Bad Georgia: A Message to Congressman Tom Price

Tom Price is my Congressman, and he has voted "No" on the new SCHIP bill. I wrote this letter to him this morning. If you live in Congressman Price's district, I encourage you to do the same.

Congressman Price:

I forward petitions to you almost daily regarding one issue or the other, but I believe this is the first time I have written a personal message. I cannot stress enough how disappointed I am in your No vote regarding SCHIP. I am in receipt of your letter explaining your position, and while I truly appreciate your efforts to communicate with your constituents and keep us informed, your words have only made me even more appalled at your vote.

Although I am sure you have many constituents whose lives and the lives of their children are made better by PeachCare, I wonder if you have ever had a personal relationship with someone who struggles to make ends meet and must choose between such basics of daily life as rent, food, and their child’s healthcare. I wonder if you or anyone close to you has ever sat up all night in an emergency room with a sick child. Given your vote on SCHIP, I doubt you have.

I would like to tell you the story of a very good friend of mine. Like you, I am a relatively privileged Caucasian with a strong educational background. I grew up with a wonderful, supportive family and was given every opportunity in life. I grew up in the 30067 zip code and did not know anyone from a disadvantaged background until I left home for university. I know work at an Atlanta law firm, where I have forged a strong friendship with a young African-American woman who is a single mother with two children who benefit greatly from PeachCare. This young woman grew up with every possible obstacle to success that you can imagine. Her family was very poor; she had no father; alcoholism, drug abuse, and disease were rife. She was the victim of childhood sexual, physical and psychological abuse. She is very, very intelligent and a high school graduate, but was unable to attend college due to cost. Despite these remarkable odds, she has done everything “right” her whole life, according to what our society expects of its citizens. Her children were born in wedlock to the same father; he left her just over 3 years ago and she has raised her children alone since then. She drives over an hour each way every day to come to work, where she has truly transformed the department she runs single-handedly for a salary of around $25,000 per year. Last year, she was diagnosed with a serious, incurable illness, yet she has an almost stellar attendance record and is one of the most beloved and respected members of our staff. She has been told by her doctor that she could claim disability and hence government medical benefits for herself and her children, but she is proud and a good mother and wants to set a good example to her children by working hard. She also provides moral and some financial support to extended family members struggling with addiction, autism and long-term unemployment. Her husband seldom makes any child support payments. With her salary, she can barely make ends meet each month and constantly has maxed-out credit cards. Without PeachCare, she would be unable to provide health care for her children.

This young woman could easily have been the poster child for the anti-welfare movement – the disadvantaged “loser” who falls prey to (or opts for, depending on your belief) childhood pregnancy, unemployment, addiction, and a life of crime. But she has worked very, very hard her entire life to embody the American dream that anyone can make something of themselves.

The thought that a person like this may soon have the added enormous stress of night-long emergency room visits thanks to you and your cronies disgusts me. You claim that this new SCHIP incarnation is the first step on a slippery scope to government-funded single-payer healthcare and invoke the specter of socialism. Given that your top contributor is a private healthcare company (Resurgens Orthopaedic) and your number five contributor an insurance company (AFLAC), I find this stance to be very disingenuous. I am also sickened that a person whose voting record shows a consistent lack of support for family planning, abortion rights, and reproductive health care measures would vote against children’s health care. Sir, you embody the cliché of a selfish, privileged man who wants to tell women when and how they can reproduce yet denies them any assistance in the raising of their children while bolstering the interest of a greedy, corrupt, and thoroughly broken private health care system that will, I am quite sure, be the downfall of our society if it is to continue along its current course. I also feel that, given your votes on issues regarding separation of church and state, that you have an agenda concerning reproductive freedom that is informed by ideas that our Constitution clearly states have no place in American politics.

I do not think I have ever agreed with a single vote you have cast, but have generally respected you for your efforts to explain your position and supported your right to your beliefs in this free society. On this occasion, however, I must say that, frankly, I am completely disgusted by you and truly ashamed to have you represent me in our nation’s government. I wish that you and your cronies could be made to live for just one month with the circumstances that my friend and millions like her must endure throughout their lives, as I am quite sure that this would quickly change your vote on SCHIP. As this is an impossibility, all I can do is let you know how I, your constituent, feel.

Sir, I respectfully ask you to please reconsider your position on this incredibly important issue. Thank you very much for taking the time to read these heartfelt words.