Today in Washington D. C. - June 16, 2009 - Not only no, but NO - NO - NO!

Another Government Approved Non-profit: As commented on yesterday, " just what we need; another NPR / US Post Service type corporation to waste money. Like the U.S. needs to market the US as a travel destination. If there was money in promoting the U.S. a travel destination, don't you think a non-profit would have been created without the US government? Another sinkhole for future tax dollars!" Wonder which Senators really care! Well the Senate today will begin consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 1023, a bill which would “create a privately run nonprofit corporation to market the United States as a travel destination abroad.” Let's watch and see.

National Government Run Health Care: Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a preliminary analysis of the health reform bill being written by Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Chris Dodd (D-CT) through the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. According to Politico the CBO found that the bill “would cost more than $1 trillion over 10 years while still leaving millions of people uninsured” and “that about 37 million people would still go without insurance once the bill is fully implemented, falling far short of President Barack Obama's promise to extend coverage to all Americans.”

This analysis only covers a few portions of the bill, while major provisions remain unwritten. Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell identified today: “Large proposals that will have a significant impact on the cost such as a Medicaid expansion and a government run plan have not even been factored in. Moreover, according to the details of this HELP Committee plan, a newly-created health care exchange would result in 15 million Americans losing the employer coverage they currently have — further evidence that if you like what you have, you may well lose it under a government-run plan. . . . The details we’re seeing from the HELP Committee should make us more skeptical of a government health plan — not less. . . . The irony in this whole debate is that we’re being told America’s fiscal future will be jeopardized if we don’t allow the same people who are proposing these outrageous so-called ‘reforms’ to take over the entire health care system.”

In the Obama quick two step fashion, Americans are being told that this all has to be done quickly. Yesterday, Obama said, “We know the moment is right for health care reform. We know this is a historic opportunity we've never seen before and may not see again.” CQ reported earlier this month that the president urged Senate action on a health bill by August in a meeting with Senate Democrats.

But Americans are likely to recall the last time Congress was urged to spend more than $1 trillion hastily, since it was only four months ago. The economic stimulus bill was pushed through Congress quickly back in February. At the time, President Obama said, “If we do not move swiftly to sign the American recovery and reinvestment act into law, an economy that is already in crisis will be faced with catastrophe. … Millions more Americans will lose their jobs.” Unfortunately, the White House’s predictions that the stimulus would stop the hemorrhaging of jobs from the economy proved untrue. The unemployment rate is now up to 9.4% and 2.9 million jobs have been lost this year.

Americans have also seen the unfortunate, but very predictable consequences of passing such a massive bill on short notice. For the last few months, there has been a steady stream of news reports about waste, fraud, abuse, or simply poor decision-making regarding stimulus money. Today, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has released a list of 100 questionable stimulus projects. The Los Angeles Times reports on just a few of them. “Millions of dollars are going toward bicycle lockers, bike paths, walking trails and a skate park, Coburn said. One town in North Carolina is using stimulus funds to hire an administrator whose job will be to procure more stimulus funds, according to the report.”

Given what we have all seen from the last rush to spend $1 trillion, is it wise for Congress to rush into spending another trillion on a reform that may NOT truly improve health care for Americans and is likely to make it worse? Not only no, but NO - NO - NO!

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