$10 per stick cigar tax?

**bigwhiteash** · 07-20-2007, 08:22 AM

Originally Posted by COMB2

Can someone type up a well worded statement? I'm no good at that stuff. Don't want to write the congressmen and sound stupid.

Use this link, http://capwiz.com/rtda/issues/alert/?alertid=10008296

once you enter your zip, there will be a text box with "pre-written well worded statements" on the right hand side, just click on one or more and yoou're all set.

**cigar no baka** · 07-20-2007, 04:48 PM

Well, my message got through to Bush and Kay Baily Hutchinson. It took me like ten tries to get a message through to Cornyn; his stupid website kept timing out. Booooo Cornyn, upgrade your servers!!!

**spiffykyle** · 07-20-2007, 08:20 PM

Originally Posted by cigar no baka

Well, my message got through to Bush and Kay Baily Hutchinson. It took me like ten tries to get a message through to Cornyn; his stupid website kept timing out. Booooo Cornyn, upgrade your servers!!!

According to Cornyn he opposes the bill anyways, not because of cigars but because this is a gimmicky and short sighted way to fund an important health care program. So we're good there.

spiffy

**cigar no baka** · 07-23-2007, 02:32 PM

Originally Posted by spiffykyle

According to Cornyn he opposes the bill anyways, not because of cigars but because this is a gimmicky and short sighted way to fund an important health care program. So we're good there.

spiffy

OK, good, where or when did he say that?

**koolhandk** · 07-24-2007, 01:21 PM

Here is the response I received from Mel Martinez (FL):

Thank you for contacting me regarding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. I appreciate hearing from you and would like to take this opportunity to respond.

The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) enables states to provide coverage for low-income children with no health insurance in families with incomes higher than Medicaid eligibility levels. States are provided with three-year block grants from the federal government in order to administer these programs.

On February 5, 2007, President George W. Bush submitted his fiscal year 2008 budget request to Congress. This request proposes reauthorizing the SCHIP program for five years and increase SCHIP allotments by $5 billion. In addition, it encourages states to focus SCHIP on low-income, uninsured children below 200 percent of the Federal poverty level.

There are several proposals before Congress which would expand the SCHIP program to include millions of children and adults – many of whom already have coverage. In order to fund the $50 billion expansion, these proposals would raise the federal excise tax on tobacco by 61 cents and would cut funding to the Medicare Advantage program.

It is critical to our national economy that Congress act responsibly with taxpayer dollars when reauthorizing SCHIP. The Urban Institute recently released a study on the number of children eligible for SCHIP but who are not currently covered. They found that there are 690,000 children without coverage, which is far below the 9 million estimated by proponents of SCHIP expansion.

The mission of SCHIP is to ensure that low-income children have access to quality and effective health care. I will continue to work with my colleagues in the Senate to ensure that the “C” in SCHIP continues to stand for children, and that your tax dollars continue to support a program with proven results.

Again, thank you for sharing your views. If you have any additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me. In addition, for more information about issues and activities important to Florida, please sign up for my weekly newsletter at http://martinez.senate.gov.

Sincerely,

Mel Martinez
United States Senator

**spiffykyle** · 07-24-2007, 02:41 PM

Originally Posted by cigar no baka

OK, good, where or when did he say that?

That's what i got on the phone with an aide, plus from a reply email. Here's a clip:

Dear Mr. Ingram:

Thank you for [blah blah blah blah blah]

[blah blah blah blah blah blah blah]...I believe Congress should not rely on budgetary gimmicks or tax increases. Instead, Congress should focus on eliminating wasteful government spending. In fact, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent, investigative arm of Congress, has identified billions of dollars in federal expenditures that are vulnerable to waste, fraud, and abuse. The GAO found that more than 10 percent of SCHIP enrollees are actually adults whose participation in SCHIP is diverting funds from the needs of low-income children. Instead of raising taxes, Congress should strengthen SCHIP by considering the President’s proposal to terminate or reduce the budgets of over 140 inefficient or ineffective government programs.

[blah blah blah blah blah blah]

Sincerely,

JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator

spiffy