Howard Greninger
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
More than 30 people rallied Thursday in front of the Terre Haute office of U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-Evansville, with one message – vote no on a health care overhaul bill.
Meanwhile, the AARP took out full-page ads Thursday asking Ellsworth to vote yes on the same bill. In addition, Health Care for America Now and Catholics United began television ads in the 8th Congressional District targeting Ellsworth, plus 10 other congressional districts in support of the health care bill.
Ellsworth remained undecided Thursday on how he will vote on the health care bill.
“The details of the final bill and the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis on the costs and savings to Hoosier taxpayers was just released. I am still carefully reading them,” Ellsworth said in a statement Thursday.
“I’m looking to see whether it meets my principles for reform: It has to lower costs, provide more choice to consumers, cover pre-existing conditions and not add one penny to the deficit,” the congressman said.
“As I have said from the very beginning, I will not support a bill if I believe it would result in federal funding for abortions. I am looking carefully at the current language in the bill to ensure it meets my pro-life principles, and I will continue to work to ensure pro-life concerns are addressed,” Ellsworth said.
Catholics United, in a release Thursday, said taxpayer funding of abortion is “expressly prohibited” in the pending health care legislation, and that the bill has earned the support of a broad swath of the Catholic community.
“As a pro-life Catholic, I call on Congressman Ellsworth to do what’s best for Hoosiers and support reform,” said Sister Sharon Dillon, a South Bend Franciscan Sister. “The reform bill before the House will save lives, support families and uphold existing laws which prevent taxpayer dollars from being used to pay for abortions.”
Chris Korzen, executive director of the pro-life Catholics United, said, “It is absolutely essential that our leaders and their constituents are fully informed about how this bill will protect life and support our hard-working families.”
House Democrats plan to vote Sunday on a $940 billion, 10-year health care plan that would provide coverage to 32 million people now uninsured through a combination of tax credits for middle-class households and an expansion of the Medicaid program for low-income people.
Release of the legislation on Thursday set the stage for a House vote on Sunday, and Democrats have already signaled they plan to go it alone, without Republican support. The GOP has steadfastly opposed President Obama’s plan from the outset.
It would restructure one-sixth of the economy, covering 95 percent of eligible Americans, in the biggest expansion of the social safety net since Medicare was created in 1965. It would also impose new obligations on individuals and businesses, requiring for the first time that most Americans carry health insurance and penalizing medium-sized and large companies that don’t provide coverage for their workers.
Jean Dell of Greencastle was among those rallying in front of Ellsworth’s office urging a vote against the plan.
“I think it is a takeover of our health care system. We do need reforms, but there was a chance to compromise with the Republicans, but they [Democrats] didn’t want to do that, but just want to push this whole thing on us,” Dell said.
“We feel like no one has been listening to us, but just call us names and belittle us. We are just ordinary citizens trying to express our opinions. We are very much worried about this health care takeover, because we know that when you add a whole bunch more people to an already failing system, it can’t work,” Dell said.
“First, they will raise taxes. When that won’t work, then they will have to start rationing health care, just like they do in other countries. It will not work here any better than it is in Canada or the United Kingdom,” Dell said.
Jerry Hodge, a resident of Kingman and a Marine vet from the Vietnam War, had a handmade sign attached to back of his electric wheelchair, which read “ELLSWORTH – If you vote yes, you can collect unemployment next year.”
Hodge said he has talked with Ellsworth about health care.
“I just want him to vote no for this health care. He is one of the few who can swing the vote and we want him to know that the people don’t want it. The very few that do want it are people who don’t understand that is taking rights away,” Hodge said. “It turns us into a socialist country. We are almost to that point now. People have been asleep too long.”
Steve Westell of Cloverdale, a former state conservation officer and one of eight Republican candidates for the Eighth District, voiced concern that “deep in this health care bill is also the student loan takeover, where there will no longer be any private student loans,” he said.
“The government will be in charge of all student loans. It is all about control and that is what they want the health care bill for and I think the American people have clearly stood up and said they don’t want this,” Westell said.
“These representatives forget that they serve us, we don’t serve them. We put them in office to represent us, and for some reason, they go to Washington and they forget that. I think it is time, as American people, we hold them accountable and throw them out of office and take our House back,” Westell said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Howard Greninger can be contacted at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
