Granger's Weekly Email Blast


September 17, 2009
Dear Friend:

I wanted to pass along some updates on things happening in Washington. Some of them you may have heard about, some you may not have. But I think they're important so I want to make sure you're aware.

Health Care
We had a lot of talk but not much action this week. After President Obama said last week he was offering something new, the Democrats are still pushing the same wrong ideas. I hope they'll realize that the American people don't want a new government bureaucracy coming between them and their doctors.

There's a better way to improve health care. Please click here to see my plan, which includes real tort reform, portability, tax credits for individuals and more common sense reforms that will bring down costs and let you have greater control over your own health care.

Czars
President Obama’s Green Jobs Czar, Van Jones, recently resigned after information surfaced about his past political activities. What else do we NOT know about these czars?

As it turns out, plenty. With a few exceptions, the 30+ czars now serving in the Obama administration are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. That means their activities, records, and correspondence will be hidden from the public until five years after President Obama leaves office. This is wrong and needs to change. That’s why I’m a cosponsor of a bill (H.Con.Res. 185) that will help us get more information from the President about these czars, and will require Congress to hold hearings on their activities. People who make decisions that affect your life should be accountable to you, not just to the President.

ACORN
ACORN has been in the news again, and anytime you hear news about ACORN, it isn’t good. The behavior of the ACORN employees is shocking and unacceptable. As a result of this latest scandal, last week, the Census Bureau severed all ties with ACORN. On Monday, the Senate voted to strip ACORN of more than $1.6 million in federal housing money. It’s time to stop all funding for ACORN – period. On Tuesday, I signed onto a bill (H.R. 3571) that would do just that.

Education
Today, the House is considering a bill that would not only take over the student loan industry – it would push college even further out of reach for the poorest students. Right now, students who have Perkins loans don’t have to pay interest on those loans until nine months after they graduate. The bill the House passed today would change that, so students would be charged interest on Perkins loans while they are in school. Increasing the financial burden on the most financially needy students makes no sense to me. That’s why I voted against this bill.

As always, please let me know what you think about these issues and whatever else is on your mind. Please go here to send me your comments.

Sincerely,

Kay