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LINCOLN’S TOWN HALL DRAWS RELATIVELY TAME CROWD

By Amy Riggin/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Friday, September 4, 2009 12:40 AM CDT

Compared to other town hall meetings on health care U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., has held this week, the one in Pine Bluff was relatively tame.

Myrtle Curry (left) and Barbra Long of Pine Bluff, send their message to Sen. Lincoln silently from their seats Thursday afternoon during the Senator’s Town Hall Meeting on the campus of UAPB. Pine Bluff Commercial/Ralph Fitzgerald

The Hathaway/Howard Fine Arts Center at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff holds 600 and was little more than half full at Thursday meeting’s peak attendance.

One of Lincoln’s key messages: “I have not voted on a health care plan. There is no health care plan in the Senate. I think there is a lot of misinformation out there about that.”

In response to questions from the audience, Lincoln said she is unlikely to ever read or even see bills coming out of the House of Representatives. Instead, she is more focused on the one being crafted in the Senate Finance Committee, of which she is a member.

“Those House bills will never come before the Senate,” she said. “It’s pointless for me to comb through a 1,200-page bill that I’m not going to vote on when I’ve got a chance to help write a bill. We create our own bills and then those bills get merged.”

Lincoln also responded to the question on everyone’s minds, saying she does not support “a purely government-funded” public option for health insurance.

“We just can’t afford it,” she said, adding that she would only support government involvement “as long as it’s not a new entitlement program.”

She did elaborate, however, on the idea of an “exchange” similar to the health insurance program members of Congress have.

“We have a choice of about 24 different plans,” all of which are private insurers, she said. “They give us more meaningful coverage” through competition.

“What we’d like to do is create a similar exchange,” Lincoln said.

In response to a question from a woman who identified herself as a senior citizen, Lincoln said Medicare, Medicaid, veterans health care and Tricare for active military won’t be affected.

“Your Medicare is gonna be fine,” she said.

Lincoln said she would support legislation that won’t create more debt and bring down costs, put more focus on wellness and prevention and provide better access to insurance.

In response to another question, Lincoln said she won’t support legislation for federally funded abortions, except in the case of rape, incest or risk to the mother’s life.

“It will also specify that any assistance would not be able to be used to purchase insurance that would cover (abortions),” she said. “That’s clear.”

Lincoln also addressed the United States Postal Service analogy that many critics have used to illustrate that a government-run plan won’t work.

“It’s $7 billion in the hole right now,” she said. “It can’t be competitive because it’s charged with doing something that its competitors are not.”

Private companies like Federal Express can charge more for their services, she said, whereas USPS is mandated to provide a service to everyone.

“The problem with not having a competitive plan in the exchange is that everyone will dump their dirty work on the government,” Lincoln said.

She also said she supports tort reform to bring down health costs and placing an excise tax on “excessive” insurance plans to curb long-term costs.

Lincoln told an audience member who supports the Employee Free Choice Act that the legislation was not a priority for her.

“It’s created a lot of division and it’s created a lot of distraction,” she said. “I do think health care is a big issue and I think that’s where our focus needs to be.”

Those who attended and wished to ask a question took a ticket and signed in at the doors. Tickets were drawn at random.

There were representatives of several groups on hand, including health care reform advocates like Lorease Williams, who received several “honks for health care” from passing motorists.

“We want to know will they eliminate deductibles and also gaps in Medicare,” said Kendra Stokes, a UAPB student.

Supporters of the Clean Energy and Security Act were there touting legislation they said would create clean energy jobs, achieve energy independence, reduce global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy.

Lincoln said she doesn’t support the cap-and-trade bill, which has passed in the House, because it “picks winners and losers” and places an unfair burden on domestic oil refineries.

“I would rather take an approach using more of a carrot as opposed to a stick,” she said. “We have to create a better balance.”

Lincoln said the purpose of the town halls are to gather input to take back to the Senate.

“If I thought I had all the answers I’d be banging down the doors in Washington,” she said.

Lincoln was scheduled to participate in another meeting Friday in Jonesboro. The Senate reconvenes Tuesday and President Barack Obama is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress Wednesday.

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