J. Randy Forbes Blog Entries

The Men it Honors

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Today, I had the privilege to present several military medals to Mr. James Hornshaw of Chesapeake for his service in the United States Navy during World War II and Korea.

One of my favorite opportunities as a Member of Congress is getting to participate in ceremonies such as these. Were it not for the sacrifice of Mr. Hornshaw and others who have bravely answered the call of duty to serve our nation, we would not be able to celebrate the freedoms we enjoy today.

President John F. Kennedy once said that “a nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.” As we approach Veterans Day next week, it is our privilege as a nation to continually honor our nation’s finest men and women in uniform.

New Healthcare Bill Released

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

This week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled the new version of the healthcare bill. It will take some time to read the 1,990 page bill and even then it will be difficult to sort out and understand all the ramifications of so many different pieces of legislation included in such a large bill. Since the bill was written behind closed doors by a handful of people and the proposals in the bill never debated, this bill and its parts clearly are constructed to bring a certain outcome – the government control of our healthcare.

While there are some worthwhile ideas in the new bill, it still cuts billions from Medicare, is paid for by over $700 billion in tax increases, gives bureaucrats the authority to restrict healthcare services, provides free healthcare to illegal aliens, mandates the purchase of health insurance with tax fines for failure to buy, and creates a government-takeover of healthcare that will drive private insurance out of business. And it comes at a cost of about $1,055 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office report.

Essentially, this is just a longer version of the same bill that was introduced earlier this year - the same bill that millions of Americans made clear in town halls across the county was not acceptable to them.

Americans deserve our best ideas and solutions – not an expansion of a bad bill they've already rejected. An undertaking of something as massive as healthcare reform should be done in small pieces, so we can take our time to make sure we get it right. You can read some of my solutions:

The text of the new healthcare bill, H.R. 3962 is available here.

Confucius Syndrome

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Great article in the Washington Times that points out the lack of meaningful legislative activity taking place in Congress while citizens worry about health care, the economy, and jobs….

Work flow slows as House awaits health bill

The House on Tuesday took up a resolution to honor the 2,560th birthday of Confucius -- and that's pretty much all the floor business Democratic leaders scheduled for the day, as noncontroversial bills fill up the empty hours for lawmakers awaiting health care legislation.

It seemed as if the chamber has taken to heart Confucius' words: "It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."

Still, the light workload has become routine in recent weeks and is starting to fray nerves.

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner bemoaned the lack of floor activity, saying Democrats would rather "celebrate the birth of an ancient Chinese philosopher" than debate plans for jobs and health care with Republicans.

"It is unacceptable for Congress to take it easy at a time when the nation's unemployment rate is nearing 10 percent and millions of out-of-work families struggling to make ends meet are asking, 'Where are the jobs?' " the Ohio Republican said in a statement.

Democratic leaders said it was worthwhile to spend floor time on easy votes because the heavy lifting was being done on committees and behind closed doors.

"When there are not votes on the floor, there is still a whole lot of other business that has been going on," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Democrat and the special assistant to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "It is important to have members here doing their work."

Tuesday's floor schedule also included a nonbinding procedural vote on an already passed annual appropriations bill for the Interior Department and resolutions that would welcome the Archbishop of Constantinople on his visit to the United States, support the goals of National Adoption Month and call on Iran to release three detained American hikers.

Keep reading….

2,000 Pages

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

I just got this email from the Republican Study Committee and wanted to share it with you – the latest news on the healthcare bill:

H.R. 3962, the version of Obamacare unveiled by Speaker Pelosi and House Democrat leaders today, is a stunning 1,990 pages long. Compared to the original version of the bill (H.R. 3200), which came in at 1,017 pages, it’s essentially the same bill. The one obvious and major difference? The version introduced today is almost twice as long.

H.R. 3962 is nearly 2,000 pages of higher taxes, job-killing employer mandates, choice-restricting individual mandates, government-run insurance, budget-busting entitlement expansions, and countless provisions that set Washington bureaucrats firmly between you and your doctor. And with a thousand extra pages, obviously it’s even more prescriptive this time around.

So how much takeover can you cram into 2,000 pages? By comparison, the legislation that created Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, which now cost nearly $800 billion annually, was less than 300 pages long. So at 2,000 pages today, that’s a whole lot of government input for a plan the Speaker says won’t result in Washington taking over health care.

Behind Closed Doors

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

When I was home in Chesapeake over the weekend, I had several individuals ask me what I know about the status of the healthcare bill. If truth be told, I really don’t know much more than what my constituents know – I know what I read in the newspaper. Why? A small, select group of Democrat lawmakers and White House officials continue to make decisions on the healthcare bill behind closed doors, without regard to openness or transparency. The Washington Times points out the lack of transparency in the legislative process in an article it released yesterday:

By day, Democrats tout how open they have been while crafting a bill to reform the nation's health care system. By early evening, they're behind closed doors.

Three times last week, White House officials went to Capitol Hill to meet in closed sessions with top Senate Democrats to put together a health bill. They left with not much more than a thumbs up or a "we're making progress"-type comment to the reporters waiting outside.

