VIDEO: Heller Says Now Not the Time to Talk About Jobs
Las Vegas, NV – You truly have to see this to believe it. Last night, in response to Shelley Berkley kicking-off her “Focus on Jobs” Tour yesterday, unelected Senator Dean Heller actually said that now is not the time to talk about jobs. That’s right, at a time when Nevada suffers from the highest unemployment rate in the country, Dean Heller doesn’t think “today is the time to talk about it.” When the heck is it time to talk about jobs, Dean?
“Dean Heller has his priorities completely upside down,” said Zach Hudson, spokesperson for the Nevada State Democratic Party. “Heller said he's proud of his three votes to end Medicare, but he refuses to talk about creating jobs, saying now isn’t the time to do so. With 20,000 more Nevadans heading to the unemployment line in a month, what is the Senator waiting for?”
View Heller’s refusal to talk about job-creation, along with coverage of Berkley’s “Focus on Jobs” Tour kick-off here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_IVlvaZIb8
Background on Heller’s multiple votes to kill Medicare:
In May 2011, Heller Said He Was Proud To Be The Only Member of Congress Who Will Get to Vote for Budget Twice. “I’m not worried about it. I voted for it once. I’m not going to come over here and vote against it,” Heller said. “I’m proud to be the only member of Congress who will get to vote for it twice.” [AP, 5/03/11]
House Republican Budget Dismantles Medicare. The budget proposal release today would dramatically change Medicare by turning it into a voucher based system and direct Medicare funds to private insurance companies instead of consumers. [House Republican Budget, accessed 4/5/11]
Costs Would Rise. Republican Budget Chairman Paul Ryan agreed that his plan for Medicare “would be to shift more of the burden of health care costs out of their own pockets to seniors.” [Fox News Sunday, 4/3/11]
Essentially End Medicare. “The plan would essentially end Medicare, which now pays most of the health-care bills for 48 million elderly and disabled Americans, as a program that directly pays those bills.” [Wall Street Journal, 4/4/11]
Seniors Would Pay Twice as Much Than Under Current Medicare Coverage. According to analysis by the Center for American Progress, under the Ryan budget seniors would pay twice as much out of pocket as they would under the current Medicare plan. The analysis found “In 2022 65-year-olds would be forced to pay twice as much for care than they would under Medicare: $12,500 compared to $6,150.” [americanprogress.org, 4/12/11]