Tuesday, August 11, 2009 @ 9:30am
Open House Town Meeting
HACC – Lebanon Campus, Multipurpose Room
735 Cumberland Street
Lebanon, PA 17042

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 @ 3:45 pm
Open House Town Meeting
Bucknell University, Trout Auditorium
701 Moore Avenue
Lewisburg, PA 17837

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 @ 8:30 am
Open House Town Meeting
The Penn Stater, President’s Hall 4
215 Innovation Boulevard
State College, PA 16803-6603

Thursday, August 13, 2009 @ 3:00 pm
Open House Town Meeting
Belmont Complex
415 Butler Road
Kittanning, PA 16201

Quoted:
Amendment Number:  S.Amdt. 1618 to S. 1390 (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010)  

Statement of Purpose:  To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to allow citizens who have concealed carry permits from the State in which they reside to carry concealed firearms in another State that grants concealed carry permits, if the individual complies with the laws of the State.

Casey (D-PA), Yea

Specter (D-PA), Nay

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about health care reform. I appreciate hearing from all Pennsylvanians about the issues that matter most to them.

Over the last several months, my staff and I have met with and heard from literally tens of thousands of constituents across Pennsylvania with their comments and suggestions about health care reform. There are many strong opinions on this issue, and while we may not always agree, please be assured that your comments are very important to me, and I always appreciate hearing from you.

I believe that we cannot afford to wait any longer to reform America’s health care system. The cost of inaction is too high: every day, more and more Americans are losing their health insurance. Millions more are underinsured, inadequately protected against a potential serious health problems. As a member of the United States Senate and of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), I am working with my colleagues and with President Obama to enact meaningful health care reform, with the goal of providing every American with access to high quality, affordable health care. As Congress continues to address health care reform, my priority will be to ensure that the unique health needs of children are met.

Our current system is not sustainable and waiting to act or doing nothing will only make the problems worse. As costs increase, the quality of care will diminish and the ballooning costs incurred by the government and business will endanger America’s fiscal health. The Affordable Health Choices Act, the HELP Committee bill, will reduce costs by emphasizing prevention, cutting waste and modernizing the health care system through quality information technology.

Consumer Protections: Health care reform will not lead to rationing of care for older Americans or those with serious health problems. In fact, the consumer protections included in the HELP Committee bill will make it easier for people with health problems to buy health insurance by:

prohibiting health insurance companies from imposing annual or lifetime caps on coverage;
prohibiting insurers from discriminating against individuals with a preexisting condition;
preventing insurers from dropping individuals who get sick or denying them coverage;
prohibiting discrimination based on gender; and
extending coverage for dependent children up to the age of 26.

Community Health Insurance Plan: To address the need for more choices for Americans, the HELP Committee bill includes a public health insurance option called the Community Health Insurance Plan.
This plan will be one of many plans available to individuals through the Affordable Health Benefit Gateways (exchanges) that will be established in each state.
It will be required to comply with the same rules governing private plans offered through the gateways, and with the same insurance regulations as private insurers.
The Affordable Health Choices Act states clearly in Section 3106, paragraph 2: “NO REQUIREMENT FOR INDIVIDUALS TO JOIN.— Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an individual to participate in a community health insurance option, or to impose any penalty for non-participation.” No individual will be required to join the public option at any time

Making Health Insurance Affordable: The HELP Committee bill includes provisions to help low- and moderate-income individuals and families buy insurance, and makes it easier for small businesses to provide coverage for their employees.
The HELP bill includes assistance for families making up to 400% of the federal poverty level.
The HELP bill exempts small businesses (under 25 employees) from the employer mandate, and the Finance bill, which does not include an employer mandate, includes a tax credit for small businesses that provide health insurance for their employees.
The differences in these provisions will be worked out in the final bill that will be sent to the Senate floor.

