Health
“[Arlen] Specter is also fighting President Obama’s bid for more government-run health care. The senator’s conference room still features his famous Rube Goldberg chart, which contributed to the collapse of Clinton-care in 1994.”
─ Former Sen. Rick Santorum
The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 26, 2009
The Real Arlen Specter actively fought to derail President Clinton’s Democratic health care plan in the 1990s without offering an alternative, leading to more than 7 million Americans losing their health insurance since 2001 as health premiums rose more than 85%
Cutting Medicare and Medicaid
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•The Real Arlen Specter voted for billions of dollars in cuts from the budgets of Medicare and Medicaid [2005 Senate Vote #114, 4/28/2005; 2005 Senate Vote #363, 12/21/2005]
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•The Real Arlen Specter voted to cut Medicare by $270 billion and Medicaid by $182 billion in a single bill [HR 2491, 10/28/95, #556]
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•The Real Arlen Specter cast the deciding vote to decrease spending on Medicare and Medicaid in order to provide tax cuts to the wealthiest 1% of Americans [S 1932, 12/21/05]
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•The Real Arlen Specter voted to pay for President Bush’s tax cuts with $69 billion from the Medicare Trust Fund [H Con Res 83, 04/05/01, #79]
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•The Real Arlen Specter voted against permitting negotiation with pharmaceutical companies to lower the cost of prescription drugs covered under Medicare [S Amdt 214 to S Con Res 18, 3/17/2005].
Opposing SCHIP
The Real Arlen Specter has been a consistent opponent of the State’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP):
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•The Real Arlen Specter voted against increasing its funding [2007 Senate Vote #292, 8/1/2007]
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•The Real Arlen Specter voted against expanding SCHIP to include low-income pregnant women [S Amdt 258, 3/11/03]
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•The Real Arlen Specter voted to oppose fully funding SCHIP and instead supported President Bush’s tax cuts to the rich, 53% of which went to the richest 1% of Americans [2005 Senate Vote #337, 11/17/2005].
Health Education
The Real Arlen Specter earmarked funds for abstinence-only education by using taxpayer money that was designated for child abuse prevention [FY2007].
Limiting Hurricane Katrina Relief
In 2005, the Real Arlen Specter voted against providing emergency health care and other relief for survivors of Hurricane Katrina [2005 Senate Vote #285, 11/3/2005].
Opposing Veteran’s Health Funding
The Real Arlen Specter voted against providing funding to treat Veterans with mental illness, post-traumatic stress disorder, or substance abuse issues. [S Amdt 2634, 11/17/2005]. A 2004 Army study found that one in eight troops returning from Iraq reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
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