Dear Representative:
On behalf of the 362,000 members of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), I urge you to vigorously oppose H.R. 3962, the so-called "Affordable Health Care for America Act." This nearly 2,000-page monstrosity would do nothing to address some of the most fundamental problems in health care today. Instead, it would dramatically raise taxes and expand the size and scope of a federal government that is already far too large.
People of all political persuasions can agree on one thing in this debate: America's health care system is in need of an overhaul. No other country in the world can compete with American technology and innovation in new treatments, but costs have made it difficult for many citizens to afford insurance. Our employer-based insurance system hides the market price of a given service behind a complicated web of bureaucracy and leads to numerous instances of "transitional" lack of coverage when people change or lose jobs. Furthermore, complicated regulations prevent consumers from purchasing any insurance plan they would like to choose. Perhaps most importantly, Medicare and Medicaid have accrued more than $50 trillion in unfunded burdens on future generations.
Rather than confront these issues, the sponsors of H.R. 3962 chose to raise taxes in the middle of a recession in order to hand over an even larger part of America's health care system to one of the most inefficient and untrustworthy entities in existence: our federal government. The cure for our health care woes is not a bill that will cost roughly as much over the next decade as the ENTIRE value of federal revenue in 1988. The cure is also certainly not to be found in more than $500 billion worth of tax hikes, large portions of which will be borne by the true backbone of America's economy: small businesses.
For these and many other reasons, I strongly urge you to oppose H.R. 3962. We undoubtedly face challenges with our health care system, but the best action Congress can take is to fend off the "do-something disease" permeating Washington by heeding the timeless advice: "First, do no harm." Roll call votes on this legislation will receive the highest weight in our annual Rating of Congress.
Sincerely,
Andrew Moylan
Director of Government Affairs