We're From the Government and We Want to Help You Stay Healthy

Today's Awfulaw winner is...

S.391 : A bill to provide affordable, guaranteed private health coverage that will make Americans healthier and can never be taken away.
Sponsor: Sen Wyden, Ron [OR] (introduced 2/5/2009) Cosponsors (12)
Committees: Senate Finance Latest Major Action: 2/5/2009 Referred to Senate committee.
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Suffering apparently from a back log of bills to put up on the website however, the text of this bill was not yet available. Instead, I visited the sponsoring Senator's website. Here's what I found, in part, at the Senator's website.

The plan, known as the Healthy Americans Act, would:

1. guarantee private health care coverage for all Americans;
2. provide health benefits equal to those that Members of Congress now enjoy;
3. provide incentives for individuals and insurers to focus on prevention, wellness and disease management;
4. establish tough cost containment measures that save $1.48 trillion over 10 years; and
5. be fully paid for with the $2.2 trillion currently spent on health care in America today.

He didn't number them, but I did so I can more easily reference them. There are more details on the Senator's website, but I will leave my criticism to these bullet points. I know you probably have other things to do this week.

1. If the government is guaranteeing health care coverage, it isn't private.

2. Contrary to popular belief, the benefits Members of Congress enjoy are the same as other Federal employees. That is to say, they pay a portion of the premium and pick from a range of plans. However, the number of choices is far less than what is currently available in the marketplace for individuals.

3. Individual and insurers already have the incentive to focus on prevention, wellness and disease management; health and profits respectively.

4 and 5. It is a sign of the times that in order to impress us with a number, the Senator resorts to showing a 10 year savings of 1.48 trillion dollars. If he were to say 148 billion dollars per year on average, it just wouldn't sound like that much. [rolls eyes] It is even more amazing he can predict to the third significant digit how much would be saved. Is he sure his plan won't save say 1.5 or 1.4 trillion dollars over ten years?

Cost containment? Does the Senator truly believe cost containment isn't already being practiced? Does he truly believe his methods won't lead to unintended consequences?

How about the existing dollars claim? His website points out that employers who currently don't offer coverage to employees will be required to pay their employees more than they do now so the employees can cover their newly mandatory health insurance premiums. This is a new expense and I guarantee it will put businesses out of business and employees out of work.

The Horace Grant Anti-Memorial Bill

Horace Grant was the young man murdered by an Oakland BART Police Officer while a number of people recorded the crime on their cell phones. His name is more well-known than other victims of deadly police brutality because of said cell phone video cameras. Obviously, seeing the video would spur our elected representatives to jump into action to try to win our favor by showing their tough on crime even when the perpetrator is an officer of the law, or maybe, ESPECIALLY when the perpetrator is an officer of the law.

57. H.R.866 : To provide an exception to certain mandatory minimum sentence requirements for a law enforcement officer who uses, carries, or possesses a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence committed while pursuing or apprehending a suspect.
Sponsor: Rep Brady, Kevin [TX-8] (introduced 2/4/2009) Cosponsors (14)
Committees: House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 2/4/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

That's right, in the rare event a police officer actually is convicted of murder or aggravated assault, Rep. Brady wants to make sure the judge and jury have the right to be lenient. Frankly, I had to read this three times to make sure it said what I thought it said. I thought for sure Brady wanted to make sure cops abusing their badges to do harm to citizens could be sentenced to MORE time than the normal sentencing guidelines. Hopefully this bill dies in committee just as surely as Horace Grant died on the BART platform.

Family and Medical Leave of One's Senses

Wednesday I took another look at Congressional Activity and found there were SO many awful bills, it made it hard to pick which one to write about. This may not be the worst bill considered, but I picked it because I think its flaws are more immediately obvious to most people.

54. H.R.824 : To amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and title 5, United States Code, to allow employees to take, as additional leave, parental involvement leave to participate in or attend their children's and grandchildren's educational and extracurricular activities, and to clarify that leave may be taken for routine family medical needs and to assist elderly relatives, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [NY-14] (introduced 2/3/2009) Cosponsors [8]
Committees: House Education and Labor; House Oversight and Government Reform; House Administration
Latest Major Action: 2/3/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, and House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

We now find it necessary to grant mandatory time off to go to recitals and football games? Maybe we should hold off on that just in case the economy takes a turn for the worse. What's that? It already has? [Bangs head on table]