Posted on 09/29/2009 8:52:32 AM PDT by vaskypilot
Just had the following e-mail from the National Association of Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) sent to me:
--------------------------- FROM NARFE
During the week of September 21, the Senate Committee on Finance began considering over 500 amendments to their health care reform bill, including two which threaten the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP).
First, Ranking Committee member, Charles Grassley, R-IA, proposed that federal workers and Members of Congress be required to join state-based health exchanges to purchase health insurance instead of FEHBP. The amendment approved by the committee was changed to make enrollment in the exchanges optional – rather than mandatory – for federal employees and legislators.
However, Senator Grassley’s staff has said they still plan to push the stronger language. The Grassley amendment would effectively end FEHBP and require federal workers to join the health exchanges. You worked too hard for your FEHBP health benefits and we cannot allow them to be taken away.
Second, Senator Ron Wyden, D-OR, may offer an amendment which would open the FEHBP to certain low-income non-federal civilians. While NARFE supports access to comprehensive health care for all Americans, we insist that any proposal to open the FEHBP to the public must include separate risk pools, which the Wyden amendment does not contain. For that reason, NARFE opposes the amendment. Risk pools are used to calculate health plan premiums based on the cost of providing coverage to enrollees. Without the opportunity to study non-federal enrollees in a separate FEHBP risk pool, the introduction of any new community into the FEHBP could result in unanticipated premium increases. Even if these amendments are not approved by the Finance Committee, we are concerned that they could be added to the legislation at another point in the process. For that reason, I ask you to use this link to and use the text on NARFE's Legislative Action Center, http://capwiz.com/narfe/issues/alert/?alertid=14103226 to urge your two Senators to oppose any amendment to health care reform legislation that would force federal workers and annuitants into the exchange system and/or would open FEHBP to non-federal civilians without a separate risk pool.
Although all Senators should be contacted, NARFE members who are represented by the following members of the Finance Committee should make an all-out effort to contact them since they continue to play a leading role in shaping the legislation: Max Baucus, Montana, Chairman; Jay Rockefeller, West Virginia; Kent Conrad, North Dakota; Jeff Bingaman, New Mexico; John Kerry, Massachusetts; Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas; Ron Wyden, Oregon; Charles Schumer, New York; Debbie Stabenow; Michigan, Maria Cantwell, Washington; Bill Nelson, Florida; Robert Menendez, New Jersey; Thomas Carper, Delaware; Chuck Grassley, Iowa, Ranking Member; Orrin Hatch, Utah; Olympia Snowe, Maine; Jon Kyl, Arizona; Jim Bunning, Kentucky; Mike Crapo, Idaho; Pat Roberts, Kansas; John Ensign, Nevada; Mike Enzi, Wyoming; and John Cornyn, Texas. Don’t delay -- use the NARFE Legislative Action Center today to save your FEHBP benefits! Sincerely, Dan Adcock
This message is generated by the NARFE Global Email Messaging System (GEMS). Please do not reply to this message. If you wish to reply to this message, please compose a new message to the sender. To stop receiving these messages, simply visit our web site at www.narfe.org and remove your e-mail address from your membership record
This is my first post, so I hope I did it all right.
As a Federal Employee, I most heartily concur...
ditto
The House,Senate and all branches of Gov should get the same Obamacare that they want us the the masses to have. We want equality with The President and his staff along with Mr. Biden.
Good enough for us it good enough for them.
Latest poll shows 41% and dropping favor Obamacare. Will that dissuade 0bama and the lib Demonrats? Not a chance. In fact, it makes it all the more urgent (for them) to ram it through.
RIGHT-—should be the Repubbies mandate. Loud and clear. ALL or NOTHING.
Grassley is a big RINO who should be out of the SEnate - all of them need to go in 2010!~
I’d like to know how many in Congress want to sign up for this plan.
Everyone with a functioning brain wants to stay out of Obama care. Unless, of course, they want a free government ride and don't mind their neighbor paying for it.
I wouldn’t even trust that as they would find some other way to wiggle out of obamacare as soon as they could insert such language into another bill that no one will be allowed to read.
Postal worker here; my union (APWU) was all over supporting Obama, etc. but I sense many of my co-workers are not for this (not drinking the kool aid)
Everybody that voted for Obama should be willing and able to “help the country” by immediately signing up for Nationalized Health Care. It’s your Duty to stand behind your leader! You wanted him, YOU be the first in line!
As a family with a retired Federal employee we don’t want anything to do with Obamacare.
