105 County Tour Continues

February gave me the chance to log several hundred more miles on my regular 105 county tour.

We criss-crossed the state to hear from Kansans from all walks of life. Here are a few highlights:

The Dodge City Koffee Klatch has always given me some of the best advice and counsel I receive as a public servant for the people of Kansas. The Koffee Klatch is one of the lenses through which I assess every bill and vote. What would the folks at the Koffee Klatch say? Well, as always, they had a lot to say, and it was great to share a cup with them again.

There are great things happening in Dodge, especially with those who will be leading the way in the future. I had a good visit with the students at Dodge City Community College. These kids are energized and excited about the possibilities.

As co-chairman of the Senate Rural Health Caucus, rural healthcare is one of the issues that is most important to me. So I appreciated the chance to tour the Ashland Health Center. Critical Access Hospitals are an important part of rural America’s health care system. We discussed the challenges Obamacare poses for health care overall and especially for Critical Access Hospitals.  In listening to these concerns, I have drafted legislation that will help relieve some of the burden. Read more about my bill HERE. 

Franki and I really enjoyed catching up with long-time friends, including Lt. Governor Jeff Colyer, at the Kansas Chamber of Commerce annual dinner in Topeka. Of course, the crowd of more than 1,000 business leaders was thrilled to hear from the keynote speaker, Ben Stein.

It was also a pleasure to hear my friend and fellow Kansas State University alumni Mayor Carl Gerlach deliver the Overland Park State of the City Address. I joined Mayor Gerlach in honoring the City of Overland Park’s employees and first responders who make Overland Park a great city. It was also great to see my friend Ed Eilert, Chairman of the Board of Johnson County Commissioners.

From the southwest to the northeast then down to southeast corner of our state, our next stop took us to Pittsburg where I had the chance to visit with Pittsburg area community leaders regarding pressing issues for southeast Kansas like housing and four lanes on US 69. Thank you to Mayor Michael Gray and the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce Director Blake Benson for the warm welcome and providing strategic advice and counsel.

We were also able to have some fun over the last few weeks and take in some of the best basketball our state has ever seen. Wichita State, Kansas, and Kansas State are all having incredible years, and there is no doubt that Kansas is the greatest basketball state in the country!  Good luck to all our schools in the upcoming conference championships!

I watched Wichita State’s last game of an incredible 31-0 season with President Bardo and Andy Schlapp.  It was an honor to talk with the Shockers and Coach Marshall after the game!

Took in the Wildcats game with my friend Ernie Barret.

IRS Must Not Be Allowed to Regulate Political Speech

At a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, I questioned U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew regarding the Internal Revenue Services’ (IRS) proposed regulations limiting the first amendment rights of Americans.

I told Secretary Lew that one of the issues Kansans are most concerned about is whether anyone will be punished for the scandals at the IRS. The illegal targeting of conservative groups by the IRS gets right to the heart of our system of government – the Administration and the IRS must be held accountable for their actions and must never be permitted to trample on the Constitutional rights of our citizens.

I have introduced legislation with my colleague Senator Jeff Flake from Arizona and 40 other cosponsors, including Senator Moran, to stop these proposed IRS regulations that codify targeting of 501(c)(4) groups. Our bill would protect the free-speech rights of 501(c)(4) organizations by prohibiting for one year the finalization of the proposed rule. Similar legislation was passed by the House last month.

I pressed Secretary Lew on whether it was premature to propose rules on the targeting scandal when investigations were not complete. Finally, I asked why the IRS limited the new rules to C-4s while not applying  them to similarly regulated not-for-profit organizations such as unions.

Secretary Lew responded that the agency was still reviewing the comments received during the comment period on the proposed regulation. He noted that it received over 100,000 comments.I bet!

Click the video below to watch my interactions with Secretary Lew.

Click to View

Introducing Bill to End Health Care Rationing in Federal Government

I have also introduced a bill to protect the doctor-patient relationship and to end health care rationing by the federal government as authorized in Obamacare.

In the absence of a full repeal of Obamacare, we need to fight the further intrusion of the federal government in the relationship between doctors and patients. This intrusion through four unaccountable government agencies is hidden under the cloak of innovation and prevention and is one of the most damaging threats to the quality of health care in America. My bill repeals the four rationing bodies that seek to limit options for care under the misconception that health care is one size-fits-all.

My bill is simply called the Four Rationers Repeal Act of 2014. It repeals the following rationing bodies:

• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Center: The “Innovation Center” is aimed at finding innovative ways to reform payment and delivery models. It gives the government new powers to cut payments to Medicare beneficiaries with the goal of increasing innovation but in reality reducing patients’ ability to access the care they want and need.
   
• U.S. Preventive Services Task Force: This preventive services task force used to be a body that was scientific and academic, that reviewed treatment, testing, and preventive health data and made recommendations for primary care practitioners and health systems. Because of Obamacare, the task force can now decide what should and should NOT be covered by health plans. If the task force doesn’t recommend it, then it won’t be covered by health plans and patients will bear the cost of the procedure.
   
• Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute: Conducts comparative effectiveness research, also known as CER, which should be used to inform decisions between doctors and their patients, but under Obamacare will limit treatment options for individuals.
   
• Independent Payment Advisory Board: The Board is made up of 15 unelected bureaucrats who will decide which treatments in Medicare coverage should be taken away. They have no accountability and their decisions are practically impossible to overturn.

I’ve been talking about the four rationers for a long time and what it means to patients. What really scares me, as I watch all the other warnings and broken promises come true, is what is going to happen to Kansans when the warnings about the four rationers come true. Access to quality care will be a thing of the past for Americans.

I delivered a floor speech my legislation.  Click the video below to watch.

Click to View

 

CBO Should Explain to Senate Conflicting Obamacare Reports

Finally, I have sent a letter to U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (R-WA), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and U.S. Senator Orin Hatch (R-UT), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, requesting a hearing to examine the vast difference between the original estimates and the most recent projections of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on the rising costs of Obamacare.

CBO’s projections since the passage of Obamacare have consistently shown a dramatic increase in the cost of this legislation both in work hours lost and in taxpayer dollars spent. The most recent numbers, which calculate work hours lost to be the equivalent of 2.5 million jobs, are significantly higher than previously reported and over double original estimates. The CBO now puts the cost of the law at $2 trillion, more than twice as much as previously estimated.

We rely on CBO to be a non-partisan resource for Congress, but we also depend on their projections to reflect a level of accuracy to allow us to make the best decisions on behalf of the people we serve. If the original estimates had contained the information in the most recent CBO projections, we might have been able to prevent the mess that is Obamacare today. At least the public would have had a much better understanding of the true costs, and I believe that would have impacted the debate.

 

Check Senator Roberts’ Website, YouTube and Facebook Sites for Updates

You can visit my YouTube site for more information on what’s happening in Washington, D.C., and Kansas by visiting www.youtube.com/SenPatRoberts. It's a great place to find speeches and debates on the Senate floor, press conferences, interviews and Senate hearings. You can also stay updated on all these happenings on my Facebook and Twitter sites.

If you wish to contact me about an issue or want more information, please visit my website, roberts.senate.gov.