Improving Medicare: The Finance Committee bill makes important changes to the Medicare program that will make it financially stronger while moving from a payment system based on the quantity of care to one based on the quality of care. Furthermore, this bill takes many important steps to help both beneficiaries and providers under Medicare.
This bill establishes value based purchasing for physicians and hospitals. Currently, both are paid based on the number of specific services provided even if the services do nothing to truly benefit the patient. Under this new system, a percentage of the reimbursements hospitals and physicians receive will be based on the quality of care they provide. This will prompt better health outcomes for patients while saving money for the Medicare program.
This bill provides incentives for providers to work together in accountable care organizations or medical homes to coordinate the care they provide a patient. Current payment systems often discourage such care coordination. Experience shows when providers in different settings such as doctor’s offices, hospitals, nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities work together, patients receive better care and costs in the system are decreased.
This bill institutes a 50 percent discount on prescription drugs to older citizens who enter the donut hole in Medicare Part D. This important change will help guarantee Medicare beneficiaries have access to the medications they need to stay healthy and out of the hospital.

Outside of healthcare reform, the Senate is working to repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) that helps set physician payment rates under Medicare and TRICARE. On October 13, 2009, Senator Stabenow introduced the Fair Medicare Payment Act, which eliminates the SGR, and I was proud to be one of the first cosponsors of this important bill.
On July 15, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions successfully reported out our bill, the Affordable Health Choices Act, and on October 13, the Committee on Finance reported out their bill, the America’s Healthy Futures Act. The leadership of the HELP and Finance Committees are currently working with Majority Leader Reid to merge the two bills for consideration before the full Senate. Please be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind as Congress continues to work on health care reform. For more information, and to read the text and summaries of the bills, please visit my website at http://casey.senate.gov and my blog at http://casey.senate.gov/about/blog/.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.

If you have access to the Internet, I encourage you to visit my web site, http://casey.senate.gov. I invite you to use this online office as a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.

Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator

Quoted:
The following PA representatives voted FOR the health care bill:

Robert A. Brady (D-1)
Chaka Fattah (D-2)
Kathy Dahlkemper  (D-3)
Joe Sestak (D-7)
Patrick J. Murphy (D-8) (so much for counting on blue dogs)
Chris Carney (D-10)
Paul E. Kanjorski (D-11)
John P. Murtha (D-12) DEAD
Allyson Schwartz (D-13)
Mike Doyle (D-14)

The following voted AGAINST:

Jason Altmire (D-4)
Glenn Thompson  (R-5)
Jim Gerlach  (R-6)
Bill Shuster (R-9)
Charlie Dent (R-15)
Joe Pitts (R-16)
Tim Holden (D-17)
Tim Murphy (R-18)
Todd Platts (R-19)

Quoted:
The following PA representatives voted FOR the health care bill:

Robert A. Brady (D-1)
Chaka Fattah (D-2)
Kathy Dahlkemper  (D-3)
Joe Sestak (D-7)
Patrick J. Murphy (D-8) (so much for counting on blue dogs)
Chris Carney (D-10)
Paul E. Kanjorski (D-11)
John P. Murtha (D-12) DEAD
Allyson Schwartz (D-13)
Mike Doyle (D-14)

The following voted AGAINST:

Jason Altmire (D-4)
Glenn Thompson  (R-5)
Jim Gerlach  (R-6)
Bill Shuster (R-9)
Charlie Dent (R-15)
Joe Pitts (R-16)
Tim Holden (D-17)
Tim Murphy (R-18)
Todd Platts (R-19)

Reciprocity is one thing: Pennsylvania has formal gun-license reciprocity agreements with 14 states. If you have a permit to carry a concealed weapon here, you can carry that concealed weapon into other states. This summer, a federal amendment that would have loosened the laws even more was defeated, thanks in part to a vote by Sen. Arlen Specter.

Source: Philadelphia Daily News. February 12, 2010. Page 17. Op-Ed column Florida 'Gun Birds'

Quoted:

Residents cry foul over ballots

A trio of Bucks County residents backed by the county Republican committee say they have evidence linking Democratic Congressman Patrick Murphy's campaign to a scheme to flood the county voter registration office with fraudulent applications for absentee ballots.  ....

Quoted:



IMHO....Casey in `12 and Altmire, Critz next cycle and a number of state reps around the Pittsburgh and Phila. area who are progressive puppets that are very anti 2A. Nationally nobama needs to go

"I could not support it as it stands now, with the education cuts,” state Rep. William Adolph, R-Delaware,

Quoted:
If ever there was a time to revive this thread, it is now.

As of now, it looks like Toomey is on our side and Casey supports a ban.


Post the positions of your reps (federal or state) when you find out.  We must hold them accountable.