Dear
Congresswoman Slaughter:
-
As per your August 7, 2009 email, you have made up your
mind to vote for H.R. 3200 before any town hall type meeting with
your constituents by saying,
"...not allow opponents of reform to block our
progress.” I am requesting a meeting (in person) with you to talk
about the health care bill before you vote on it. I would like to
show you in the bill the reasons that I am against
it.
I
would like to express my deep disappointment in your decision
to have a telephone meeting with your constituents instead of
meeting with us in person. A staff member in your office told me that this is
due to your concern over groups that travel the country to various
meetings that might disrupt a meeting that is held in
person. A check of voter registration cards
could help prevent such. How can you represent us properly if you
are unable to meet with us on a whole? Nonetheless, I have requested
to be on the telephone meeting and hope to be called on to
speak.
While at your Rochester office yesterday, I heard you
express in an opened door meeting room that a lot of trouble could
have been saved if Medicaid had just been extended. I could see you
in the meeting with a few others and heard you speaking about the
health care bill. Your space in the federal building is quite small,
it was very quiet, and you were easily heard. I believe your exact
words were, “We could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble if we
had just extended Medicaid.”
From what I heard you say, it is
clear to me that you have come to realize that H.R. 3200 is not the
answer to our nation’s medical problems. Why not take that stand and
vote against the bill?
While
speaking with your office help, I became privy to another piece of
information. I was told that you are currently on your husband’s
Kodak health insurance policy and that you are considering switching
to the health insurance that is offered to members of congress—if
H.R. 3200 becomes law.
To be considering a switch to the
congressional health insurance, if H.R. 3200 becomes law, translates
to me that you are aware of the adverse effects the bill will have
on people who choose to keep their private health insurance coverage
in the event that the bill becomes law.
In
closing, I hope you will come to a district meeting to
discuss the bill if I am able to put one together in this short
period of time. I will contact your office with the details, if such
a meeting does get scheduled. And the press would be invited, as
well.
Sincerely,
Debra J.M. Smith
