Puff Cigar Discussion Forums

Guitarman-S.T- · 08-15-2007, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macjoe53

A Senator who "gets it"

Dear Mr. Gibson,

Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to increasing the tobacco tax to pay for an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this important issue and want you to know that I agree with you.

You may be pleased to know that I voted against the bill that would increase the federal excise tax on tobacco by 61 cents per pack of cigarettes to expand SCHIP. That increase would raise the average retail price on each pack of cigarettes in Louisiana by more than 16 percent. Also, a new tax would be placed on cigars of up to $10 per cigar. It has been estimated that this tax increase could potentially result in a revenue loss of hundreds of millions of dollars, as many people choose to stop smoking in light of the dramatically increased tax.

Since 1997, many states' SCHIP programs have evolved and expanded beyond the original scope of the program. Some state programs include coverage for adults and children of families who have incomes 400 percent above the Federal Poverty Level, which has caused large shortfalls in SCHIP funding each year for a program intended for children. For instance, a family of four making over $82,000 per year would be eligible for SCHIP. These SCHIP expansions stray from the original intention of the program and are creating a more bureaucratic, government-controlled health care delivery system. I believe that we should help families access health care by promoting the use of health savings accounts, association health plans, and tax credits for the purchase of health insurance. These alternatives would allow individuals and families the freedom to choose the plan that best suits their needs rather than forcing families into government-run health care.

Rest assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind as I continue working in the U.S. Senate to bring common sense to our tax system. Once again, thank you for contacting me about this important issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about other issues important to you and your family.

Sincerely,

Senator David Vitter
United States Senator

P.S. Please visit my webiste to sign up for E-Updates and receive regular email updates from me on the issues important to Louisiana families.

Hell yah! I sent a message to Iowa's Minnesota's as well as Nevada's because i all have relation in the states and could give an address. Still no response but i just hope and pray they agree with our concern. I also posted a link to RP's youtube post, just so they know the facts that many are hiding behind. Together we are STRONG, if you have not notified what you think to your local senator please do, Now is the time, and it actually will work out for us in the long run if we can only donate a few minutes of our time. TO me it was well worth it, to a few others it surely was, but to the majority, they just think that everyone else is so they dont need to voice it.. but the truth is... we do-

averagejoe · 08-22-2007, 04:54 PM

I am QUITE familiar with the wonderful Senator Barbara "Babs" Mikulski from Maryland. She is a die-hard, left wing, socialist who has been in office as long as I can remember.

All Babs is concerned about is how much she knows what is good for you and how she can keep her butt in office, sucking up your tax dollars and taking care of her "causes". She couldn't give a hoot about what YOU think, since she knows much more than you do, and what's good for you.

A friend of mine sent an email to her regarding the Cigar Tax and received the same canned response. She could at LEAST hire lackey's that take the time to read the correspondance sent to her. There's NOTHING in her canned response that mentions the Cigar Tax, just the cigarette tax.

But, to give her credit, at least she responded. I contacted the other left wing socialist Senator from MD, Ben Cardin, and never even received a response from him.

I wonder if my comment that he should take the pay raise he voted himself and use that to pay for the program would have caused a problem?

Heh-heh-heh...

kjjm4 · 08-22-2007, 05:18 PM

I never recieved any response from any of my representatives/senators. Guess they don't want my vote.

Sturat · 08-22-2007, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjjm4

I never recieved any response from any of my representatives/senators. Guess they don't want my vote.

Same here

Bob · 08-25-2007, 04:36 PM

The problem with this is in this state kids whose families that don't qualify for Medicaid are being sent letters stating that they will have to pay insurance premium to the government for their kids to be covered. The parents not making enough money will be paying a insurance "premium" and Cig and Cigar smokers will be giving money to boot. So the "gap" medicaid family will be paying the government and the smoker will be paying too! Kinda funny how the government has become the insurer too.

