The Burton Blog

Private enterprises play a significant role in health care

Yesterday, Congressman Burton visted Arcadia's DailyMed facility to learn more about how private enterprises are shaping the health care system.  New innovations and diminished health care costs are encouraged by private enterprises.  The Ajax World Magazine online explians more about Dan's visit and the benefits of private health care providers.

"I'm visiting DailyMed Pharmacy in Indianapolis to see how a private enterprise is playing an important role in improving health care in America. In Congress, we are about to embark on a serious debate, and I believe DailyMed is a local example of how our solutions will come from the ingenuity of the private sector."

"...We are very pleased to welcome Congressman Burton to our DailyMed facility. He is a recognized leader in Washington and an important voice for our state on the role innovation must play in making health care safer, more affordable and more accessible for all. After spending two days in Washington last week discussing health care reform and with today's visit by Congressman Burton, its becoming very apparent DailyMed is the right product at the right time," said Marvin R. Richardson, president and CEO of Arcadia Resources.

Burton works with other IN legislators to solve Chrysler contract problems

Dan Burton is working with Congressman Joe Donnelly and Senators Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh to prevent the economic difficulties that will occur if Chrysler breaches its contract. Kokomo Perspective explains in greater detail what the consequence to the community will be.

Below is a breakdown of how much each unit of government stands to lose (the highlighted portions are the parcels Chrysler will not be paying property on):

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Tax Credits for ALL home buyers

Congressman Burton is cosponsoring a bill to give all home buyers a $15,000 or 10% off list price tax credit.  The National Association of Home Builders is one organization in support of this legislation.  The NAHB feels that allowing home buyers a tax credit versus a tax credit for home builders will be more beneficial to both.  Tim Turner writes more about the housing industry in his Kokomo Perspective article.

Burton agrees with Van Natter and the NAHB, and he is cosponsoring legislation to give all homebuyers a $15,000 tax credit or 10 percent of the purchase price, whichever is less.

"The housing industry is in a depression right now, and we need more than just the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers,” Burton said.

The legislation would prevent misuse by forcing the person to repay the credit if the house is sold within two years of being purchased. The legislation would also sunset the original $8,000 credit to first-time homebuyers.

The $15,000 homebuyer tax credit will result in nearly 500,000 additional home sales and create 255,000 new jobs in the year ahead, according to research conducted by the NAHB.

The more you have, the more you sell

Logic would have it that dealerships have to have cars in order to sell them.  In the time that auto companies have been shutting down dealerships, Rep Burton has been fighting to keep the doors of local Indy dealerships open.  He states that there is no logical reason why major producers are pulling cars especially when they admit that there is "no downside to keeping these dealerships open." Channel 13 explains more on the issue.

Indiana 5th district Representative Dan Burton said, "Isn't this too late to do anything about this? I don't think it's too late. They can always rescind the decision that's been made, Chrysler I'm talking about."

Congressman Burton spoke with several Indianapolis dealers Saturday. He has co-sponsored two bills to restore franchise rights to dealerships affected by the Chrysler and GM bankruptcies.

In addition to a representative from Palmer, Congressman Burton also met with three GM dealers but none of them wanted to comment, because their futures are still very much up in the air.

"According to the dealers, there's no downside to keeping these dealerships open. There is no cost to the companies for keeping these dealerships open. So why are they closing them? The more dealerships there are, the more cars you're going to sell," Burton said.

Blue Indiana: Really?

Thomas over at Blue Indiana, in response to THIS post, posed the question we've been hearing from a bunch of Democrats lately.  How could Republicans who spent a bunch of money on the War in Iraq, etc. now complain loudly when President Obama increases the defecit.

Congressman Burton has spoken to this issue several times, not to mention opposing at least two of President Bush's largest spending programs (Medicare Part D and the No Child Left Behind Act).  In addition, along with the Republican Study Committee that he founded, Dan pushed for a number of spending CUTS that were not supported by the Democrat Party.

Either way, its clear that if Republicans spent too much between 2001-2005, when they and Bush were in control, President Obama has set new records- making the Republicans look like "coupon-cutting grocery shoppers."  Take a look at a great video to illustrate the case...

"We are in a situation right now to destroy the United States of America"

We are at a turning point in the United States history.  We have the chance to turn towards the path to success or the road to failure.  The United States forthcoming decisions regarding the recession will determine our future as a country.  At this time, the American debt affects you as an individual, your family, your family yet-to-come, your town, your city, your state, and your nation.

It is vital to sustain awareness of your government's choices.  Here is a clip from BlogTalkRadio that features Dan Burton discussing the economic hardships that are facing us and our future generations due to the decisions of the Obama administration. Burton's dialogue begins at the 33 minute and 30 seconds mark.

Burton signs letter to President Obama

Family Security Matters shares on its website a letter that House Members wrote to President Obama regarding his June 5th trip to Egypt.

