2007 - House and Senate Bill HR-976
The expansion of S-CHIP
AKA: Tax the shit out of smokers, say it’s for the children.
The Gist of this Bill
Most of you should be aware of this bill - proposed to expand S-CHIP, the federal government’s program to insure uninsured children.
Anyone who’s examined this bill’s guts at all will know that it is a very ill-conceived attempt to expand the governments role in healthcare - with a great deal of graft for many agencies and private interests. The bulk of this bill’s overt effort would be to provide government funded healthcare to children of parents who can afford private healthcare.
All of this funded exclusively on the backs of smokers. And not just cigarette smokers: cigars, pipe tobacco, loose tobacco, smokeless tobacco and tobacco-use items, like wrapping papers - all getting steep tax increases.
Additionally, many economists agree that this funding for this expansion is untenable - eventually, other taxes would need to be raised to pay for this bill.
This bill is such a poor concept, that one can only believe that the reasons for it’s proposal and HUGE media push is that:
- It was an excuse to push toward universal (i.e. government) healthcare
- It was an excuse to raise taxes; and on the easiest target to raise taxes on: Smokers
- It was, plain and simple, an attack on Smokers.
- It was purely an attempt to make Republicans and the President look bad.
The Congressional Action
Both houses of congress passed this bill - the Senate by a large margin and the House by a narrow margin. The President, bless him, vetoed it. The House held a veto override vote for this bill and, blessedly, came up a few votes shy of overriding.
Democrat leaders have re-introduced the bill, with slight changes, but always with the same massive tax increase. So far, they have been unsuccessful in a veto-proof passage.
What this vote should tell you
This whole mess should serve as a litmus test for our elected representatives, for their reasons in supporting this bill pretty much are one of the following:
- They are primarily interested in playing politics, for this bill was unquestionably designed to hurt
the President and Republicans
- They want to raise taxes, and just want an excuse to do so.
- They hate smokers - and will support anything that does so.
- They are weak - and the principles that they were elected on fell to the tired media blitz of
“for the children”.
- They are patently stupid.
What you should do with this Information
Below are comprehensive lists of all House and Senate members who are GUILTY in voting yes to this bill. What should you do with this information:
- If your congressmen is NOT on this list, write him and thank him for voting against it; and tell him to continue to vote NO to this kind of crap.
- If your congressmen IS ON this list,
- Write him and lambast him for his support of this lousy and expensive piece of legislation
- Keep his name in mind so that you know who NOT to vote for in Party primaries (early 2008)
and the General Election (November 2008).
Find your congressmen’s contact information at these links:
House of Representatives Senate
This should go without saying, but I think it needs to be said. If, come the 2008 elections, you smoke and you vote for any of the below guilty persons, you are shooting yourself in the foot. Don’t be a fool - remember who is guilty and DON’T vote for them in the next election.
