More on Obama's health plan
Last Wednesday night, President Obama appeared in a joint session of the Congress in the Capitol Hill pleading his case for humanitarian purposes to cover the uninsured and underinsured with adequate health insurance coverage. The heart of his plan is very simple: bring stability and security to Americans who already have health insurance, guarantee affordable coverage for those who don't, and rein in the cost of health care. He was very pragmatic in outlining a legislative proposal which will restrain costs so that those who are now insured can continue to afford insurance. He insisted that there won’t be any addition to the deficit or to the national debt, and he also outlined a number of ideas where savings can be obtained.
However, something totally unexpected happened during Obama’s speech; Joe Wilson, a Republican congressman from South Carolina, protested with an outburst “you lie”. Such an outburst against the President of the USA is an inappropriate conduct violating the rules of the House and is subject to reprimand. In the USA the president is the commander in chief, the leader of the country, and is treated more like a king. Wilson later apologized to the President for his lack of civility, and the President accepted his apology. Most of his colleagues in the Congress on both sides are still upset with his outburst. They find the apology as insufficient. Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, for instance, stated, “I believe that there has to be consideration by the House of Representatives as to disciplinary action; that is within their purview. But being in the Chamber and seeing the outburst, it was unseemly and that kind of conduct ought not to be tolerated.”
As I mentioned earlier, the heath care issue remains one of the most daunting tasks for the Obama administration. There are many, especially the health insurance companies, which profit from the status quo, and then there are those who put partisan advantage above all else. Although for the first time in the last 60 years, America seems to be close to real health reform, no one within the Obama administration is taking the fight easy yet, knowing that the vested interests and their advocates will fight the president’s proposal every inch of the way. Americans remain divided on the issue. Not surprisingly that Congressman Wilson was able to raise more than $200,000 as campaign money for his re-election bid in the wake of the now-infamous moment!
President Obama is determined to fight for the heath reform. He knows that the stakes are too high to let scare tactics cloud the debate, or to allow partisan bickering to block the path. In a letter to many concerned Americans he wrote, “Ours is not the first generation to understand the dire need for health reform. And I am not the first president to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last.” Let’s hope that he succeeds.
However, something totally unexpected happened during Obama’s speech; Joe Wilson, a Republican congressman from South Carolina, protested with an outburst “you lie”. Such an outburst against the President of the USA is an inappropriate conduct violating the rules of the House and is subject to reprimand. In the USA the president is the commander in chief, the leader of the country, and is treated more like a king. Wilson later apologized to the President for his lack of civility, and the President accepted his apology. Most of his colleagues in the Congress on both sides are still upset with his outburst. They find the apology as insufficient. Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, for instance, stated, “I believe that there has to be consideration by the House of Representatives as to disciplinary action; that is within their purview. But being in the Chamber and seeing the outburst, it was unseemly and that kind of conduct ought not to be tolerated.”
As I mentioned earlier, the heath care issue remains one of the most daunting tasks for the Obama administration. There are many, especially the health insurance companies, which profit from the status quo, and then there are those who put partisan advantage above all else. Although for the first time in the last 60 years, America seems to be close to real health reform, no one within the Obama administration is taking the fight easy yet, knowing that the vested interests and their advocates will fight the president’s proposal every inch of the way. Americans remain divided on the issue. Not surprisingly that Congressman Wilson was able to raise more than $200,000 as campaign money for his re-election bid in the wake of the now-infamous moment!
President Obama is determined to fight for the heath reform. He knows that the stakes are too high to let scare tactics cloud the debate, or to allow partisan bickering to block the path. In a letter to many concerned Americans he wrote, “Ours is not the first generation to understand the dire need for health reform. And I am not the first president to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last.” Let’s hope that he succeeds.
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