March 29, 2010

Health Care

Last week the Senate passed the health care reform reconciliation package with some small changes that sent it back to the House for one more vote. On Thursday evening the House passed those changes, concluding a lengthy, substantive and at times contentious debate. Over these many months, lots of you have weighed in about this issue that impacts all of us in a very personal way. In the week leading up to last Sunday's health care vote, 8,694 people contacted my offices in Massachusetts and Washington, to share their thoughts about health care. 6,955 (exactly 80%) were from residents of the 8th Congressional District. Of those, 5,600 (80.5%) supported the bill and 1,355 (19.5%) opposed. I thought this quick analysis, while certainly not scientific, was interesting and worth sharing. My offices were open during the weekend of the 20th and 21st to take calls and visits from constituents and those numbers reflect weekend contact as well. So, if you were put on hold, got a busy signal or found a full mailbox, we apologize. We tried to keep up but didn't always succeed. And thank you for caring enough to pass along your thoughts.

As you know by now, I voted YES on health care reform. It wasn't a perfect bill but the benefits for Massachusetts and the country outweighed the negatives. This bill extends coverage to millions more Americans, prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions and creates health insurance exchanges for people to purchase affordable coverage. It also increases funding for Community Health Centers, and makes key investments in training doctors, nurses and other health care providers. And it does all this without harming the interests of Massachusetts. As the vote on health care reform neared, we were able to significantly increase funding coming to Massachusetts and secure other funds that were in jeopardy, resulting in the protection of $4 billion for Massachusetts.

FAA Modernization

On Thursday the House considered Senate amendments to H.R. 1586: the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act. This measure provides funding to modernize the nation's Air Traffic Control system. It increases pilot training requirements, directs the FAA to address over-scheduling issues with airlines, and requires that airlines have specific plans for addressing long tarmac delays. These plans must include insuring passenger access to food, water and clean restrooms, and deplaning if the delay is lengthy.

I voted YES. H.R. 1586 passed and the entire vote is recorded below:

Small Business

On Wednesday the House considered H.R. 4849: Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act. This is another effort to encourage job creation and stabilization. It helps facilitate small business investment by increasing the capital gains cut for those making investments in small business this year. It increases deductions for start-up business costs and it extends Build America Bonds, which will help communities finance projects like school reconstruction, sewer repair and transit initiatives.

I voted YES. H.R. 4849 passed and the entire vote is recorded below:

What's Up Next

The House has a scheduled District Work Period. Next votes are expected on Tuesday April 13th.