Important News Update: New First District Events!
Important News Update: New First District Events!
March 4, 2012
Dear Friends
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families affected by the storms across Kansas this past week. If you are able to assist with the recovery, please visit http://www.ksready.gov to find out where your time and donations can be utilized. In a time of need, it is incumbent upon all of us to help our fellow citizens put their lives back together.
Agriculture Committee to Kansas
We have some great news: Dodge City - in the heart of the First District - will play host to a House Agriculture Committee official field hearing on April 20, 2012 at 9:00 AM. I am honored to host my Agriculture Committee colleagues – especially Chairman Frank Lucas and Ranking Member Collin Peterson – here in Kansas. The event will be held at the Magouirk Conference Center, and it will be open to the public. More details will follow in the weeks to come!
Rural Health Care Threatened by ObamaCare
In rural America we often suffer from a shortage of health care providers. Unfortunately, under the President's health care plan, the problem is only going to get worse. This week when Richard Foster, Chief Actuary of Medicare and Medicaid Services, testified before the House Budget Committee about the impacts of ObamaCare on access. Mr. Foster painted a very grim picture for the future: nationally 15% of hospitals, home health agencies, and skilled nursing facilities will face possible bankruptcy by 2019. And in rural areas the loss of providers will likely be much worse.
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| Click the image above or here to watch the video. |
In another question, I asked Mr. Foster about what type of legislative fixes President Obama has offered as a result of the serious “funding warning” issued by Medicare Trustees. Under law, President Obama is required to submit solutions to save Medicare. And for four years in a row, he has ignored the law and the Medicare crisis.
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| Click the image above or here to watch the video. |
Instead of offering any solution to save and strengthen Medicare, President Obama is actually making the problem much worse. As a result of his new health care law, he ends Medicare as we know it. He has empowered 15 unelected bureaucrats on the newly-created Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) to raid $500 billion from Medicare. That’s $500 billion from seniors who have paid into the system and who have earned it. That's not a solution, it's a cop-out and a bad deal for America's seniors.
Many MF Global Questions Remain Unanswered
The Agriculture Committee heard from Gary Gensler, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), this past week. I had the opportunity to ask Mr. Gensler - chief regulator - a few questions about the status of funds that are missing in the wake of the MF Global bankruptcy. For those of you unfamiliar with MF Global, it was a commodities trading firm run by Jon Corzine (former Democrat Governor and Senator from New Jersey) that went bankrupt last fall. It was discovered that $1.2 billion in customer monies were missing, and I believe that Corzine and his employees illegally "comingled" funds. During the hearing, I asked Mr. Gensler when and what what he was told about the imminent collapse of Corzine's corporation. As the video below indicates, Mr. Gensler refused to share with the Committee as to what, if anything, he did to protect customers from the illegal actions by Corzine.
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| What was said in that phone call? |
I remain committed to help Kansans - who have been affected by this mismanagement - to reclaim their monies lost to the nefarious activities at MF Global.
Telephone Town Hall
Did you miss last week’s telephone town hall? Please visit my website to hear my opening remarks as well as my answers to about a dozen questions from constituents!
What Happens in a Congressional Office?
If you are or know a college-aged adult interested in learning more about how a congressional office operates, I invite you to encourage them to visit http://huelskamp.house.gov/internships to learn how they can apply. All four of our offices – Dodge City, Hutchinson, Salina, and D.C. – are accepting interns for Summer 2012.
Serving Our Nation
One of the highest privileges of serving as a Member of Congress, is the privilege to nominate young men and women to the finest service academies in the world. If you are or know a 17- to 22-year-old and U.S. citizen interested in attending the United States Military Academy at West Point, United States Naval Academy, United States Air Force Academy, and the Merchant Marine Academy, I invite you to visit http://huelskamp.house.gov/nominations for more information.
Upcoming Town Halls
We are in session this upcoming week, but I will host 14 town halls across the First District during the following week.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
10:00am – 11:00am
Rice County Town Hall
Lyons STATE Bank
Community Room
104 E Avenue North
Lyons, Kan.
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Ellsworth County Town Hall
Ellsworth County Courthouse
Downstairs Meeting Room
210 North Kansas
Ellsworth, Kan.
2:00pm – 3:00pm
Russell County Town Hall
Meridy’s Restaurant
1220 South Fossil Street
Russell, Kan.
6:00pm – 7:00pm
Ellis County Town Hall
Hosted by the Big First TEA Party
Thirsty’s
2704 South Vine
Hays, Kan.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
10:00am – 11:00am
Grant County Town Hall
Ulysses City Hall
115 W Grant Ave
Ulysses, Kan.
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Stanton County Town Hall
Senior Center
205 E Weaver Ave
Johnson City, Kan.
2:00pm – 3:00pm
Hamilton County Town Hall
Hamilton County Courthouse
Commissioner’s Room
219 N Main Street
Syracuse, Kan.
4:00pm – 5:00pm
Kearny County Town Hall
Kearny County Library
101 E Prairie St
Lakin, Kan.
6:00pm – 7:00pm
Finney County Town Hall
American Legion
405 S. Main Street
Garden City, Kan.
Friday, March 16, 2012
8:00am – 9:00am
Scott County Town Hall
Scott County Library
110 W 8th Street
Scott City, Kan.
10:00am – 11:00am
Lane County Town Hall
Lane County Courthouse
Community Room
144 S Lane Street
Dighton, Kan.
12:00pm-1:00pm
Ness County Town Hall
Ness County Old Bank Building
102 W Main Street
Ness City, Kan.
2:30pm – 3:30pm
Rush County Town Hall
Walnut Creek Extension Office
702 Main Street
La Crosse, Kan.
4:30pm -5:30pm
Pawnee County Town Hall
Larned Chamber of Commerce
Jordan Room
502 Broadway
Larned, Kan.
Guests in the Office
This past week D.C. staff and I had the privilege of meeting with Carlos Diaz, Superintendent of the Dodge City Soldiers’ Home and member of my Service Academy Nominations Committee; Kansas County Treasurers including Nancy Weeks of Sublette and Cheryl Remington of Gove; Kevin McMurry, the administrator for the Ft. Larned Historic Site, and representatives of the Disabled American Veterans, the Nebraska Sugar Beet Growers, the Kansas State Fraternal Order of Police, the American Legion, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the National Cattleman’s Beef Association, the Esther George of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, the International Dairy Food Association, and Pizza Hut. Guest pictures available here on my Flickr site.
Sincerely,
Tim Huelskamp
Member of Congress