Posts Tagged ‘Joel McCleary’

ObamaCare House Scorecard Update: Is Rep. Jason Altmire, PA 04, Flipping to Yes?

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

Here is an updated list of where Democratic House members stand on ObamaCare, courtesy of Take Back Medicine. All evidence points to Pelosi not having the votes, but that assumes that the Stupak 12 can’t be bought off, and things are very much in flux.

One of the interesting things on that list is that they show three original No votes on ObamaCare flipping to Yes this time:

I hope to examine each in turn, but for now let’s focus on Altmire.

Rep. Jason Altmire

Altmire sounds like less than a firm “Yes” in this Fox News interview, although he does think that the Senate bill plus reconciliation will provide more cost containment than the House bill he voted against. Of course, if the Senate ObamaCare bill passes the House, it can become law without any reconciliation…

He also says he’s waiting on the CBO score.

Tea Party Protesters are targeting his office.

Personal Background

Interestingly, Altmire saw firsthand how the attempt to pass ClintonCare wrecked many congressional careers:

“It was clear [the White House] was trying to do everything all at once, and even I knew at the time that in the districts like the one [Florida Democratic Rep. Pete] Peterson represented, it had no chance of getting political support”

Also interesting is that he worked as “a lobbyist for the Federation of American Hospitals.” They’re one of the Big Medicine backers of ObamaCare.

District Background

Pennsylvania’s 4th Congressional District lies just north of Pittsburgh on the Ohio border, and is competitive-to-leans-conservative. According to these handy figures compiled by folks on the other side, it went for McCain over Obama 55% to 44%, and went for Bush over both Kerry and Gore.

ObamaCare doesn’t seem to be particularly popular among Altmire’s constituents:

PA-4 Jason Altmire
81% worry the health bill will raise their taxes.
93% say it’s very or somewhat likely that his vote will matter in November.
30% favor health bill while 58% oppose.
29% favor use of reconciliation 60% oppose

There are rumors that Pittsburgh Steeler great Lynn Swann, who ran as a Republican for Governor in 2006, may jump into the race against Altmire.

His Backers

According to Open Secrets, three of the top five industries contributing to Altmire’s campaign are related to the health care industry:

Top 5 Industries, 2009-2010, Campaign Cmte
Industry Total Indivs PACs
Health Professionals $74,160 $18,160 $56,000
Mining $53,100 $37,100 $16,000
Lawyers/Law Firms $51,446 $34,246 $17,200
Hospitals/Nursing Homes $50,350 $20,850 $29,500
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products $47,421 $9,375 $38,046

A list of his biggest donors. Notice the donations from HealthSouth CEO Jay Grinney.

Also of interest: Joel W. McCleary, who you may remember from his ties to the late John Murtha.

Contact Information

Here’s the contact information from his House website. If you live in PA 04, you might wish to contact the Congressman to let him know of your opposition to ObamaCare:

Main Offices

Please direct all written correspondence to the Aliquippa District Office.

Aliquippa Office
2110 McLean Street
Aliquippa, PA 15001
724-378-0928
724-378-6171 (fax)

Natrona Heights Office
2124 Freeport Road
Natrona Heights, PA 15065
724-226-1304
724-226-1308 (fax)

Washington, D.C. Office
332 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-2565
202-226-2274(fax)

Satellite Offices

Cranberry Township Office

Cranberry Township Municipal Building
2525 Rochester Road
Cranberry Township, PA 16066-6499
1:30 pm to 5:00 pm – First and Third Thursdays of every month

Ellwood City Office

Ellwood City Municipal Building
Lawrence Avenue
Ellwood City, PA 16117
2:00 pm to 6:00pm – 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month

Farrell Office

Farrell City Building
500 Roemer Blvd
Farrell, PA 16121
9 am to 1:00 pm – 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month

Murrysville Office

Murrysville Municipal Building
4100 Sardis Road
Murrysville, PA 15668
2 pm to 4 pm – Second Tuesday of every month
4 pm to 7 pm – Fourth Tuesday of every month

New Castle Office

Lawrence County Government Center
430 Court Street
1st Floor Caucus Room
New Castle, PA 16101
8:00 am to 4:00 pm – Every Wednesday and Friday

Ross Township Office

Ross Township Municipal Building
Recreation Center
1000 Ross Municipal Drive
Pittsburgh,PA 15237
9:00 am to 12:00 pm – First and Third Thursdays of every month

Here’s an email contact form.

Here’s a page to request a personal meeting with Altmire. That page also supplies an email address altmireschedule@mail.house.gov to contact for a personal meeting.

You might also consider trying to contact him through his campaign’s website.

Conclusion

If Altmire does vote in favor of ObamaCare this time around, PA 04 would be a prime target for Republicans to flip in November.

Updated: More protests at Altmire’s offices.

For the Obama Administration, your health John Murtha’s Pals Come First

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Remember Rep. John Murtha? The congressman who called his own constituents racists? You know, the John Murtha who sits as the chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee? The John Murtha whose nephew got $4 million in no-bid Defense contracts? The man at the center of the PMA Group lobbying scandal? The John Murthta who secured more than $200 million worth of taxpayer dollars for little-used John Murtha Airport?

You do? Good.

Well, guess what company got a single-source contract to produce anthrax vaccines? That would be PharmAthene, a company run by Murtha cronies Joel McCleary and James Ervin. And just who awarded the contract? That would be the Department of Homeland Security’s Under Secretary for the Science and Technology Directorate Tara O’Toole, who just happens (better sit down for this one) to be a friend of…Rep. John Murtha! (I know, it’s a shock. What are the odds?)

What would you care to bet that the same sorts of high ethical standards will be used to dole out funds for ObamaCare?

But wait! There’s still more exciting news on the Obama-anthrax front! If John Murtha’s cronies actually do succeed is producing enough anthrax vaccine, how will it be distributed in an emergency? Why, by that epitome of speed and efficiency, The U.S. Postal Service! As Stewart Baker at Skating on Stilts put it: “No one but an idiot would bet their children’s lives on that option.”

Here’s a link to CREW’s extremely informative interactive documentation of the web of corruption that surrounds Murtha, You Don’t Know Jack.

The Boot Murtha homepage may also be of interest.