Seanohue · 09-04-2007, 07:41 PM

Haha nice one Babs:

Dear Mr. Seanohue:

Thank you for getting in touch with me about health care for children. It's great to hear from you.

I absolutely share your concern for the over 12 million children without health insurance. I firmly believe that all children should have access to high quality, affordable health care and health insurance coverage.

Medicaid plays a vital role as a health care safety net by providing health care coverage to uninsured children. The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which I fought to create in 1997, expanded on the Medicaid program to cover children in families with incomes above traditional Medicaid eligibility levels. Together, these essential programs provide health care to more than 20 million children. But there is more that must be done to ensure every child has access to care - regardless of their family's wealth.

That's why I am fighting so that states have the resources they need to continue covering these children. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the Keep Children Covered Act of 2007 (S. 401). This important legislation would eliminate the funding shortfall from the SCHIP program that many states, including Maryland , are facing this year.

Without these funds, states may be forced to cut enrollment, and many of the children now participating in the Maryland SCHIP program could lose their health coverage and become uninsured.

You will be happy to know that the Senate overwhelmingly passed the SCHIP Reauthorization bill by a vote of 68-31. The House of Representatives has passed similar legislation. Differences between these two bills will need to be reconciled and passed again by both chambers before being sent to the President, who had threatened to veto the bill.

Knowing of your support for this legislation will be helpful to me as I continue fighting to strengthen and protect the health care safety net for our children.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please let me know if I can be of help to you in the future.

Sincerely,
Barbara A. Mikulski
United States Senator

I sent that e-mail about a month ago, and the reply I get is that she somehow thinks I support it

Thanks a lot Babs

Bob · 09-04-2007, 08:46 PM

Now we know why the country is in the shape its in....I don't know whether to sigh or cry!!!

Darrell · 09-05-2007, 05:05 PM

This is the most canned BS e-mail of them all:

Quote:

Dear Staff Sergeant Mogg:
Thank you for contacting my office to express your views on Congressional reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). As Congress continues to consider legislation on this issue, I will keep your views in mind.
I believe that all citizens should become involved in the legislative process by letting their voices be heard, and I appreciate the time and effort that you took to share your thoughts with me. One of the most important aspects of my job is keeping informed about the views of my constituents, and I welcome your comments so that I may continue to represent California to the best of my ability. Should I have the opportunity to consider legislation on this or similar issues, I will keep your views in mind.
For additional information about my activities in the U.S. Senate, please visit my website, http://boxer.senate.gov. From this site, you can access statements and press releases that I have issued about current events and pending legislation, request copies of legislation and government reports, and receive detailed information about the many services that I am privileged to provide for my constituents. You may also wish to visit http://thomas.loc.gov to track current and past legislation.
Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. I appreciate hearing from you.

[SIZE=+1] Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

Please visit my website at http://boxer.senate.gov[/SIZE]

smokin5 · 09-06-2007, 12:01 AM

Here's the one I received today (a month after I e-mailed) from the lovely & talented Jon Kyl of Arizona:

"Thank you for contacting me about an increase in the federal excise tax.

As you may know, the Senate passed the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (S. 1893) on August 2. Unfortunately, instead of simply reauthorizing and improving the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), this bill would expand the program's coverage beyond low-income children to middle class children and even adults. In order to pay for this expansion, this legislation would substantially increase the federal excise tax on tobacco.

I voted against this legislation and, instead, cosponsored the alternative that would have refocused SCHIP to low-income children. This fiscally responsible alternative would hve expanded coverage to 1.3 million low-income children without raising taxes.

The legislation that passed the Senate must now be reconciled with the different version passed by the House of Representatives. The President has said he will veto the bill unless it is scaled back significantly. I will continue to encourage my colleagues to support a SCHIP reauthorization that does not increase taxes.

Please kep in touch.

Sincerely,
Jon Kyl
United States Senator"

I've never voted for this lapdog, but I must say, I like his stance on this bill!

Especially since John McCain ("the other white senator") has not responded to my e-mail at all. I guess he's too busy trying to be our next president, huh?