It's not exactly the level of transparency that President Obama promised during the campaign, when he said health care talks would be aired live on C-SPAN.

What we do know is that this week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that he would include a government-run plan in the Senate healthcare bill. The bill includes a provision that would let states “opt out” and includes stiffer penalties on business owners who fail to provide health coverage. Senate leaders are working hard to rush the bill to the Senate floor within the next few weeks. Senator Reid plans to send the bill to the Congressional Budget Office for cost analysis this week (see my blog entry on the latest cost analysis here) and then bring the bill to the floor for a vote.

This type of rush-it-through process is not the proper way to craft any kind of bill. There is still an opportunity to get health care reform right, but it can't be done if the healthcare bill continues to be written in secret with artificial deadlines.

I’ve proposed a number of constructive healthcare solutions where both Democrats and Republicans agree would give us significant gains in healthcare reform. You can read about those here.

When will government listen?

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

I spoke yesterday on the House floor about jobs and our economy. In case you missed it, you can watch the video footage here. I’ve also included the text of my speech below.

Mr. Speaker, last week I received a call every Member of Congress fears: a plant with 1,100 jobs in a town of 9,000 residents closed its doors. I want to be, and I will be there for them as the symptoms of a bad economy entangle their lives. But Americans are asking you a larger question today: when will this government listen to the voice of wisdom shouting for us to address the causes of a bad economy and not just the symptoms?

As 1 of 17 Members of Congress who voted against every one of your bailout and stimulus bills, I watched you ignore that voice of wisdom as you saddled our grandchildren with a debt they will wear for decades as a badge of dishonor for your deafness. I watched as you ignored it as you tried to impose your energy agenda knowing it would stifle America’s competitiveness and kill jobs. I have watched as you ignore it while you try to tax our existing jobs into oblivion.

When will you listen?

Want to know where your taxpayer dollars are going?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Did you know for every household in America our government is paying $1500 this year just to pay the interest on our nation’s federal debt? It will also spend $1000 on agriculture programs and over $500 on public housing programs, even if individuals in those households are not benefiting from those programs. The list goes on and on.

Government spending is growing increasingly out of control and it is costing American taxpayers a whopping $3.65 trillion to fund our government for this year alone. (President Reagan once said that best he could come up with when trying to comprehend a trillion dollars was “that if you had a stack of thousand-dollar bills in your hand only 4 inches high, you'd be a millionaire. A trillion dollars would be a stack of thousand-dollar bills 67 miles high.”)

The Cato Institute, a non-profit public policy organization, launched a new website, DownsizingGovernment.org, as a way to uncover duplicative and wasteful spending in federal agencies, and offer department-by-department guide to cutting the federal budget.

Find out where your money is going here.

Historically Speaking…

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

History does not bode well for the current proposed healthcare legislation in terms of cost estimates. The Congressional Budget Office has said that the new version of the Senate Finance Committee’s healthcare bill will cost $829 billion and “will result in a net reduction in federal budget deficits of $81 billion” over the next twenty years.

That cost estimate – and specifically the deficit reduction – has been widely decided as fictitious. After all, that estimate strips provisions out of the healthcare reform package that freeze cuts in payments to doctors that are mandated under current law and takes them up as a separate piece of legislation that would, therefore, not count toward the healthcare reform bottom line. The “Doc Fix”, as it is known, would cost the federal government nearly $250 billion over 10 years and when it was part of the healthcare bill, boosted the cost well above what Obama told Congress he could accept. Without the freeze, doctors would see their Medicare reimbursements drop by 21 percent in 2010 and by 40 percent by 2016.

But let’s assume we can overlook this quarter of a trillion dollars. History is still stacked against these cost estimates. Since the end of World War II, major health care reform proposals have cost significantly more than the highest cost estimates published while the legislation was pending. Take a look at the accuracy of entitlement program cost estimates in the past:

Medicare (the original program covering doctor visits)

Projected cost: $9 billion annually

Actual cost to taxpayers: $67 billion.

Difference: +58b, or 644%

Medicare (the entire program providing health care to citizens aged 65+)

Projected cost: $12 billion

Actual cost to taxpayers: $110 billion

Difference: +98b, or 817%

ESRD Program (the universal entitlement to kidney dialysis for patients suffering from end-stage renal disease)

Projected cost: $100 million.

Actual cost to taxpayers: $299 million.

Difference: +199m, or 199%

Medicaid DSH Program (provides relief to hospitals that serve especially large numbers of Medicaid and uninsured patients)

Projected cost: Less than $1 billion

Actual cost to taxpayers: $17 billion.

Difference: +16b, or 1,600%

Medicare Home Care Benefit (expanded Medicare from in-patient care to home care)

Projected cost: $4 billion

Actual cost to taxpayers $10 billion.

Difference: +6b, or 150%

The fact of the matter is entitlements grow considerably after they are established. Any cost estimate for healthcare legislation should be considered in terms of that history.

