11/22/09:The Cost of a Senators vote on Health care: $300 million
November 23, 2009 by admin
Filed under In the Press
In my announcement speech on November 7, 2009 for Congress in the 5th District of Connecticut, I referenced the fact that many politicians seem to ‘sell’ their vote to the highest bidder. The Washington Post today reported that Senator Mary Landreiu of Louisiana bragged yesterday that she had ‘secured’ $300 million for her state, in an apparent quid pro quo for her single vote on health care legislation. Dana Millbanks wrote,And so it came to pass that Landrieu walked onto the Senate floor midafternoon Saturday to announce her aye vote — and to trumpet the financial “fix” she had arranged for Louisiana. “I am not going to be defensive,” she declared. “And it’s not a $100 million fix. It’s a $300 million fix.”
The original story can be read online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/21/AR2009112102272_pf.html
I believe that in order to get our small businesses back to creating jobs, and restoring fiscal discipline to our country, we need to focus on sound economic policies, and not by buying one lawmakers vote to the tune of $300 million for a single vote. All this will do is to encourage other lawmakers to withhold their own votes in the future, until they can secure money for their own political benefit and re-election.
I have pledged to end politics as usual if elected, and have offered workable solutions to many of the issues on voter’s minds going into 2010. Specifically, I have pledged to not accept a Congressional pension if the Federal budget is not balanced by my final year in office, committed to personally serve just three terms in the House of Representatives, and challenged all opponents to only accept campaign funds from voters who work or live in the 5th district of Connecticut. I feel that being a person who does not come from the political system of either party, there are no favors owed, and will allow me to represent all citizens of this district equally.
