Klein tele-town hall excerpts on illegal aliens, abortion, taxes, Marxism, public option for health care
by George Bennett | August 27th, 2009
Klein
During his “telephone town hall” meeting on health insurance reform Wednesday night, U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, fielded questions on abortion, illegal immigrants, whether there should be a government-run “public option” and whether the proposed overhaul would constitute a drift toward Marxism or socialism.
Klein’s office said about 6,460 people listened in. Seventeen people asked questions during the 70-minute teleconference.
Click here to read an article on the event.
More detailed excerpts are available after the jump….
Some excerpts from U.S. Rep. Ron Klein’s “telephone town hall” meeting on health care reform Wednesday night…
* Responding to questions about illegal aliens getting benefits:
Klein: “This bill clearly excludes illegal aliens. They do not and cannot get any kind of subsidy or benefit out of this bill. There’s a lot of concern about that and I agree with that…I’m not going to support any bill unless it has that language in it, to make sure illegal aliens are not given any subsidy.”
* Caller: “How does the government propose to pay for all the health care it’s talking about?”
Klein: Mentioned the Congressional Budget Office estimated cost of $1 trillion over 10 years and said cuts in pharmaceutical payments, some hospital payments and “overpayments” identified by CBO and auditors would pay for part of the cost.
“The last piece, depending on the size, will be some taxes that have been proposed,” Klein said. He didn’t state a position on any particular tax, but mentioned a proposal to hike income taxes on those earning more than $250,000 a year.
“My bottom line is, I think this needs to be scaled back a little bit and I think we need to get the costs more under control. As I said in the beginning, what’s missing for me is the fact that there is not enough cost containment.”
* Responding to caller who said “right now, we’re just being taxed to death” and expressed concern about the large scale of the bill
Klein: “To me, there are some things in the proposed bill that I like and some I don’t like, so until I’m satisfied I’m not going to be supporting this bill. I’m not quite there yet on saying I’m supporting the bill.”
* On whether federal money would pay for abortion
Klein: “The bill is very specific. There are no federal tax dollars that will fund abortion under the bill. The Hyde Amendment…..already bars federal funding for abortion. It still exists. It will not change. There is nothing in the bill that will change that.”
* Caller: “I do not like a government-run plan. I think we’ve got too much government now….(President Obama has) surrounded himself with people who are Marxists and socialists….I am so concerned that this country is going to lose its free-enterprise system and go to a socialist-type government slowly but surely “
Klein: “I am all for free enterprise…I’m not a socialist. You’re not a socialist. I’m not going to support socialist points.”
* On Canadian and British health care systems:
Klein: “I don’t believe in the system that is going on in Canada or U.K. or other places. We’re Americans and we’re unique and we want something uniquely American that gives us choice.”
* On suggestions Congress take more time to study the issue
Klein:“This process in Washington has been going on for quite some time…We’ve now had 65 hearings in committees.” But, he added, “There are no deadlines and there should be nothing arbitrary about any particular dates by which we should vote on this. It should only be voted on when it’s ready for prime time.”
* On a government-run “public option” for insurance coverage and whether it would force people out of their private plans
Klein: “The public plan in the House, the idea is to allow an actuarially based public option to be available to provide competition for insurance….It’s a choice. If you like what you have, you keep it. I’ve said that all along and I’m not going to support any system that makes you give up your insurance. If you like it, you keep it. Those are building blocks for me in any kind of health care reform.
“But to the extent that a public plan is available and offers various types of health care coverage to compete with private plans — and, again, actuarially sound, which means it has to pay for itself, no government subsidies — then that may be a way of helping bring down the cost of private insurance.
“So that’s why the public plan’s out there. I’m still looking at it. I haven’t committed to it yet.”
Later, in response to another question on the public option, Klein added:
“In terms of this public option, if that were to be considered, the federal government is not pouring money into that. It has to be actuarially sound and independent. In other words, it is not to be subsidized in terms of the cost of insurance. So the public option, it has to offer whatever coverage it’s offering and it has to be fully paid for by the premiums.”
