ZONE POLITICAL : Senator Reid's Response to Health Care Blog Articles

I always offer my state Senator Harry Reid (NV-D), and House Majority Leader a chance to respond to my blog articles, especially when the topic is directly to something he is spear-heading or directly involved in. Below is the Senator's response, followed by the original blog article prompting the response. I genuinely thank Senator Reid for taking the time to respond to my requests, as he has done over the years. I know both my readers and I appreciate it, even if we do not always agree.

The Senator's Response

November 30, 2009

Mrs. Sandra Bonadonna, Las Vegas, Nevada

Dear Mrs. Bonadonna:

Thank you for contacting me about health care reform. I appreciate hearing from you.

In America today, concerns about our health care system have been rightly brought to the forefront of the national consciousness. Many of us are familiar with the reports of 47 millions of uninsured Americans, escalating prescription drug prices, and declining health insurance benefits. Unfortunately, for too many across Nevada and the country, these facts and statistics are not anonymous findings removed from daily life. As a fellow Nevadan, and as the Senate Majority Leader, I know that millions are struggling with the reality of America's health care crisis.

Amid our health care crisis, however, I believe there are opportunities for members of Congress, the President and his Administration, the private sector, and other stakeholders to work together for the benefit of the American people. It is my hope that the solutions we develop and enact will ensure quality, affordable health care coverage for all Americans-regardless of their age, income, employment, or health status.

During the 111^th session of Congress, we have already made significant improvements to our healthcare and public health systems. For example, in February we passed an expansion and extension of the vital Children's Health Insurance Program (P.L. 111-3), known as Nevada Check Up in our state. This legislation will expand coverage to an additional 4.1 million low-income children across our country. I am also pleased that as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5), billions of dollars have been allocated for health information technology, the National Institute of Health for research and development, and for prevention and wellness programs. In addition, the federal matching payments forstate Medicaid programs have been increased, and a temporary subsidy for COBRA premiums has been implemented to help ease the burden for hard-working families affected by the economic crisis. Finally, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (P.L. 111-31) was signed into law by President Obama on June 22, 2009. This legislation, which I cosponsored, gives the FDA the legal authority necessary to reduce youth smoking, prevent the sale of tobacco to minors, help current smokers quit, reduce the toxicity of tobacco products, and stop the tobacco industry from misleading the public with their understated claims about the dangers of using tobacco products.

We have taken the first steps in a long, arduous journey towards reform, and there is still much more to be done. Please know that as we move forward, I will keep your ideas and concerns in mind. It is my hope that we can make affordable,comprehensive health coverage a reality for so many Americans who are currently struggling to pay their medical bills, and make ends meet. In the meantime, you can track this and other legislation atwww.thomas.gov.

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. For more information about my work for Nevada, my role in the United States Senate Leadership, or to subscribe to regular e-mail updates on the issues that interest you, please visit my Web site athttp://reid.senate.gov. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

My best wishes to you.

Sincerely,

HARRY REID

United States Senator

Nevada

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(I post the response. Please form your own opinions, thoughts, and conclusions as to what is said in the response.)

The Original Blog Article (one of them)

As promised, Senator Reid released the full text of his Health Care Reform Plan in easy to read PDF format. Here is the link to the Senate billH.R.3590

http://democrats.senate.gov/reform/patient-protection-affordable-care-act.pdf

Personally, I do not see the need for 2074 pages of anything, (even some of my high-school teachers and college professors were not that mean as to give me this much reading material in such a short period of time to actually get the reading done - so, it really makes me wonder how all of our elected officials are going to pull of this reading assignment; but I wish you all the best of luck!).

What I do know about this 2074 pager that I will be reading all day is this:

I stand by my previous article as far as my personal opinion in this whole health care nightmare, which I sent to Senator Reid and he has still not replied.

This morning I heard snippets about Senator Reid's bill that included words such as, "medicare tax", "medicare being the public option", and other words that lead me to believe he did get and read the material I sent him, or someone over there in Harry Reid office land did - but first I have to dig through 2074 pages to find out for sure. (an email or response letter as usual would be nicer though). I understand how busy he is though, it must take a very long time to write up over 2000 pages of reading material.

So today I begin reading and I hope you do as well. I encourage all to pick up your phones after you read and tell your elected officials how you feel, whether you are for it or against. It is of the utmost importance to exercise our rights and make our voices heard, but our elected representatives can't read our minds, so pick up the phone and call. If you wonder how to find your Rep, tryhttp://www.google.com/ and type the Senator's or Representative's name and you should easily be able to find a link to their senate.gov or house.gov website and find their contact information.

Have a good day everyone! I will post the House Majority Leader's response when I receive it.