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ATTENTION FELLOW TEXANS:
Governor Rick Perry may invoke the 10th Amendment over
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2299225/posts?q=1&;page=51
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Get after Perry, Texans. Burn up his switch board and fax!
Let him know we don’t want Obama DeathCare.
Say no to Obama’s DeathCare.
Send a message; DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS healthcare!
No! NO you don’t, you muzzie pos.
You’re not denying our seniors deserved health care while insuring millions of illegal aliens and while Demorats are REJECTING Obamacare for themselves and their families!
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Join organizations who fight ObamaCare.
This is a good organization:
The Alliance of Texans Against Government Controlled Healthcare:
http://www.notintexas.org/
office (972) 466-2915
fax (972) 466-2965
toll-free (866) 377-1300
From the website:
We are currently contacting Governor Rick Perry by fax and mail!
We have made it easy for you to help. Click here to display the letter and contact information.
http://www.notintexas.org/Letter_rick_perry.htm
Petition to STOP government controlled healthcare in Texas
Read and sign the petition
http://www.notintexas.org/Letter_to_Reps.htm
.
Print and sign the letter
(feel free to make changes if you wish)
Fax the letter to the fax numbers
Mail a hard copy to the addresses
Call their offices
Dear Governor Perry,
On March 30, 2009 the Texas House of Representatives passed HCR 50 affirming that the State of Texas claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment.
You have publicly supported this bill, and stated that attorney generals from all over the union could be getting ready to sue the US Government.
We are asking you to take the lead.
We are asking you to order the Texas Attorney General to publicly begin working on a law suit under Article IV, Ninth, and Tenth Amendment of the Constitution.
We are asking you to protect the citizens of Texas that we will not stand for government controlled healthcare in our state.
Under your leadership we can effectively kill the proposal of this administration and allow Texas to be a state free from socialism and collectivism.
Be the voice of reason in the national debate and allow Texans the ability to solve the problems of our state.
Thank you,
(Signature Date)
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Lookup your state representatives
FREE FAX SERVICSES:
http://www.gotfreefax.com/
http://faxzero.com/
or google ‘free fax’
Contacting Rick Perry
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711
Phone: (512) 463-2000
Fax: (512) 463-1849
Washington Office:
122 C St., NW, Ste. 200
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 638-3927
Fax: (202) 628-1943
Contact Budget Planning and Policy
Address:1100 San Jacinto
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone: (512) 463-1778
Fax: (512) 463-1975
Gregory S. Davidson
Constituent Communication Division Director and
Executive Clerk to the Governor
Phone: (512) 463-1873
Office of the General Counsel
Department Mailing Address
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711
Phone: 512.463.2000
Fax: 512.463.1932
Press Secretary
Allison Castle, Press Secretary
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711
Phone: (512) 463-1826
Fax: (512) 463-1847
Contact Texas Health Care Policy Council
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711
Phone: (512) 463-1778
Fax: (512) 463-1975
Sign up. Become a member.
Sign petition against Obamacare!
See member interview with Cavuto!
____________________
From Texans Against Government Controlled Health Care
Facts about the 10th Amendment:
The Tenth Amendment (Amendment X) of the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, was ratified on December 15, 1791. The Tenth Amendment restates the Constitution’s principle of Federalism by providing that powers not granted to the national government nor prohibited to the states are reserved to the states or the people.
HCR 50 HAS PASSED THE HOUSE 99-36!
Affirming that the State of Texas claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the U.S. Constitution, serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates, and providing that certain federal legislation be prohibited or repealed.
Take Action! Before it is too late!
__________________________
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REMEMBER THIS,TEXANS:
Feds Have Built Only 32 Miles of 700 Mile Double-Border Fence Originally Mandated by Congress
“One reason DHS has been able to do this is an amendment that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R.-Texas) slipped into an omnibus appropriations bill that Congress passed on December 18, 2007. Hutchison’s amendment put a loophole in the fence law that allowed the secretary of Homeland Security not to build the fence Congress had mandated the year before.”
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/43422
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Hmmm, are those Federal employees only right-wing extremists? /s
They’ve already been exempted from it, just like all the unions.
Methinks there is a method to Grassley’s madness. Were the bill to abolish FEHBP, it would be DOA. Members of Congress arent going to give up their health plan.
It amazes me that these Federal employees vote for Democrats, but do not want to live under their laws. Obamacare is fine as long as it does not affect the FEHP.
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