In his editorial on the recently passed health care reform bill published March 21, 2010 in the Denver Post, Rep. Coffman (CO-6) asserts that statements from the CBO and Democrats are utterly false. That takes some guts given that in January, 2009 Mr. Coffman referred to a non-existent CBO report to explain one of the first of his many no votes during his first year in office (Colorado Independent, 1/28/09).
He then asserts that, "... the benefits don't begin to kick in until after 2013." Maybe he should have picked up the Wall Street Journal first. In its March 20-21, 2010 edition, an article on the health care bill is titled "Consumers Would See Benefits Soon After Enactment." The box summary of the article is titled "Changes for 2010" and explains that preventative care must be covered on new policies and insurers can't cancel the policies of sick people or place life time caps on benefits. I ask Mr. Coffman to look any American in the eye who has a family member suffering from cancer or some other serious illness and tell him or her that these are not immediate benefits.
The WSJ article continues, "Starting this year, small businesses with fewer than 25 employees and average annual wages of less than $50,000 would be eligible for tax credits to cover up to 35% of their insurance premiums." As a self proclaimed champion of small business, Mr. Coffman is on the thinnest of ice by completely ignoring provisions that will finally allow all small businesses to compete with large businesses for the best employees available.
During Mr. Coffman's first year in office we have seen no initiative and no record of mission accomplishment, just a long series of no votes and commentaries filled with inaccurate statements, partisan attacks and convoluted explanations for blindly following his party's lead. The people of Colorado want and need leaders with integrity, initiative, a plan for the future, the ability to work with all parties to get things done, and a deep desire to serve all of the people.