Letter from the White House
When we did our Faxapoloosa during the Health Care Rally, I sent several cc:'s of my Rep letters to the White House via fax. I've also contacted the White House about health care reform online at their website. Not sure what prompted the response, but lo and behold, today I received a letter (on really nice stationery, too, LOL!). Okay, so it's a form letter, but still.....it made me feel good. I'm sure a number of you have received the same, but if not, I'd like to post it here.
August 6, 2009
Ms. <LisB>
yada yada
Pelham, NY
Dear Elisabeth:
Thank you for contacting me. I appreciate knowing your thoughts on health care reform.
There is a broad consensus among the American people on the need for affordable, high-quality health care. The rising cost of health care is the most pressing financial challenge for families and for our Nation, and controlling this cost is essential to bringing down the Federal deficits we inherited. Now is the time to move forward, and I am committed to getting health care reform done this year.
Since I took office, we have done more to advance the cause of health care reform that we have in the previous decade. In February, I signed H.R. 2, providing coverage for millions of children through the Children's Health Insurance Program. I also signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to make key investments in computerized medical records and expanded preventative services. I encourage you to read more about my plans at: www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/health_care.
Looking forward, we will take additional steps to lower costs, expand coverage, and improve the quality of health care. My 2010 Budget makes a major down payment on health care reform, funded by implementing efficiencies in Government health care spending and restoring a sense of fairness and balance to our tax code. There are tough choices to be made, and I will bring business and workers, health care providers and patients, and Democrats and Republicans together to create a system that delivers better care and puts the Nation on a much sounder long-term fiscal path.
I share the sense of urgency that Americans like you have voiced. I watched as my ailing mother struggled with stacks of insurance forms in the last moments of her life. This is not who we are as a Nation; together, we will fix it.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
Nice to know that at least on some level, you're being heard. thanks for the post, Lis.
August 14, 2009 7:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, it is nice to know. Silly as it sounds, me being so excited over a form letter; but it's more the fact that he heard my pleas and responded. Or, somebody at the White House did. I ain't picky, I'm just glad they got the message.
August 14, 2009 7:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Most federal elected officials have multiple aides who do the reading of emails and after the screening for toxins, the opening of mail. Rarely do the elected politicians ever see personally the letters we may send them.
Most, if not all elected officials have position letters or papers pre-composed, so that all their aides have to do is email or mail you the one that matches the general catagory of the topic you wrote them about.
The only times I've gotten a personal response was when one of my Senator's decided to launch an investigation on behalf of a whistleblower I was assisting. Then I got a personal response and invitation to communicate in more detail on the issue. It turned into an investigation at the Congressional level that is still ongoing to this day. It may never be resolved, but at least for now, it is percolating and it has had some good effect in that area of our government that I've been able to trace.
Keep writing to them. I was told by a State Senator once that sometimes he literally stacked up the pro and con letters on an issue, and visually judged the heights of the stacks. This was the lobbying session I attended where he decided I should meet his unmarried son. (I thought it was ridiculous too. I was quite naive to the way things worked down there at that time.) The tallest stack won, unless he had to trade that vote with someone else to get something he wanted on another issue of more importance to him.
I understand that our current President does have his staff bring him a selection of citizen letters to read each day, unlike many of our previous Presidents. Maybe you will hit the jackpot.
August 14, 2009 7:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the good advice, G. And may I say I'm impressed by the personal response you received from Washington and, even more so, the reason behind it.
Weird thing is, I never sent the President a letter. I cc:d him via fax and wrote to him on the form email at whitehouse.gov. That's why I was surprised to get a letter in the mail.
August 14, 2009 8:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
well LisB, I still like the letter, and it sounds like Barrack, so his voice was injected somewhere along the line of its creation.Thanks for writing the Pres.
August 14, 2009 8:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for reading his letter, DonDi.
August 14, 2009 8:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Its always good to know that you are being heard, at least on some level. When I am talking to my boss, I usually don't even get a form letter in response. *wink*
August 14, 2009 9:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
The aides who answer whitehouse.gov letters in my experience to send email replies to personal letters sent by email to them. Keep up the communicating. If nothing else, you will feel better for having done so. It was a good letter by the way.
August 14, 2009 9:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
The aides who answer whitehouse.gov letters in my experience to send email replies to personal letters sent by email to them. Keep up the communicating. If nothing else, you will feel better for having done so. It was a good letter by the way.
