Murray Clark asks legislators to stand up for all Hoosiers to call for slowdown of health care reform legislation

Indiana Republican Party chairman Murray Clark sent a letter to every member of the Indiana congressional delegation on Friday morning, asking on behalf of all Hoosiers for a bipartisan call to “slow the incredibly fast and potential damaging speed” at which health care reform legislation is currently moving in Washington. Receiving the letter were Sens. Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh, and Reps. Pete Visclosky, Joe Donnelly, Mark Souder, Steve Buyer, Dan Burton, Mike Pence, Andre Carson, Brad Ellsworth and Baron Hill.

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The full text of the letter follows, or a PDF version can be viewed by clicking here:

Dear Members of the Indiana Delegation:

Hoosiers around the state are watching with heightened interest as Congress begins the debate on the health care plan proposed by President Barack Obama. As the legislation makes its way through the process, many questions will continue to arise.

As Chairman of The Indiana Republican Party, I could easily write to you today with my own questions, or with a list of reasons why I disagree with the Democrat plan as it stands today. Instead, I write to you today in a bipartisan spirit to ask you to call for a more measured approach to this issue. Hoosiers have many questions, and these questions deserve more than hastily thought out answers.

Over the past week I have watched as the health care legislation proposed by the Democrats has sailed through the normal channels faster than anyone could have predicted. President Obama has called for a bill to pass both chambers in just three short weeks. While arguably a noble goal in his own mind, it seems to me to be extraordinarily rash. It leaves no time to answer the myriad of questions that surround this issue, no time to receive adequate feedback from Hoosier citizens who are counting on meaningful reform, and no time to reach sufficient legislative compromise.

There should be no rush to complete legislation in order to meet arbitrary timelines. Legislation worth doing today is still worth doing in September and October and beyond. Rather, the focus should be on ensuring that Hoosiers have access to affordable health care. Getting legislation done quickly is no substitute for getting it done correctly.

According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, this legislation costs well over $1 trillion, requires an increase in some income taxes by over 5%, and levies an 8% tax on many small businesses that can least afford it. Additionally, many questions remain as to the quality of care under such a system. As a former state legislator myself, I find it extremely troubling that Congress could even attempt to pass such a monstrous bill in such a short span of time.

No matter which party you represent in Congress, you all represent the great state of Indiana. For the sake of all Hoosiers, I hope you’ll join me in a bipartisan call to slow the incredibly fast and potential damaging speed at which this legislation is currently moving.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this letter, and I hope you will act in the best interests of all Indiana citizens.

Sincerely,

J. Murray Clark
Chairman
Indiana Republican Party

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 17th, 2009 at 11:05 am and is filed under Obama, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.