HR 3200 Call To Congressman Pallone...

By Doug Palumbo - August 24th, 2009

Well, I called my congressman and here's how it went down:

First I called my district office (address above) and spoke to a very nice lady named Pam about the health care bill. Pam directed me to call the Washington D.C. office as that is where they answer all questions regarding legislative issues.

So I called Congressman Pallone's Washington D.C. office and spoke with yet another nice lady named Megan. I asked her what the Congressman's position was on the bill; was he for or against it. She told me that the Congressman had no official position at this time and would likely provide his position once Congress reconvenes on about September 8th to vote on the bill.

I then asked Megan what the official name/number is of the bill. She said that it was called HR3200 Americans Affordable Choices and added that there might be an “Act” attached to the end of that. I asked what the bill entails and what would it do for me and the average American. She said that it would provide affordable healthcare for Americans, possibly under a government run system. I then asked what does “possibly under a government run system” mean. She replied that there is another bill called HR676 Single Payers System and that this new bill would be the one run by the government. This led directly to my next question: If the government run bill were to pass, would it lead to health care rationing and could the government override a doctor’s diagnosis/treatment plan. There was a slight pause then she said that not a lot of people have called with that question and that she had no answer for me at this time.

I asked Megan if Congressman Pallone had read the entire bill. She said that between the Congressman and his staff, the entire bill has been read. I thanked her for her time and then asked if I could get on a list for the Congressman to call me back so I could talk to him about the health care issue. She said to check his website and that he should be attending some upcoming town hall meetings and I could attend one of those and ask him there.

I thanked her for her time and ended the call.

I felt as though my questions were mostly answered honestly by the two people I spoke with. Being such a hot button issue, I felt the answers given could have been a bit more detailed. In regards to my question of whether the Congressman read the bill, she sort of skirted the question by saying the Congressman and his staff read the bill. This leads me to believe that what the Congressman knows of the bill was told to him by his staff instead of him taking the time to fully read and understand it himself.

Also, when I asked about the government overriding a doctor’s diagnosis/treatment plan under the second bill, I felt I was given the 'ol dodge the question Matrix-style routine. Come on, not a lot of people have asked that question? Really? You have no answer at this time? Tell me this...when will the answer be had? When will the American people be given the answers to their questions?

Maybe I should say good-bye to you all now as my bit in this article could be construed as "suspicious behavior" and I may be going on an extended government funded "vacation" for 10 to 15 years.

More In This Serise:

"Call Your Congressman About ObamaCare?" Eric 'Renderking' Fisk tried to find answers by contacting his congressman about "ObamaCare" or "Health Care Reform," and uncovers a much larger or disturbing problem - an unrepresented constituency.

"What is the official name and House bill number of ObamaCare/Health Care Reform?" Jason 'Cousi' Cousineau called Representative Richard E. Neal for answers to our questions...