August 14, 2009 9:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
The last time I saw my mother alive I tried to get her to sign a form the nursing home insisted they had to have. She had to do it with her left hand, she was right handed but suffered a stroke from the triple bypass they never should have scared her into having. My mom was an artist. She loved nothing better than drawing sketches of her grandkids with a pencil. With her left hand she could barely scrawl her name. She died that night.
I went thru the same thing with my Dad. I was the one who told him that his Medicare days were over and they were moving him upstairs where his BCBS coverage would kick in. I got the call at 5am the next morning.
There's no classes in this stuff. I know my parents went through it with their folks but they didn't share it with us.
I know my mom hoped she'd die suddenly from a heart attack. Her worst nightmare was winding up in nursing home the last 6 months of her life and that's exactly what she got. And there was nothing I could do about it.
August 14, 2009 11:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, Mark. I am so sorry. One hug from us won't give them back to you, so none of us will do that.
But now we know why this fight is your good fight.
Thank you for sharing this.
August 14, 2009 11:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
You don't know the half of it. I came back here from Jersey in March 2006 when my mom was dying to look after my dad. I took him to the VA hospital about every other week for all day affairs of tests and treatments. The difference between for-profit hospitals and the VA is startling.
The VA for all their funding shortfalls and those goddam 3' x 4' photos of Bush, Cheney and that stooge they appointed to run it in the lobby was far better than the heartless, clueless asshole doctors at the local heart surgery mill.
I learned early on to befriend, suck up to, charm, try any way I could to get the nurses on my parents' side. I'd regale them with stories of my Dad's football prowess, war exploits, educational & business accomplishments and my mom's caring nature and will to live.
More later. It's now 1am and I've been talking to a friend all night and I'm tired.
August 15, 2009 2:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
LisB, congrats on the letter, but I have to ask a small question ... did the response answer any of your questions you asked? I've had bad experiences with response letters that dance around the question, but never address the original concern I wrote them about. And that discourages me from using fax, phone or letter to ask questions - they just don't take the time and aren't staffed to research the questions and provide an answer or hand you off to a specific agency geared to answer and deal with your situation. WIll the intent in the Obama Administration is 1000% better than the Bu$h Administration, they still aren't staffed and funded to deal effectively with the public in answering and informing the public. We can easily see the results of this deficiency in information access and dissemination in the misunderstanding on the health care issues by the looser right wing republicans.
August 15, 2009 9:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
markg8, this was suppose to be a general comment to LisB, not to your post. Sorry for the mistake.
August 15, 2009 9:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good points, Beetlejuice, and no, unfortunately the emails I received from Nita Lowey and even this letter from the President did not answer my specific questions. Both of them just informed me of their wishes and thanked me for supporting them, basically. I wish they had more time to address individuals, but I suppose that's asking too much.
But again, you make some good points here.
August 15, 2009 2:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, that's the root of the problem. We broadcast our hopes and dreams into the ether and when a whisper of a response is received, we give it more credence that it deserves - it' doesn't have the cognitive capability to grasp the intent of out thoughts, desires and hopes because it's nothing more than an automated response. I would have thought President Obama would realize that and make a change for the better. Perhaps he'll catch on and we'll see a difference in the next 3 years.
August 15, 2009 2:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama is busy trying to pass health care reform as we all should be. Axelrod sent out the longest email he's ever sent on Friday full of bullet points to help you do that. I and dozens of other have written blog posts here to help you understand and disseminate this information. And you're concerned because he doesn't have an army of writers on staff to answer each and every fax phonecall and email he gets? C'mon. Please get to work.
August 16, 2009 4:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
(hugs markg8)
August 14, 2009 11:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm sorry for this.
And for the reality that most of us will probably have to wade through a similar situation. There aren't any classes, or "driving lessons" or how-to-do manuals, or "The Idiot's Guide to THE CRAPPY AND CRUEL HEALTHCARE YOU WILL INEVITABLY CONFRONT!"...
But maybe someone should write such a guide.
Again, I'm sorry.
August 15, 2009 12:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
I know how cool that is, lis. I've gotten like 3 or 4 pictures of BHO (8-1/2" glossies no less!). Each one has a message at the bottom that starts with my name. I'm always so excited that there is an "e" at the end of Carol"e".
August 15, 2009 1:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
This is soooooooooo cool to me. I think its great.
August 15, 2009 3:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
You WILL, of course mat and frame it?
WooHOO!
August 15, 2009 11:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
I feel the same way when I get and e-mail from the president - sometime he signs it Barack.
Spiritually I've met him - as he has met you.
Thanks for sharing your letter...
August 15, 2009 12:25 PM | Reply | Permalink