What I’m Reading

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Wall Street Journal: Five Technologies That Could Change Energy
It's a tall order: Over the next few decades, the world will need to wean itself from dependence on fossil fuels and drastically reduce greenhouse gases. Current technology will take us only so far; major breakthroughs are required. What might those breakthroughs be? Here's a look at five technologies that, if successful, could radically change the world energy picture.

New York Post: Dem Health Bill $oars

According to analysis by the Health and Human Services Department, the current health-care bill drafted by Democratic leaders in the House would increase the nation’s health-care spending by 2.1% from 2010 to 2019. The report is a stark contrast to President Obama’s promise that the proposed health-care legislation would slow the government’s rate of spending on health-care. The analysis also found that 21.3% of the economy in 2019 would be tied to health-care, higher than the estimated 20.8% if no health-care bill passes.

Daily Press: Navy’s economic impact increases in Hampton Roads
The economy may be sliding, but the U.S. Navy is still bullish on Hampton Roads. Total direct economic impact from the Navy in the region increased by more than $765 million in fiscal year 2008, which ran from October 2007 to this September.

New York Times: Basic Medicare Premium to Rise 15% Next Year

The basic Medicare premium will shoot up next year by 15 percent, to $110.50 a month, federal officials said Monday. The increase means that monthly premiums would top $100 for the first time. This means 27% of Medicare beneficiaries will have higher premiums, most of whom are new Medicare beneficiaries or high-income beneficiaries whose premiums are covered under Medicaid.

AFP: China’s military buildup shows need for US dialogue: admiral

Beijing's "unprecedented" arms buildup has raised concern in the region and underscored the need to promote dialogue between Chinese and US military leaders, a top US officer said on Wednesday. The United States is closely following China's military modernisation programme and wants to expand exchanges between each country's military to avoid possible tensions, Admiral Robert Willard, the new head of US Pacific Command, told reporters in Seoul.

Wall Street Journal: Democrats Plan to Strip Sustainable Growth Rate Formula from Health-Care Reform

President Obama has made serial promises that he will not sign a health-care bill that "adds one dime to our deficits, either now or in the future, period." This was never plausible, but now we can begin to understand what he meant: Democrats plan to make ObamaCare "deficit-neutral" by moving nearly a quarter-trillion dollars off the books, in the fiscal deception of the century.

Office With a Message

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Congressman Forbes sat down with Ali McSherry from Roll Call a few weeks ago to talk about his office in Washington, D.C. Check out the article in today’s paper:

Two years ago, Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) was sitting at his desk bemoaning the slow pace of Congress. As he got more and more frustrated, he also grew sick of looking at his own picture.

Everywhere he turned in his space in the Rayburn House Office Building, he saw photos of himself posing with firefighters, with government officials and even with the president.

“We sit around looking at these pictures, and we start thinking this is kind of all about us,” Forbes says. “So I brought my staff in, and they thought I was having a senior moment. I told them I want to take all the pictures down.”

Today, instead of staring at his own mug, Forbes has hung a large copy of the Declaration of Independence on one wall surrounded by framed pictures of the 56 signers. The display takes up an entire wall.

“It’s not about me. It’s not about us being here,” he says. “It’s about the legacy that they have left, birthing a nation of freedom.”

Forbes, the ranking member on the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, created the wall in the hope that it would have an effect on the military officials who come to his office.

“I want to make sure every time one of our generals come in or one of our admirals come in and we have a meeting, or every time we have a staff meeting, or every time our constituents come up for a meeting, that we get to look these guys in the eyes and realize that we stand on their shoulders,” he says.

While Forbes admires the Founding Fathers, he looks beyond them to a higher power for advice when it comes to governing. Any visitor who spends even a few seconds in Forbes’ office soon learns that he is a devout Christian.

The founder of the Congressional Prayer Caucus displays a large framed prayer across from the Declaration of Independence wall. Former Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall delivered this prayer in 1948: “If any man lack wisdom let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and it shall be given to him.” Forbes looks to this prayer as a reminder of his belief that God is supreme over Congress.

“It’s basically for us never to become so conceited that we think we know more about government than God,” he says.

Near the prayer is a print of a painting called “Daniel in the Lion’s Den,” which depicts the biblical figure in a cave filled with lions. Daniel is looking up to the heavens. Forbes says this also serves as an inspiration to him.

“The main thing to always remember is where Daniel was looking for strength,” Forbes says. “He wasn’t looking at the lion — he was looking at God.”

The wall with the Declaration and the wall with the prayer face each other on purpose. Forbes says the Declaration is the nation’s past, while prayer and God are its future. He points out the beginning of the Declaration of Independence, which, of course, says the rights of man are “endowed by their Creator.”

“If the state gave us those rights, then they can take them away,” Forbes says.

Forbes believes this document brought about “two concepts heard around the world.” The first is that people are given rights that the government can’t take away, and the second is that these rights were a gift from God. As long as Americans recognize and respect these ideals, Forbes thinks the country will do just fine.

“The Declaration has always been the founding document of the country, more important even than the Constitution,” he says. “If that document is illegitimate or if it’s wrong, then nothing else that we do has legs under it.”

Gas Prices

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 05:00:00 GMT

Gas Prices