Health Care Reform and Community Development Block Grants -- January 20, 2011

January 20, 2011

Dear Friend:

Thank you for reading another edition of my e-newsletter, the Carson Courier. For additional information on these and other topics, please visit my website at https://www.carson.house.gov.

In this week's Carson Courier:

Saying No to a Repeal of Health Care Reform
Celebrating the Accomplishments of the Community Development Block Grant Program

Saying No to a Repeal of Health Care Reform

This week I stood up for the millions of Americans with pre-existing medical conditions and for the millions more who, until very recently, had no access to health insurance by voting against a repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Repealing this landmark legislation would be a devastating setback for many Americans and small businesses benefitting from this reform.

If this repeal becomes law in Indiana's 7th Congressional District alone, up to 292,000 people could be denied medical coverage on account of a pre-existing condition. Repeal also penalizes over 15,000 small businesses by eliminating tax credits granted to them for providing coverage to their employees. Repeal would result in young adults under the age of 26 to be dropped from their parents' health insurance policies, and nearly 89,000 senior citizens, already struggling to make ends meet, would be denied preventative medical care.

Repeal of health care reform also devastates our recovering economy. According to a recent Congressional Budget Office report, repeal would add $230 billion to our federal deficit over the next decade. The attempt to repeal health care reform is not only bad policy; it is a distraction from our number one priority-putting Americans back to work.

To learn more about how the repeal of health care would harm Hoosiers, please visit my website here.

Celebrating the Accomplishments of the Community Development Block Grant Program

Earlier this week I joined several Members of Congress and city mayors to discuss the vital importance of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and celebrate its extraordinary impact on communities across the United States.

For 37 years, the CDBG program has worked to address problems facing low- and moderate-income neighborhoods across the 7th District. Funds allocated by the CDBG program help develop partnerships and projects that are vital to efforts to maintain and stabilize neighborhoods in our community. In recognition that each community is different, the CDBG program provides a wide array of tools necessary to resolve the unique problems impacting our neighborhoods in Indianapolis. My participation in this meeting is testament to my commitment for increased funding for the CDBG program.

To learn more about the CDBG program, please click here.

André Carson
Member of Congress