Sessions to hold health care town hall in Richardson next Monday

Dallas County Republican Examiner ^

[Rastus]

U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions will be holding a health care town hall meeting at Richardson's Eisemann Center next Monday, March 29, 2010. From Sessions' email invitation:

Richardson Town Hall Meeting

This month, I will be returning from Washington, DC for a District Work Period to meet with North Texans and to discuss your views about the work of Congress and the direction of America.

As your Member of Congress, I invite you to join me for a Town Hall Meeting to discuss the future of health care in America.

Richardson Town Hall Meeting

Monday, March 29, 2010 7:00pm – 8:30pm

Charles W. Eisemann Center 2351 Performance Drive Richardson, TX 75082

To RSVP, please visit the event EVITE page by copying and pasting the following web address in your web browser:

http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/CTDZWCCSYKFMKJHNAJDO/RichardsonTH2

In addition to hearing your views about health care, I look forward to hosting physicians and health care policy experts at the Town Hall Meeting to discuss how planned changes in health care and Medicare will affect you and your family.

I look forward to discussing health care and other issues with you at the Richardson Town Hall Meeting. Please mark your calendars for this important event. I hope to see you there.

[Rastus]

Trying to get the word out. It's a big hall. Let's fill it with our side in case the Obamaniks plan to do the same.

[Jeff Winston]

Something tells me that Pete Sessions is a Republican.

I don’t think very many Democrats are currently holding town hall meetings on healthcare.

[Rastus]

He is. Sorry. I should have added that info to the story. I didn’t even notice it wasn’t there.

[Boxsford]

Its a great idea. These town hall meetings should be taking place across the nation.

[Retired Greyhound]

Rat cowards won’t dare face the public. “Heads on a stick!”

[silverleaf]

My thoughts, too

[nanetteclaret]

FYI

[PoloSec]

You won't see democrats holding town halls, they've already provided cover by saying they fear for their safety because of the radical tea party people. That's what all this hoopla is really about. The MSM is providing all the support they can to marginalize anyone who opposed obamacare.

[Rastus]

That’s why this is a good, small step at thwarting the MSM. If the Republicans all had packed town halls and Beck covered it, that would balance a lot of it out (since he gets more viewers than the others combined, I think, haha).

[Timeout]

I'm in a safe GOP area. But if I could go to a town hall, this is what I would ask [talking fast]:

We've heard these horror stories about Caterpillar, AT&T and other companies who got hit with a big tax on their retiree prescription drug plans. Congress defends the new tax, saying taxpayers should NOT foot the bill for those retirees.

But Section 1102 of the bill contradicts that. It provides $5 BILLION to union health plans for their early retirees ---as young as 55. We're going to subsidize what Congress recognizes as "Cadillac" plans. And it's way more generous than what the companies were getting---this provision will pay unions up to $60,000 (!) a year PER RETIREE. It pays for everything, not just prescriptions. And at least the company retirees had to be 65...these guys are just 55 years old.

Now---the ultimate irony---Congress specifically made the union subsidies TAX EXEMPT!

Why should those company retirees be hit with a big new tax at the same time the unions will get a tax-free $5 BILLION taxpayer bailout for far younger "pensioners" getting excessively generous benefits?

Congressman, I wasn't at the table when those unions negotiated benefits that would drive the companies bankrupt. I resent the hell out of being made to pay for them

I hope someone will ask that. Go armed with copies of Subtitle B, Section 1101 (starts on page 52)

The Dems will say this doesn't apply only to unions. I don't believe that. But here's how I would rebut it:

It doesn't make sense for you to say taxpayers should not be subsidizing those companies' retirees, but then tell us you're going to give them new subsidies. I don't believe you intend to give the funds to anyone but the unions. To make it even worse, you specifically included state/local public worker plans. Everyone knows those are grossly underfunded. It looks to me like you're going to make federal taxpayers pay for those state/local over-promises.

Now that I think about it, I'm going to take this to my GOP congressman's town hall. The GOP needs to use this issue in the context of these news reports about Caterpillar, et al.

[Rastus]

Bump