- DEAN SEARCH
- About LBJ
- News & Publications
- Faculty
- Research & Centers
- Center for Politics and Governance
- Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law
- Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources
- Center for Health and Social Policy
- Center for Ethical Leadership
- RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service
- Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy
- Professional Education
- Contact Us
Do Health Care Reformers Fear a Reading Public?
Co-authored by Senator John Cornyn
Obama shouldn't skip the opportunity to encourage Congress to engage the middle.
This summer, the American people have focused intently on how Washington proposes to reform health care. One thing is clear: They aren't impressed with Congress' efforts to date.
A new CBS poll shows that average citizens, by a margin of 31 to 18, think they'll be worse off under the proposed overhaul. Their worries at town halls--about the value the government will place on human life and about the odd claim that spending $1 trillion more will save money--are commonsensical, not un-American questions. The president has an opportunity Wednesday not to double-down on the Congress' failing strategy, but to demonstrate the kind of change to Washington's business-as-usual on which he campaigned.
While the media has focused on intermittent shouting, our main take-away from the town halls has been different: An unprecedented number of voters are actually reading the draft legislation. At the overflow events we've seen, broad cross-sections of America--patients to providers, students to seniors, small-business owners to corporate executives--are reciting page and line numbers from the 1,000-page bills. In most cases, questioners have shown greater command of the technical substance of these proposals than many who have voted for the legislation.
Working Americans, who have seen billions of their hard-earned dollars squandered on the financial and auto bailouts, no longer believe Washington deserves the benefit of the doubt. After the frantic rush to pass an economic stimulus package less than 24 hours after it was written, only a small fraction of the dollars have been spent in the subsequent seven months. While Washington guaranteed the stimulus bill would keep unemployment below 8%, one in 10 Americans are now struggling to find jobs. Washington promised to cut the deficit in half, yet budget officials project we will actually add more than $9 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.
Asking if Washington's rhetoric matches the reality of what the bills say is not only the right but the responsibility of an engaged, educated citizenry. Beltway insiders do not seem to realize that average Americans no longer take politicians' vague promises at face value.
On Main Streets across Texas, the quote of the year belongs to Rep. John Conyers: "What good is reading the bill if it's a thousand pages and you don't have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?" Feeling swindled from the $787 stimulus bill, wary constituents are picking up the slack and reading the health care legislation themselves. And they want to make sure their elected representatives know what the fine print actually says.
Copyright 2009 Forbes.com