Tags: abortion, illegal immigration, Marxism, socialism, town halls
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August 27th, 2009 at 9:08 am
On Canadian and British health care systems:
Klein: “I don’t believe in the system that is going on in Canada or U.K. or other places. We’re Americans and we’re unique and we want something uniquely American that gives us choice.”
What a moronic statement!
What a waste of taxpayer money to keep a fence-sitting, incompetent, spineless wimp like Klein in office.
August 27th, 2009 at 9:39 am
What wasn’t mentioned was how much of our tax dollars were spent to pay the vendor who supplied the technology for the teleconference? Wouldn’t it have been easier to just have a meeting in a public forum, so the voices of those who weren’t part of the lucky 17 people who got to ask questions would also be heard? His statement about having 70 meetings since the recess is totally bogus as well. Controlled environments where only members of the group are invited to take part in the discussion, especially when those groups have already thrown their support behind the bill, is not an open-forum. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF!!!!
August 27th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Klein: “I am all for free enterprise…I’m not a socialist. You’re not a socialist. I’m not going to support socialist points.”
Great. Then introduce a bill that pulls ALL government intervention OUT of health care.
No? Then don’t lie about being “all for free enterprise”. You’re NOT.
Health care is NOT a right and the government has no business getting involved in it. THAT’S free enterprise.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:53 am
“This bill clearly excludes illegal aliens.”
This is incorrect. Mr. Klein needs to read the bill.
August 27th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Vote against Ron Klein. He will vote for whatever is put before him by the Democratic Leadership. This sudden “indicision” is a sham to mislead his constituents and get them off his back. He is no better than Wexler or Hastings who at least appeared in public and said they’d vote for it. Klein will vote for it but won’t tell the voters, he’ll go back to Washington and find some cosmetic chages to the bill meet his criteria and he’ll shove this down our throats. Vote against Ron Klein
August 27th, 2009 at 11:46 am
to Ed…he said committee hearings, not meetings
to Aisa…if you’re right, that free enterprise is government not getting involved then let’s go all the way: no more involvement in roads, schools, fire, police, air traffic control, radio and TV broadcasts, drugs, suicide, gambling, smoking, abortion, marriage….do what thou will shall be the whole of the law.
Too bad the US Constitition stands in the way:
“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
The fact is most people are too foxing stupid to think critically and realize that socialism isn’t real, neither is capitalism – they are just names designed to scare you into giving control to them.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Klein is not my representative so I read with interest on thecomments he made. I happen to be blessed with Wexler who thinks we are lemmings to his music. Guess again.
This whole Health Care Proposal is smothered in lies and inuendos. One of the biggest is “If you like your Insurance you can keep it”. obama lies through his teeth when he says that.
You work for a small business who supplies you with Health Insurance at an enormous cost to their small business. Along comes a Government plan that will cost the business a lot less in penalties then it would be to support the present Insurance plan. Decides for the Penalties. Poof goes your Policy that you like and can keep if you wished. You now are in a Government plan because that is all that is open to you. Multiply this by millions of small business jobs that drop private Insurance and you will surly have a single payer plan dominating our Health Care. I’M OLD AND A WWII VET so Medicare and the VA take care of most of my health care, however, when Obama guts Medicare by taking out 5 to 6 hundred billion from Medicare and give the same high quality care.. how is that possible. The Dems must think that the electorate are morons. Wait till 2010 rolls around, they will find out what kind of morons we are.
August 28th, 2009 at 10:30 am
“Under H.R. 3200, a ‘Health Insurance Exchange’ would begin operation in 2013 and would offer private plans alongside a public option…H.R. 3200 does not contain any restrictions on noncitzens—whether legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently—participating in the Exchange.”
August 28th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Dont worry about the illegals, They are already covered. Dont believe that, Just go to your local hospital emer. room.