Candy (Miller) vs. Sandy (Levin) on defunding Obamacare

To no one’s surprise, Macomb County’s two lawmakers, Reps. Candy Miller and Sandy Levin, split their votes today on the House budget bill that would defund Obamacare.

A Harrison Township Republican, Miller received applause from tea party groups when she announced last week that she would support the plan to tie Obamacare defunding to the temporary budget bill that needs passage by Oct. 1 in order to avoid a government shutdown.

In a statement, Miller said:

“Today members of the U.S. House put forward and passed a plan to protect every American from the harmful effects of ObamaCare, allowing for patient-centered health care reforms to take the place of the president’s burdensome law.  By ending the reign of Obamacare, we ensure that every American is provided the relief needed from this burdensome law, not just the big businesses that the administration decided to exempt. 

“On Sept. 30, the federal government will reach the end of the fiscal year, and we call on our colleagues in the U.S. Senate to join us and pass H.J.Res. 59.   Congress must act now to responsibly fund the federal government with the current spending levels mandated by the Budget Control Act and avoid a shutdown of vital government services, keep our nation’s finances stable by enacting the Full Faith and Credit Act requiring the U.S. Treasury Department to make good on public debt payments should America reach its statutory debt ceiling, and pass legislation to fully defund Obamacare ending undue burdens.  Members of the U.S. House have acted to avoid a shutdown; the U.S. Senate must join us now.”

In contrast, Levin, a Royal Oak Democrat who represents most of Macomb County, said House Republicans took the first step toward a government shutdown by tying Obamacare defunding to a budget bill that would continue funding the federal government through Dec. 15.

Here is Levin’s statement:

“House Republicans are charting a course toward chaos, led by their obsession with keeping big health insurers in charge of Americans’ health care. They have closed their eyes to reality and shut their ears even to many of their staunchest allies – including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – who have urged them not plunge our nation into the abyss. Their blind ideology now threatens the economic well-being of all Americans.”

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Btw: Miller voted for another controversial GOP bill on Thursday, when the House, by a 217-210 vote, agreed largely along partisan lines to cut $40 billion from the food stamp program over 10 years.

Under the influence of tea party conservatives, House Republican leaders said the food stamp program, which carries an $80 billion annual price tag, had ballooned out of control even as the U.S. unemployment rate has fallen.

The legislation would end certain state exemptions from federal rules by requiring adults between 18 and 50 without minor children to find a job or to enroll in a work-training program in order to receive benefits.

The measure would also limit food stamp benefits for individual recipients to three months. It would also limit the time those recipients could get benefits to three months. Currently, states can extend food stamp benefits past three months under certain circumstances.

Democrats said the cuts were “draconian” and “heartless,” as the average family on the safety-net program receives about $1.50 per meal, per day. Republicans said the program is plagued by fraud and creates government dependency, so “responsible nutrition program reforms” are needed.

Miller said:

“Americans have a long and proud tradition of extending aid to their fellow citizens in times of need.  When our friends, our families and our communities need help we have provided it – and as taxpayers, we provide this assistance through our federal government.  However, for decades these nutrition supplemental programs, more commonly known as food stamps, were combined with our nation’s farm policy even though one has little to do with the other.  This is why (on Thursday) the House passed a bill to ensure that the food stamp programs stand on their own merit, making the needed reforms to strengthen assistance, ensuring our nation’s citizens are provided with a better product, as well as saving the taxpayers an estimated $40 billion over ten years. 

“These reforms will provide the assistance to those who need it and work to end the (rampant) waste, fraud and abuse done by a few who steal millions from the program.  One example recently reported was of the arrest of nine retailers from Detroit’s Eastern Market Terminal for defrauding the government’s food stamp program, stealing millions of dollars.  And that is just one recent example.”