A ninth-grade student knows that a bill must be passed by both the House and Senate. If the bills are different, a conference committee is appointed to write a compromise bill, which both the House and the Senate must pass before it is sent to the president to sign it into law.

Scott Brown of Massachusetts was elected to the Senate on a campaign pledge that he would vote no on the health care bill once it was reported out of the conference committee. Brown’s vote would provide enough votes to stop the health care bill under normal congressional procedures.

A decision was made by either President Obama, Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi (all three had to agree) that they would forgo the normal procedure of a conference committee and that the House would vote to pass the Senate bill in it present form.

Not one word or comma could be changed or the bill would be required to be voted on by the Senate.

Pelosi had to convince at least 216 members in the House to vote yes. She said you must pass it to find out what is in the bill. Rep. Sanford Bishop, who had voted no of the original House bill, now votes yes on the Senate bill.

Now Rep. Bishop feels offended because someone called him a “puppet” of Pelosi and Obama. Who was he representing?

Not the people because more that 50 percent were against it. Not the state because Gov. Sonny Perdue asked him to vote no because the economy in the State of Georgia was bad and the state could not afford the health care bill unfunded mandates on the state.

If Rep. Bishop voted against the will of the people in his district and against the will of his state government, then who was he representing?

Rep. Bishop is a lawyer and had he represented a client in court in the same manner he represented the members in the 2nd District and his state, the judge certainly would remind the lawyer about his obligation to his client.

The health care bill was rammed through with the help of Rep. Bishop without regard to the consent of those he represents.

In Rep. Bishop’s news release on March 20, he stated that “96,000 senior citizens in the 2nd District will benefit from a stronger Medicare.” The new health care law plans to cut $500 billion from Medicare. How can you cut $500 billion from Medicare without rationing health care and or reducing payments to doctors?

Congress refuse to include the $200 billion for doctor payments in the health care bill, so I would assume that doctor payments under Medicare are planned to be reduced in the future. Some doctors refuse to accept Medicare patients because of the already low payments and the problems of dealing with the government bureaucracy.

If you are on Medicare now and have a doctor willing to provide your primary health care, you should thank your doctor, because the way the health care law is unfolding a lot of doctors may choose to retire or refuse to treat Medicare patients.

With low Medicare payments coupled with continued high malpractice insurance premiums, practice of medicine under the government health program is not going to be cost effective. You can plan on higher taxes on everyone and everything to pay for the new Law.

The health care law was rammed through and will be rammed down the throats of the citizens unless we the people do something about it at the ballot box.

Billy W. SmithBainbridge, Ga.