Other Voices Seek to Influence Legislators
June 1st, 2015 by Mike Vasilinda
State lawmakers are back at the state Capitol for a 20 day special session after a fight over healthcare derailed budget talks. As Mike Vasilinda Tells us, plenty of special interests are bending lawmakers ears, but few constituents are speaking out.
Americans for Prosperity Buses left Lakeland and Orlando early Monday. They carried dozens of pastors to the Capitol. Margarita Romo came from Pasco county to counter claims that expanded heath care would only benefit those who don’t want to work.
“And we know that in Pasco county, there are twenty-eight thousand people that would benefit from this and that’s the county that I’m from. Over twenty-eight thousand. Why not?”
Q: And the majority of those you say are working?”
“They’re working people, they’re not all sitting around” says Romo.
On the other side? The no tax group Americans for Prosperity which is running a TV spot that says ”Dumping more people on the broken Medicaid program is the wrong answer.”
Andres Malave of AFP says they are also sending post cards to people in districts whose Senators support Medicaid expansion. “Floridians that have received mail from us are folks in the districts of Senators that continuing to claim that they are going to support a broken entitlement program” says Malave.
What is clear is that lawmakers aren’t getting hit with a barrage of email on either the budget or healthcare. Several offices say they are averaging 50 to a hundred a day, but few of those are from constituents.
Sen Nancy Detert says she’s only heard from about 20 of her half a million constituents.
“Those 20 people count, and it’s important.”
Q:”so..if you get 2,000?”
If I get two thousand not from my district, they don’t count” says Detert.
But on July first, state government faces a partial shutdown if there is no budget, and the closer that date becomes, the more likely average people will start paying attention.
The House and Senate are expected to start talking about a budget deal this coming weekend, but neither side shows signs of changing their mind on expanded health care.
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