May 28, 2009

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

As you prepare to address the “Muslim world” on June 5th from Egypt, we ask that you remain mindful of the power of your words. You have the ability to inspire the countless individuals who wither under the control of repressive governments, encourage Middle Eastern governments to engage important issues, and remind the world of America’s commitment to protecting religious freedom for all people of faith, including Muslims.

The Middle East has historically been a place of religious pluralism and cultural diversity.  However, groups espousing extremist ideologies based upon Wahabbism and Khomeinism have marginalized and repressed both non-Muslim and Muslim women, youth, reformists, pro-democracy advocates, human rights activists, as well as ethnic and religious minorities. Groups such as the Taliban and al Qaeda, whose ideology is intent on dividing humanity between Muslims and non-Muslims, have killed countless individuals, including Muslims, in an effort to overthrow Middle Eastern governments and weaken other non-Muslim governments.

Based on these facts, we urge you to call upon all governments to join the international community in declaring al Qaeda and the Taliban a threat to humanity, and urge them to fight these radical Islamists.

We also ask you to urge Middle Eastern governments to relentlessly lend their support to the marginalized, weak, and oppressed segments of their societies by recognizing the universal importance of basic human dignity.

In a recent opinion piece published in The Washington Post, Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu proclaimed that “repression cannot be rewarded; the voices of those it has silenced must be heard as if the walls of their jails did not exist.” It must be made clear that the United States will stand with all those that are oppressed around the world, from the Baha’is in Iran to the imprisoned blogger in Egypt.

Countless dissidents can attest that their lives improved when their plight was raised publicly by leaders in the West. The pressure put on the Egyptian government by Members of Congress and the Administration following the imprisonment of famed Egyptian dissident Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim helped lead to his eventual release in 2003, after almost three years in prison. We therefore ask you to raise the individual cases of dissidents that languish in the prisons, and others that face persecution, to assure them that they are not forgotten by the American people.  We ask you to advocate for the region’s struggling religious minorities as is consistent with our own rich tradition of religious freedom.

We ask you to call upon the governments of the Middle East to commit to defend freedom and democracy in pluralistic Lebanon, and to call for a stop to political assassinations and a disarmament of militias within their borders. We urge you to ask the Arab League to help the mostly Muslim population of Darfur, which is subjected to a genocide at the hands of a regime whose president is under indictment by the International Criminal Court. We urge you to ask them to help Pakistan in its war against the Taliban, al Qaeda, and other terrorist organizations. We ask you to call on the Organization of Islamic Conference to abandon its goal of imposing so-called “Defamation of Religions” laws which will repress reformists and groups seeking democracy in Muslim and non-Muslim societies alike.

We urge you to ask the governments of the Middle East to commit to a just and lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict via a two states solution based on a mutual recognition between Israel and any Palestinian state-to-be. The starting point for this should not be Israeli concessions, but the recognition of Israel and its right to exist.

Please remind your audience that while the international community is committed to help Muslim minorities around the world, including those in India, Russia, China, and the West, at the same time we must ensure that all other minorities inside the "Muslim world" are granted their basic rights.  We urge you to ask them to discuss the root causes of what they call “Islamophobia,” particularly the rise of radical Islamist ideologies, which have generated tensions and violence worldwide among Muslims and non-Muslims alike. We urge you to ask them to help Egypt fight the scourge of terrorism and stand by its own Coptic minority, often targeted by extremists’ violence. We urge you to ask them to speak out against radical Islamists all around the world and not condone their behavior with complacency.

We urge you to highlight the contributions of the American people to ameliorate suffering in Muslim communities around the world. For example, the United States military saved countless lives in the hours and days immediately following the tsunami that ravaged Indonesia. Similarly, our military forces were the first on the scene to deliver humanitarian relief and medical treatment to Pakistan in 2005 when that country was hit by a terrible earthquake. In fact, your Administration recently announced $100 million in aid to provide relief to the Pakistani people who are affected by the effort to rout Taliban extremists in that country. These are efforts of which the American people can be proud, and which your speech could rightly highlight.

Similarly, your speech can remind the Muslim world of U.S. efforts in the Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts to prevent Muslim massacres and ethnic cleansing, as well as American efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan which liberated 50 million people, mostly Muslim, from the jaws of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship and the cruel violence of the Taliban terror regime.

Mr. President, you have a great opportunity to engage and inspire Middle Eastern governments and Muslims around the world with your words. We urge you to consider including these important recommendations in your speech.

Sincerely yours,

Frank Wolf
Member of Congress

John Shadegg
Member of Congress

Sue Myrick
Member of Congress

Ted Poe
Member of Congress

Zach Wamp
Member of Congress

Trent Franks
Member of Congress

Dan Burton
Member of Congress

Paul Broun
Member of Congress

Patrick McHenry
Member of Congress

Joe Pitts
Member of Congress

$8 for a gallon of gas

It's a likely probability of Obama's "Cap and Trade" proposal.

