen what “change” looks like, and it is not a healthy picture.

Americans are disappointed that Obamacare will increase health care spending, increase taxes on small businesses, kill jobs, and eliminate Medicare Advantage coverage for millions of senior citizens. Throughout the health care debate, Americans across the nation held shared goals to increase accessibility and affordability. Rather than throw money at the problem, we need to implement reforms that truly lower costs without placing a financial burden on future generations.

Americans want access to their doctors and treatments with less interference from insurance companies, special interests and, of course, Washington bureaucrats. They want the doctor-patient relationship protected. And for those uninsured or with pre-existing conditions, compassionate calls prevail for an affordable approach to help those who truly need coverage.

After much discussion with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I have introduced a bill, H.R. 5421, that repeals Obamacare and replaces it with four commonsense solutions that both Democrats and Republicans can support. Rather than ramming through a 2,700 page unconstitutional, unpopular, and unaffordable piece of legislation, I propose implementing the following incremental changes that the majority of Americans support:

Read More →


America Does Not Need a Government Run Health Care System


Two days and two health care town halls. At least, that was what I had planned for. Instead, as nearly three thousand of my constituents turned out to express their concerns about Obamacare, we held a second town hall each night for the folks who couldn’t get into the first ones. All in all, everyone was passionate but very civil with their questions and comments.

What folks said in my four town halls was akin to what others have been repeating at gatherings all across America. In Clarkesville, I was asked why so many expensive bills – like Obamacare – are being rapidly pushed through Congress. They have concerns that big mistakes will be made if health care reform is rushed through so quickly. I could not agree more.

We have seen hurried mistakes with the recent bank bailouts, the so-called “stimulus,” and cash for clunkers, because they were rammed through Congress with little or no debate. Health care reform impacts a very large part of our economy and our daily lives. Doesn’t Congress owe it to Americans to have an open and meaningful debate that produces a plan supported by a large bipartisan majority? I think it does. But that’s not what the President and Democrat leaders in Congress are doing.

Read More →


Promises Made, Not Kept


Candidate Barack Obama promised the American people more transparency in their government. In fact, BarackObama.com still posts his pledge that, “As President, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days.”

However, the President signed the trillion dollar stimulus bill into law without adequate congressional or public scrutiny. You’d think $1 trillion would buy you time and a better debate — particularly considering that the heavy price tag will be paid for by future generations who do not have a voice in the discussion. Are liberals so fiscally jaded that that the “T” in trillion no longer sounds alarms?

Today, President Obama has the opportunity for redemption by keeping another promise to the American people: veto bills containing earmarks. In Oxford, Mississippi, then Candidate Obama said, “Absolutely we need earmark reform. And when I’m President, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely.” I urge President Obama to keep his promise to reduce wasteful pet projects by vetoing the massive spending bill, loaded with nearly 8,000 earmarks, that the House passed and the Senate is considering. Following this Administration’s failure to keep their promise of transparency during consideration of the stimulus, it is critical for the President to keep his word on earmarks and veto this pork-plagued bill.

Now is the time for the policies of this Administration to reflect, or at least resemble, their rhetoric. We all must work together with the President to deliver immediate relief for families and put America on a path towards economic recovery. However, I am troubled that promises made are not being kept. While I want to work together for solutions, I’m going to sound the alarm on provisions that move America towards socialism and burden hardworking families.


Sanctity of Human Life Act


As we ring in the New Year and begin the 111th Congress, the need to protect the unborn remains front and center in the national political debate. Each year, in keeping with my promise to my constituents, the first bill I introduce provides Constitutional protections to unborn children.

Yesterday, I was proud to introduce the Sanctity of Human Life Act that defines life as beginning at fertilization with the creation of a human zygote. As a physician, I understand the medical and scientific truths that life begins at conception. I also understand that the entire abortion debate rests on the decision of when life begins. That’s why my bill, among other things, says unequivocally that, at the moment of fertilization, a human life begins and must be protected by law.

As James Madison wrote in Federalist 39, the form of our government must be reconcilable with the fundamental principles of the revolution. First among those principles is the right to life. If a nation will not protect the most innocent of human beings, what will it protect?

Concerned citizens and lawmakers must keep this fundamental principle in mind as we work fervently to protect the rights of the unborn. When I was a full-time doctor, I served on a board of directors for a crisis pregnancy center in the inner city of Atlanta which fought to save the babies of underprivileged moms. Now, as a United States Representative, I am using the tools my constituents have blessed me with to protect life and give Constitutional protections to the innocent unborn.

My bill, the Sanctity of Human Life Act, gives Republicans and Democrats alike who cherish life an opportunity to protect and defend the innocent and most defenseless among us.