Statement by 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin

On behalf of the elderly and other soon to be seniors, and to all other over-taxed and over-regulated Americans, the 60 Plus Association, with more than seven million activists, wholeheartedly thanks the House of Representatives for voting today, 245-189, to repeal the burdensome and poorly conceived health law passed last year despite majority opposition to its enactment.

We can truthfully say that today’s vote was the right prescription for what ails most Americans, but significantly most seniors. It halts nearly one trillion dollars in new taxes, stops the $575 billion slashed from Medicare–a system seniors have paid into all their working lives–and just as importantly, puts physicians and patients back in charge of medicine, rather than politicians and their un-elected policy czars.

We especially thank new House Speaker John Boehner for his leadership, and also the Democrats who defied their former Majority leaders–Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer–for being truly ‘representatives’ of the people. The people spoke loud and clear last November. No more over-spending of money we don’t have, and that includes the massive cost of this so-called health care bill.

We advise the Senate to pay close attention, particularly those up for re-election in 2012. I predict repeal can pass the Senate but not the 60 votes now needed in that body. And of course the President will veto it even if it passes the Senate.

But elections are great marshallers of public opinion and the voters will decide if it wants bad medicine or if it wants a cure–in the form of incremental changes that a majority support, i. e., pre-existing conditions, insurance across state lines, badly needed legal reforms to halt frivolous and expensive lawsuits that wind up making the pocketbooks of the lawyer’s ‘healthy,’ and riddance of unconstitutional mandates.

In other words, keep the good and throw out the bad, keep the baby, not the bath water. 16,000 new government workers (read IRS agents) can seek a job elsewhere. Dozens of new agencies, paper work by the ton, can be set aside. I could go on ad infinitum but today’s action was a clarion call: First do no harm.

A good dose of medicine, castor oil we called it 60 plus years ago when I was a youngster. This vote was good for America and we thank Democrats and Republicans alike for their curative action.

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