Under Obama's Cap and Trade energy plan, there are efforts to raise prices of natural fossil-fuel  consumption. In theory, this practice would lower fossil-fuel usage and save energy. However, this plan solves one problem only to create another of equal importance.  The dramatic rate increases will be passed onto consumers and taxpayers.  In this economy, the American people cannot afford to pay expenses like $8 per gallon of gas.  Here is Burton's agrument in Jeff Tucker's Shelbyville News article:

Burton, who represents the remainder of Shelby County in the U.S. House, said the legislation could cost Americans $646 billion in additional taxes.

"It's going to send thousands, and probably millions, of jobs overseas to China and India, countries that don't have the same kind of environmental standards we have, and it's going to cost every single American household thousands of dollars in additional expenditures per year," Burton said. "Now they say it's not going to be a tax on individuals or households, but the fact is it will be an indirect tax because the business and industries of this country that are taxed are going to pass those costs along to the consumer, which means that every single household in this country will have to spend between $3,000 and $4,000 in additional expenses every single year. And that's money that right now during this recession the American people simply cannot afford."

Burton said cap and trade is an unnecessary tax and is "just something that should not happen." He said Obama conceded in January 2008 during an editorial board meeting with a California newspaper that electricity rates "would necessarily skyrocket" under cap and trade.
"We have to take the president at his word," Burton said.

Burton said a new natural gas discovery in Louisiana could help America become energy independent.

"In Louisiana, they just discovered the largest natural gas find, I think, in the world at this point," Burton said. "It was the equivalent of 380-some billion barrels of oil. So we have an additional resource that was not well-known just a few short weeks ago. And with that, I think the United States of America could rapidly move toward energy independence if we put our minds to it. It's just a matter of the Congress of the United States realizing that we can have less reliance on foreign oil and foreign energy and do the jobs ourselves here at home."

"...We know they have a missile that has pinpoint accuracy..."

On May 20th, Iran released footage of its test missile . Dan Robinson from Voice of America News shares the urgency that Republican Congressional Members have for missile self-defense systems, specifically for Israel.  Here is the urgency that Congressman Dan Burton expressed:

Republican Representative Dan Burton said Congress should send a signal in every piece of legislation it approves that Tehran's ballistic missile and nuclear aspirations are unacceptable.

"Now we know they have a missile that has pinpoint accuracy that can reach Europe and Israel, and [Iranian President] Ahmadinejad has said he wants to see Israel wiped off the face of the Earth, and I think it is extremely important that we send a very strong message by adopting this amendment to this bill that we strongly support a cooperative effort to make sure we have anti-ballistic missile technology that Israel can use to knock down those missiles if they are fired at Israel," said Dan Burton.

Energy Saving Tips

Our need for affordable energy is growing faster than ever. In the last 25 years, our energy needs have grown by the equivalent of 5 billion barrels a day in oil and there is no sign that our desire for energy is going down.

Recently we have seen the highest home heating costs ever, the highest diesel costs ever, the highest gasoline costs ever, and the highest natural gas costs ever. The poor and middle class of this country are struggling to heat their homes and put gas in their cars.

My colleagues and I have made great strides in comprehensive energy reform during this session of Congress and I will continue to address those issues throughout my service to you. With this in mind, I wanted to also pass along the following energy saving tips:

• Set your programmable thermostat to save energy while you are away or asleep. Using it properly can save up to $180 per year in energy costs.
• Run ceiling fans in a clockwise direction to create a wind-chill effect that will make you “feel” cooler. Remember that ceiling fans cool people, not rooms -- so turn them off when you leave the room.
• Inspect your duct system for obvious signs of leaks and disconnections (most houses leak 20 percent or more). Seal any leaks with foil tape or a special sealant called “duct mastic.” Also, consider insulating ducts in unconditioned areas (like the attic, basement or crawlspace).
• Seal air leaks around your home to keep the heat out and the cool air in. The biggest air leaks are usually found in the attic or basement, but also come in around doors, windows, vents, pipes and electrical outlets. Use caulk, spray foam or weather stripping to seal the leaks. And add more insulation to keep your home cooler this summer.
• Maintain your cooling system. Check your system’s air filter every month at a minimum and change the filter every three months. Remove leaves, dirt and other debris from around the outdoor components to improve air flow and efficiency. Have a qualified professional tune-up your system with a pre-season maintenance checkup and, if it’s time to replace your old system, look for models that have earned EPA’s Energy Star.
• Turn off office lights and equipment when not in use so they don’t generate unnecessary heat.
• Replace incandescent light bulbs in your desk lamp with Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs which use two-thirds less energy and generate less heat than conventional bulbs.