Odessa American - Cornyn Round Table

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Odessa American - Cornyn Round Table

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, opened up Wednesday's 40-minute "roundtable" discussion in Odessa by telling those assembled that the train on health care reform had left the station in Washington, D.C.

"I don't know yet if we're going to have a train wreck or if it's going to safely reach the station," the second-term senator said.

With 15 percent of the population unemployed, Cornyn said health care reform is needed. But he took issue with President Barack Obama's plans, saying the White House feels the government needs to spend money to make money on health care.

"That strikes me as a little counterintuitive to say the least," Cornyn said.

A government-funded single payer system would likely end up delaying or denying treatment for patients, he said.

"That's called rationing," Cornyn said.

He also criticized "pay or play" programs, where companies that don't provide benefits would pay additional taxes.

Instead, Cornyn, who is spending his week off from the Senate traveling the state to discuss health care, praised a plan introduced two years ago by the Odessa Chamber of Commerce and the Permian Basin Petroleum Association.

The plan allows businesses affiliated with the two organizations to provide health insurance through Austin-based FirstCare Health Plans. Officials say it has signed up 600 people, 475 of whom had never been insured before.

Cornyn said any federal plan should include aspects of Medicare Part D, which went into effect in 2006. That plan allows senior citizens to obtain prescription drug coverage through private plans.

Cornyn said Medicare Part D has actually had program costs go down 37 percent and that more than 80 percent of participants are satisfied with the program.

He also called Federally Qualified Health Centers a positive program for serving indigent workers. Cornyn said such facilities could cut down on pricey emergency room visits.

"Texas needs more of those," he said.

At a news conference after the discussion, Cornyn didn't sound optimistic about a compromise between Democrats and Republicans when Congress takes up the issue. He said there were a number of "red lines" he wouldn't cross, including single payer, pay or play or rationing systems. He said such programs could leave the elderly without coverage.

"Right now, I'm concerned about it," he said of coming to an agreement.

Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also addressed Obama's appointment of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court. Cornyn said senators need to take a "reasonable amount of time" to read opinions and speeches she's made over the past 18 years to determine whether or not she should serve.

Cornyn said it's a positive to have the first Hispanic woman appointed to the nation's highest court.

"Frankly, I think it says something great about America that somebody can rise from such humble beginnings to the top of the legal profession," he said.

But Cornyn questioned statements Sotomayor had made about policy making from U.S. appellate court judges. He is also concerned about her ruling, as part of a three-judge panel as part of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, against firefighters who had brought a reverse discrimination case against the city government of New Haven, Conn., because they were denied promotion.

"I'm going to ask about things like quota systems for affirmative action and see if that's part of her vision for what America should look like," Cornyn said.

Cornyn also slammed Obama's plans for a cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. He said the president intends to bring $31.5 billion in new taxes for the oil and gas industry.

"Certainly, there is a role for wind energy and solar energy and biofuels and the like," he said. "But we're not going to ween ourselves off of oil and gas for quite a while."

Jack Sherman of the Sherm Corp., said he like what Cornyn had to say about supporting small business - and he doesn't care for the plans of the Democratic majority.

"We've got to get a different Congress in there," he said. "We've got to get some guys that aren't so left. There's more businessmen in this country then there are in the entire rest of the world."

Dal Watson, a vice president with Allied North America Insurance Brokerage, said he agrees with Cornyn that government mandates aren't going to reduce health care costs.

"It means a lot obviously," he said of Cornyn's visit. "He's one of two senators. He's concerned enough about (health care) to canvas the state and sound the alarm."

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