As I’ve traveled throughout the district this month, I’ve heard from so many business leaders, healthcare professionals, individuals and families about their confusion and concern over Obamacare. In Sanford this week, I held the second annual meeting of my Healthcare Advisory Council where I heard from constituents in many different areas of the healthcare industry.
Also this week, I participated in an energy roundtable at South River Electric Membership Corporation in Dunn and I toured Chandler Concrete Company and a local farm in Randolph County.
You’ll find more information regarding these events and other updates below. Please visit ellmers.house.gov and my social media sites (linked in the right sidebar) for information about my work in the district and the issues that affect you and your community. You can also pass this information along to your friends by forwarding this newsletter via email and sharing it on social media.
I hope you and your family are enjoying a safe and happy Labor Day weekend.
Healthcare Advisory Panel
This week in Sanford I held the second annual meeting of my Healthcare Advisory Council, where over 50 healthcare industry leaders were on hand to discuss important issues facing their industry.
The implementation of Obamacare is a crucial concern to so many people. While accurate information from the Obama administration about this law remains scarce, what we know for sure is that premiums are skyrocketing and businesses are struggling. I heard from several medical providers who are completely confused as to how they will continue to care for their patients under Obamacare. Pharmacists and physicians also spoke about the difficulty of adhering to onerous paperwork requirements. One business owner in particular will no longer be able to provide healthcare to his employees because of the burdensome mandates in Obamacare.
The advisory council shared their concerns and questions about the new healthcare law and told me what they would like the government to do to make it easier for them to provide quality service to their patients. I was encouraged by our meeting and look forward to working with this council as new developments continue to come out.
Above: Great questions and comments from my Healthcare Advisory Council meeting in Sanford on Wednesday.
Energy Roundtable
Also this week I participated in an energy roundtable at the South River Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) in Dunn. The roundtable included over a dozen representatives from EMC’s across the district. Topics of our discussion included not only energy, but also healthcare and immigration as they related to the workforce in the industry. Participants addressed their concerns regarding climate change, natural gas, EPA regulations and H.R. 2218 – The Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act of 2013.
Above: Energy Roundtable discussion at South River Electric Membership Corporation in Dunn on Tuesday.
Tour of Chandler Concrete
This week, I toured Chandler Concrete where I met with Byard Stevens, Excecutive Director Carolinas Concrete Masonry Association, and Ted Chandler, President of Chandler Concrete, Inc. and other Chandler employees.
In the News
Congress seeks answers from Obama on Syria
CBS 5 WRAL
“There needs to be an open discussion and consultation with Congress before any drastic retaliation takes place,” Rep. Renee Ellmers, who represents North Carolina’s 2nd District, said in a statement. “Based on our history in this volatile region, careful debate and deliberation must be the priority before committing the men and women of our military to an area of the world that has seen the rise of Islamic extremism and chaotic changes among ruling powers.”
Farmers want kids to know food source
Asheboro Courier-Tribune
Farmers want local students to realize the importance of Randolph County’s top industry — agriculture — in their daily lives. To reach this goal, local school officials are being asked by the Randolph County Farm Bureau to suggest ways to best spend membership money, collected from farm families, in support of agriculture-related educational efforts. Nearly 50 officials and Farm Bureau members attended the first-time event held at Something Different restaurant in Asheboro. U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers was also represented.
Distinguished pol of the week: Renee Ellmers
Editorial – The Washington Post
Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) is no squishy Republican. She’s a solid conservative (last year she received an 87.5 rating from the American Conservative Union), but she also is willing to speak out against a really bad idea even if it is a pet project of the right. The hardline Club for Growth (which has backed a string of disastrous hard-right Senate and House candidates) immediately sent out an e-mail blast denouncing her. So be it. If more bright conservative stood up to loony ideas and thought as strategically as Ellmers does, the party, the House and the country would be better off. So for this we say, well done Rep. Ellmers.