Did Hoyer break his promise?

Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

On Nov. 6, several Americans for Prosperity Southern Maryland chapter members met with a senior staff member from Congressman Steny Hoyer's office in Waldorf.

This was a very frank meeting as we explained that we are a limited-government, free-market advocacy group promoting these values across Southern Maryland. We also expressed our concerns with the direction of the country and touched on the issues of health care, cap and trade and the national debt.

The discussions were fairly one-sided as we spoke of our concerns and the staff member listened and took notes. Our questions were answered succinctly with few surprises. We confessed that we are one of many groups that organize and participate in tea parties and other rallies but we hoped the staff member saw our group as educated, rational and firm in our convictions. The staff member assured us that Congressman Hoyer would receive a full briefing on the meeting. At the conclusion, we felt some access to our government, but more importantly, we felt we had opened the door for future meetings.

We knew going into the meeting that the congressman wouldn't be available because he was at the U.S. Capitol rallying the rank-and-file Democrats to pass the health care bill. As you know, they passed HR 3962, but the fight is not over. As the Senate considers their version of the bill, we need to call and urge our senators to vote no.

The reason for opposing this bill is because it's too costly when there are other solutions to bringing health care costs down. The Congressional Budget Office says the House bill will cost in excess of $1 trillion. We'll have to wait and see what the Senate bill will cost.

The House expects to pay for the bill by creating new taxes on small businesses and individuals, levying fines and diverting up to $500 billion from Medicare and Medicaid. This is just the cost side of arguing against the bill as there are many aspects of the bill that delve into our personal lives.

One thing worth mentioning is that during the town hall meeting Sept. 2, Congressman Hoyer promised he would not vote for any bill that would raise taxes or the deficit. He voted for this bill and there are many taxes. Shame on you, congressman.

Phil Parenti, Cheltenham

The writer is chairman of the Americans for Prosperity's Southern Maryland chapter.