Why Are My Tax Dollars Being Used for Peter Roskam’s Campaign Mail?

On October 11, 2009, in Healthcare, Peter Roskam, by RSR
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I received this expensive-looking over sized mailer from Peter Roskam a couple of days ago. Says it contains “important facts and information”. “Dated information”, it tells me, “read today”. This must be it. This must be Peter Roskam’s plan to make sure that all Americans receive adequate quality healthcare. Maybe he’s finally doing the job we pay him for. Maybe he’s studied the situation and decided a public option makes sense after all. Lets see.

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Nope. No plan here.  Just a picture of Peter with an ugly tie. Says he wants “real bipartisan reforms”. Doesn’t want a public option – that would put bureaucrats in charge of my family’s healthcare.  Hmm. That sounds a lot like the same old crap we’ve been hearing from the Republicans who’ve been trying to block healthcare reform in Congress. “Bipartisan” means do whatever we want and what our campaign donors from the healthcare industry want or else. Says the status quo is unacceptable. Things must change by remaining exactly the same, withour healthcare in the hands of giant corporations. Not a government plan like in those commie countries – like England and Switzerland.

There’s another picture of Peter smiling next to a nurse taking a small child’s blood pressure while mom looks on. Everybody is smiling. Blood pressure taking is fun.  (We hear from usually reliable sources at the hospital that Peter devoured this child for lunch moments after the picture was taken – solving the healthcare crisis one child at a time).

There’s a note under the photo that brags about Peter’s $1.1 million in earmarks for local healthcare facilities since 2007. Yes, that’ll solve the problem. Well maybe Peter’s plan is on page 3. Let’s take a look.

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Well this looks familiar. We’ve seen this before. Over and over. Pretty nebulous. Doesn’t say anything concrete about what he’s going to do this year to ensure that those people without health insurance can get coverage and those who have it can get covered for pre-existing conditions or deal with increasingly unaffordable co-payments and deductibles and how they can keep insurance when they lose or leave their job. Maybe that’s on the next page. Lets see.

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No its not here.  Just some stuff telling me that this was paid for with my money. And instructions on how to get hold of Peter if I need help.

I guess that must be the plan. If you don’t have insurance, if your coverage is being denied because of a pre-existing condition, if your deductibles are too high, if you want to move to a new job but can’t afford to lose your insurance – just call Peter Roskam’s office and he will help you. (630) 893-9670. I guess its not really the plan I hoped for.

So, I have to say, this pretty much looks like a campaign piece. There’s really no information here. This is Peter Roskam using his constituents hard-earned money to lobby them in order to defeat the Democratic healthcare reform plan that would otherwise benefit them. That’s pretty twisted. But then so is Roskam.

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Taxpayer-funded Junk Mail from Peter Roskam on Healthcare Reform

On September 22, 2009, in Healthcare, Peter Roskam, by RSR
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Received this in the mail today from Peter Roskam. It angers me for a number of reasons:

  • Peter Roskam is using public funds, our tax dollars, to produce this drivel. This is pretty clearly a mailing aimed at self-promotion and advocating a political stance against the Democratic efforts at healthcare reform. While it is doubtful that any rules have been violated, Roskam, who likes to portray himself as a vigorous protector of our tax dollars, should be ashamed of spending our money on this crap. He should be using campaign funds.
  • Roskam’s piece is aimed at convincing the gullible that he actually gives a damn about healthcare. He has been a consistent opponent of expansion of healthcare access during his tenure and is currently working vigorously to obstruct any reform from happening this year.
  • Roskam’s piece says he called me but missed me. That is not true. I received and answered 3 calls from his robo-caller but was not permitted to join the tele-townhall, probably because I am not on the list of safe voters.

The mailing included a post card which Roskam asks you to send back expressing your opinions on healthcare, probably as an aide to his staff in further refining the lists of safe participants for future townhall meetings.

I am posting my reply card here because I spend all my money on this web site and can’t afford a stamp. And I don’t have franking privileges.

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Peter Roskam’s Hypocritical Stance on Earmarks, Health Care

On May 13, 2008, in Earmarks, Healthcare, Peter Roskam, Reagan 21, by RSR
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A news item at Peter Roskam’s House web site dated May 12 announces that Roskam was honored yesterday by Adventist GlenOaks Hospital in Glendale Heights for having “secured” $190,000 for their new “no-wait” emergency room. At the same time, the hospital dedicated the ER’s radiation facilities to the late Rep. Henry Hyde, Roskam’s predecessor for his work on behalf of the advancement of medical care in the district”, referring, of course, to his tireless efforts to interject the federal government into the relationship between women and their physicians. But I digress.

Adventist Health System, which operates the hospital in Glendale Heights, as well as others in Bolingbrook, LaGrange, and Hinsdale is one of the largest faith-based health systems in the country. According to the hospital’s web site they are in the midst of a $7 million transformation of their emergency department. Why this $190,000 grant secured by Roskam was necessary is unclear. Its a drop in the bucket relative to the size of the project. It is not a drop in the bucket relative to the taxes I pay, however. I figure its as about 8.6 years of my tax dollars, or about 2.5 years of my labor. Not sure why all that money should be going to Adventist. Seems like they could be paying for this. Maybe $190,000 is the cost of getting someone to name something after Henry Hyde. Or maybe this is just a $190,000 donation to Roskams re-election campaign from us taxpayers.

I am not opposed to earmarks for good purposes. But this one disturbs me for two reasons.

First, because Roskam has spent so much time complaining about the earmark process. In fact, as I have noted previously, Roskam joined Reagan 21, a caucus whose members pledged to end all earmarks. Seems a tad hypocritical.

Second, and most important, Roskam is using this earmark to mislead voters when it comes to his record on health care. Roskam is quoted in the article as saying:

“Ensuring access to quality, affordable health care is one of the biggest concerns of families in my district,” said Roskam. “This is a perfect example of why I went to Congress. Advocating on behalf of the health and well being of my constituents is one of my greatest responsibilities and I am proud to have had a small part in bringing advanced health care to Glendale Heights.”:

But voters in the 6th should understand that Roskam’s legislative record shows him to have been a consistent opponent of Democratic efforts to provide greater access to health care for residents of the district. Peter Roskam has voted repeatedly against the expansion of SCHIP, the children’s health insurance program. Roskam has also voted against parity for mental health services in group health plans. And Roskam has even voted against funding for improved health services for veterans.

So if you live in the 6th and lack acces to affordable health care, don’t be fooled. Roskam has done nothing in his term to help you and shows no inclination to do anything in the future.

Read what Roskam’s opponent, Jill Morgenthaler, has to say about access to health care here.

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