White House Health Care Summit

Statement

Dear Friend,

We are in the middle of an exciting and busy week - from the President's Health Care Summit, to the Committee on Energy and Commerce's Hearing on Toyota Motor Corporation, to the Credit Card Reform Act taking effect. If you are able, I encourage you to view the Summit and let me know your thoughts on the issues discussed.

Health Care Summit

On Thursday, February 25, President Barack Obama will hold a bi-partisan Health Care Summit with Congressional leaders to discuss comprehensive health insurance reform legislation. Prior to the summit, President Obama released his own health reform plan, and I am carefully reviewing his proposal. As you know, I am a strong supporter of health reform and have been involved in the shaping of the House legislation as Vice Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The importance of health reform was recently highlighted in our Committee when we examined Anthem Blue Cross of California's request to raise premiums. Similar increases are squeezing people in Colorado. This is unacceptable and unsustainable. We must pass reform to end these exorbitant increases.

President Obama's summit will begin at 8 A.M. MST on Thursday, February 25 and is scheduled to last for six hours. You can watch the entire proceeding live on C-SPAN or on http://www.whitehouse.gov/live. At the conclusion of the summit, I encourage you to post your feedback on my Facebook wall.

1 Year Anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

February 17 marked the one-year anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). In the three months preceding the passage of this important legislation, the country lost 2.2 million jobs and our economy teetered on the brink of a depression. The Recovery Act pulled us back from the brink of economic collapse. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reports that ARRA is directly responsible for more than 2 million jobs and more than 3% of Gross Domestic Product growth. In Colorado, ARRA created more than 33,000 jobs. ARRA provided tax cuts for more than 95% of working Americans, backed almost $20 billion dollars in small business loans, extended unemployment insurance and COBRA health benefits to help those looking for new jobs, and laid the foundation for a 21st century economy by investing in high speed rail, green energy, electronic medical records, and broadband internet access. More than 249,000 middle-class families in the 1st District of Colorado have already benefited from the Making Work Pay Tax Credit, and more than 33,400 households in Colorado have taken advantage of the first-time homebuyers tax credit contained in ARRA. These policies will continue to stimulate our economy through 2010, and I intend to continue working to promote growth and job creation as we overcome the damage to our economy.

While we have made progress, many families are still struggling to make ends meet. In order to continue to save and create new jobs, I voted for the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010, which passed the House of Representatives last December. This bill provided for $154 billion in targeted investments for highways and transit, school renovation, hiring teachers, police, and firefighters, supporting small business activity, job training, affordable housing, and emergency relief efforts. These investments are made by redirecting TARP funds from Wall Street to Main Street. The Senate just passed a jobs bill today.

Credit Card Reform

This Monday, February 22, the Credit Card Reform Act of 2009 went into effect. This legislation, which Congress passed and the President signed into law last spring, marks a turning point for protecting consumer rights and holding credit card companies accountable. The new rules prohibit credit card companies from increasing rates retroactively, from charging misleading and hidden fees, and from unfairly or arbitrarily raising interest rates. Credit card companies are now required to be transparent, straightforward, and consistent in how they charge fees, decide on interest rates, and collect payments. Additionally, credit card companies will no longer be able to mislead college students and other young adults into signing up for credit cards they cannot afford. From now on, individuals under 21 years old must show sources of income or have a co-signer to be eligible for a credit card.

Toyota Hearing

On Tuesday, February 23, the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing to investigate Toyota Motor Corporation's response to persistent consumer complaints of sudden, unintended acceleration of their vehicles. After the committee reviewed over 100,000 pages of documents and heard from Toyota, independent auto-experts, and consumers, it seems clear that both Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) failed to live up to their responsibilities. Further investigation must be conducted into the corporation's actions and into the actions of the NHTSA, and to determine whether there is an electronic defect in some Toyota models that causes unintended acceleration.

As always, I will continue to advocate for you and the people of Colorado's First Congressional District.

Sincerely,

Diana DeGette
Member of Congress

P.S. -- The House just passed the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act which would repeal the McCarran-Ferguson Act exemption from U.S. antitrust laws and subject health insurers to the same good-competition laws that apply to virtually every other company doing business in the United States. I was an original cosponsor of similar legislation and was pleased to see it pass today.

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