|
Dear
Oklahoma
Friends
and
Neighbors,
I
hope
you
and
your
family
had
a
safe
and
fun
4th
of
July
weekend.
It
was
good
to
spend
the
week
of
the
4th
in
Bixby,
Edmond,
Oklahoma
City,
Shawnee,
Ada,
Davis,
Altus,
and
Lawton.
During
a
week
in
which
we
celebrate
our
freedom
and
liberty,
it
was
an
honor
to
meet
and
thank
many
veterans
who
defended
those
rights.
I
posted
some
photos
from
last
week's
travels—CLICK
HERE
to
see.
This
week,
I
was
back
in
DC
working
on
nominations,
healthcare
reform,
tax
policy,
the
2018
federal
budget,
Indian
education,
higher
education,
national
defense,
Veterans
Administration,
cybersecurity,
and
the
debt
ceiling.
As
Congress
discusses
these
important
issues,
please
keep
in
touch
with
me
and
my
staff
to
share
your
concerns.
Update
on
Healthcare
Reform
in
the
Senate
As
you
know,
I
have
advocated
for
the
repeal
and
replacement
of
the
Affordable
Care
Act
because
of
skyrocketing
healthcare
costs
and
diminished
healthcare
choices
in
Oklahoma.
I
believe
that
Congress
should
pass
a
bill
that
provides
a
transition
from
the
Affordable
Care
Act
to
a
healthcare
structure
without
federal
mandates
or
Washington,
DC,
control
of
personal
healthcare
decisions.
We
can
protect
people
in
the
safety
net
and
allow
more
affordable
coverage
options
for
everyone.
Inexpensive
healthcare
insurance
should
not
be
illegal
in
America.
Yesterday,
Senate
Majority
Leader
Mitch
McConnell
released
the
latest
version
of
the
draft
healthcare
reform
bill,
the
Better
Care
Reconciliation
Act.
Today
and
throughout
this
weekend,
I
will
analyze
the
new
version
of
this
bill
to
determine
if
it
allows
people
to
have
a
variety
of
affordable
insurance
options,
maintains
our
medical
safety
net,
protects
people
with
preexisting
conditions,
limits
lifetime
and
annual
caps,
puts
Medicaid
on
a
sustainable
path,
and
returns
regulatory
control
to
the
states.
No
matter
how
I
decide
to
vote
next
week,
I
will
make
sure
I
give
you
a
complete
explanation
of
the
bill.
I
can
assure
you
that
a
single
vote
will
not
resolve
the
many
complex
healthcare
issues
we
face.
This
is
only
the
first
significant
step
addressing
a
narrow
group
of
issues.
There
will
still
be
a
need
for
many
bipartisan
votes
in
the
months
ahead
to
deal
with
the
rapid
rise
of
medical
costs
and
complex
medical
issues.
Early
next
week,
the
Congressional
Budget
Office
(CBO)
will
release
its
analysis
of
the
bill.
I
was
surprised
when
the
previous
CBO
estimate
was
released,
both
for
the
estimate
and
the
data
behind
the
estimate.
For
the
past
two
CBO
reports,
they
chose
to
use
their
March
2016
Affordable
Care
Act
baseline,
which
did
not
take
into
account
the
millions
of
people
who
dropped
from
the
Affordable
Care
Act
in
2016
and
the
first
six
months
of
2017.
Over
the
past
18
months,
rates
have
skyrocketed—in
Oklahoma
by
76
percent—
and
during
the
last
six
months,
two
million
people
have
dropped
their
Affordable
Care
Act
coverage.
But
CBO
assumes
there
are
currently
no
rate
increases
and
no
failing
markets.
I
wish
that
were
true,
but
the
rapid
changes
in
the
past
18
months
have
made
healthcare
reform
even
more
important.
Forecasting
insurance
markets
is
harder
than
forecasting
the
weather.
Remember,
CBO
estimated
in
2010
that
the
Affordable
Care
Act
would
result
in
21
million
more
enrollees
to
health
insurance,
but
as
of
last
year,
the
number
was
only
nine
million.
I
encourage
anyone
who
is
interested
to
read
the
latest
version
of
the
healthcare
bill.
To
view
full
text, CLICK
HERE.
To
read
my
statement
on
the
revised
Senate
healthcare
bill,
CLICK
HERE.
Let’s
Get
the
Work
Done
Before
August
Congress
has
a
number
of
pressing
issues
that
need
to
be
addressed
this
year:
fixing
healthcare,
passing
a
budget,
dealing
with
the
debt
ceiling,
and
updating
the
tax
code.
Last
month,
I
sent
a
letter
with
nine
of
my
colleagues
to
ask
Senate
Majority
Leader
Mitch
McConnell
to
shorten
or
cancel
the
August
state
work
period
if
we
have
not
completed
our
work
to
reform
healthcare.
This
week,
Leader
McConnell
accepted
the
request
to
delay
the
August
state
work
period
in
order
to
allow
us
to
make
progress
on
the
major
legislative
initiatives
and
confirm
key
executive
branch
officials.
Congress
is
in
session
11
months
of
the
year,
but
with
the
glacially
slow
pace
of
nominations
this
year,
we
should
stay
in
DC
during
as
much
of
August
as
needed
to
get
the
work
done.
CLICK
HERE
to
read
the
letter
sent
to
Leader
Mitch
McConnell.
CLICK
HERE
to
read
my
statement
on
Leader
McConnell’s
announcement.
SCOTUS
Rules
in
Favor
of
Religious
Liberty
Last
month,
the
US
Supreme
Court
ruled
7-2
in
favor
of
Trinity
Lutheran
Church
and
religious
liberty.
Their
decision
affirmed
that
all
organizations—whether
religiously
based
or
not—are
constitutionally
guaranteed
the
same
right
and
opportunity
to
participate
in
government
programs.
In
this
case,
the
state
of
Missouri
wrongfully
excluded
Trinity
Lutheran
Church
from
a
grant
program
intended
to
help
nonprofits
improve
playground
equipment
at
its
preschool
and
daycare
center. The
Court
determined
that
the
state
of
Missouri
discriminated
against
Trinity
Lutheran
Church
simply
because
it
was
a
religious
organization.
This
decision
has
national
implications
because
the
next
day,
the
court
ruled
against
the
state
of
Colorado
because
it
discriminated
against
a
church
that
participated
in
a
state
school
program.
Government
must
be
neutral
to
groups
and
individuals,
regardless
of
their
faith
or
choice
to
not
have
faith.
You
cannot
tell
a
group
that
it
may
not
participate
with
government
simply
because
its
members
are
people
of
faith.
This
was
another
win
for
the
First
Amendment.
Last
year,
I
submitted
a
“friend
of
the
court”
brief
with
my
colleagues
in
the
House
and
Senate
in
support
of
Trinity
Lutheran. CLICK
HERE to
read
more.
|