While in China yesterday, President Barack Obama suggested that more debt would erode confidence in the American economy. In an interview he said, ‘If we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the U.S. economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession.’
Each year, Congress provides a doc fix to prevent substantial payment cuts to physicians who treat Medicare patients. I have always supported legislation to prevent these cuts from taking place, but this year’s bill includes $210 billion in additional spending with no plans to pay for it. With our nation already $12 trillion in debt, this is not a responsible approach. Republicans proposed an alternative measure that would prevent cuts to physician reimbursements without increasing the deficit, and would be paid for in part by savings from medical liability reform.
The Senate voted last month with a wide bipartisan majority against a similar measure that failed 47 to 53 and will not pass the House version. This vote is a ‘political gimmick’ to give House Democrats the appearance that they are providing a solution for doctors, but it will not actually fix this problem. A better approach would be to replace the current outdated formula that is used to calculate the annual reimbursement rate.
If the Democrats were serious about fixing these reimbursements, they would have included it in the health care reform bill that they rammed through the House. Instead, it was intentionally left out to lower the cost so Democrats could get enough votes to pass Pelosi’s health care bill. There are moments where Congress must put the health of the nation above one group or another – this is one of them.
We must control spending and quit this reckless borrowing. President Obama had to reassure our largest foreign lender, the Chinese government, on his administration’s plans for the deficit and how health care spending will impact it. China wants evidence that we have a plan to pay them back, and they are worried we will default on what we owe other countries. Piling on $210 billion of new debt will hurt the economy and slow growth even more.
Rep. Zach Wamp
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So Zach Wamp now says that it is time to stop piling debt on top of debt. I couldn't agree with him more. I just wish he agreed with himself more.
Isn't this the same Zach Wamp who voted for the $700 billion TARP bailout bill just a little over a year ago?
I guess I should give him credit (funny choice of words) for being against it before he was for it. Too bad he couldn't agree with himself that time. I guess big spending is bad when Obama is for it, but it was OK when Bush was for it?
Zach is right about not incurring more debt. But why wasn't he right on that issue about, say, $7 trillion ago? The national debt was "only" about $5 trillion when he took office.
Why has Zach Wamp suddenly "gotten religion" about fiscal conservatism? Why is he suddenly trying to distance himself from his borrow-and-spend record in Congress?
Oh, he's running for governor now ... that's why.
Joe Dumas
Signal Mountain
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Rep. Wamp has a strange way of objecting to our taxes being "piled on".
Rep. Wamp seems to have no problem voting $150 million for a Cuban whiskey company now doing business in Bermuda - Baccardi. Baccardi owns many whiskey companies, is not even a stateside corporation and yet Wamp gave them $150 million of our mortgage banking tax dollars. Since when did our US government start subsidizing Cuban whiskey corporations?
How in the world can he justify handing over $150 million mortgage banking bucks to renegades who sided with Central American terroists against our country? Yet he has a problem with offering medical insurance to US tax-paying citizens.
There is a new word for hypocrisy - it's Wampism.
Chuck Mehan
East Ridge
cbm2006@comcast.net
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No worries, Joe and Chuck, Bill Haslam will be the next governor of the state of Tennessee. I strongly support Mayor Haslam of Knoxville because he understands the financial complexities that municipalities face, where the rubber meets the road my friends, and has earned a living in a real job.
While I appreciate Zach Wamp's criticism of spending, I just wish that he would focus on completing that Chickamauga Dam lock project of 15 years.
April Eidson
E3.Sciences@comcast.net
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I want to take a moment to comment on Congressman Wamp’s recent letter
criticizing the federal debt, and supporting proper medical provider
reimbursements from Medicare. He does serve on the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for allocating all
discretionary spending in the budget process. It's good that he's
speaking out on those issues, but his voting record on major spending
in Congress is very inconsistent.
Although he reluctantly voted for TARP, he voted against his own party
when Medicare expanded prescription drug benefits at a cost of
approximately $1 trillion over 10 years. Despite voting for the
largest expansion of the federal government in history, he also voted
against several budgets submitted by President Clinton in the 1990’s.
More to the point - in the nearly 15 years that Congressman Wamp has
served in the U.S. House of Representatives, 12 bills were presented to raise the debt ceiling, and he voted aye 9 times. That’s a .750 batting average. Unfortunately, this isn’t baseball. That stat means
he’s voted to increase not only the amount of debt, but increase
spending on the fourth largest category (interest on that debt) in the federal budget. This is all from public information available at the Library of Congress.
I am a conservative Republican, but hardly one of the “tea bag” types.
Tennessee resorted to issuing bonds this year, but for essential
government services such as school buildings and economic development
projects. Tennessee’s budget must be balanced, and we pay as we go on
road projects. If elected governor, perhaps he’ll exercise more
consistent fiscal discipline than he’s demonstrated in Congress.
Craig Carroll
Alamo3csc@yahoo.com