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November 2, 2009

H.R. 3962 text at library

Hensarling’s representatives deliver 1,990-page document Monday

By Lauren Ricks Associate Editor

District 5 U.S. Congressman Jeb Hensarling’s local representatives began distributing copies of the H.R. 3962 - Affordable Health Care for America Act on Monday afternoon.

Hensarling’s regional director Richard Sanders and regional representative Phillip Smith delivered a copy of the 1,990-page bill to the Clint W. Murchison Memorial Library.

Smith said it took about an hour to print out the copy of the bill.

“I had two printers going,” he said. “It took awhile.”

Smith said he will be taking more copies to libraries in Frankston, Jacksonville and Palestine. The bill will also be distributed in Van Zandt, Wood, Kaufman and Cherokee counties, Smith said.

“I think it is important that the congressman’s constituents get to see the bill,” he said.

Smith said the copies will be placed in publicly accessible areas.

The House of Representatives will likely vote on H.R. 3962 later this week.

“Last week, Speaker Pelosi introduced a 1,990 page government takeover of your health care that will cost taxpayers $1.3 trillion,” Hensarling stated in a press release. “I think it is important that East Texans clearly understand the consequences of such a take-over: little or no healthcare choice; decreased quality; longer wait times; higher taxes; and 111 new federal programs. That is why I am providing the legislation to libraries and making it available on my web site for you to read should you choose to do so.”

According to the press release, the bill:

• will cost taxpayers $1.3 trillion over 10 years;

• imposes $729.5 billion in total tax increases on the American people;

• creates 111 new federal programs;

• cuts the Medicare Advantage program by at least $150 billion;

• hits small businesses especially hard by imposing an 8-percent tax on the payroll of employers who do not purchase federal bureaucrat-approved health care for their employees;

• raises serious constitutional questions by imposing a 2.5-percent tax on individuals who do not purchase federal bureaucrat-approved health insurance;

• bans the sale of private individual health insurance policies after 2013, requiring individual health insurance to be purchased through the federal government.

“I want to ensure that you and your doctor make the decisions about your health care, not a government or insurance company bureaucrat,” Hensarling stated in the press release. “You and your family should be able to get the health care you need, when you need it, and at a price you can afford. H.R. 3962 does not meet that test.”

To access the legislation online, go to www.hensarling.house.gov and click on the Oct. 29 press release titled “Hensarling Comments on Pelosi Health Care Plan.”

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