Dear Friends,
Last week, President Obama signed a "permanent doc fix" into law, after widespread bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. As you may know, the doc fix is an annual task that Congress has to complete every year to ensure that Medicare healthcare providers are properly reimbursed.
Ever since Medicare was created in 1965, the federal government has struggled to decide the appropriate level to pay Medicare doctors for their services. In 1997, Congress created a new formula called the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) to do so. Using Medicare spending in the 1990s as a baseline, the formula factored in overall economic growth to create the annual Medicare budget. The goal was to control Medicare spending by connecting it to the rest of the economy’s growth. But, as health care costs outpaced the economy, it has stopped working, leaving Medicare with a multi-billion-dollar shortfall every year.
With my support, we've fixed the SGR permanently in a way that ensures we won't have an annual shortfall that needs patching up. This new legislation ends the manufactured crisis of doctors potentially not being reimbursed for their services, places Medicare on sounder footing for current retirees and future generations, and saves taxpayers money over time. This solution had support from Democrats and Republicans, and I'll continue to find similar bipartisan solutions to our country's challenges moving forward.
Sincerely,
Representative Ed Royce |
News for the Week of April 17th, 2015
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Rep. Royce Meets with Chino Hills City Council
Rep. Royce had the pleasure of meeting with members of the Chino Hills City Council this week in Washington, D.C.
The group discussed the Pine Avenue Extension, a project that is critical to the region’s transportation system. Pine Avenue is currently a two-lane road that serves as an east/west corridor between Interstate 15 and State Route 71. The road is undersized and severely damaged due to past flooding. Local officials are seeking to expand this road into four lanes and include a connection to SR-71, and Rep. Royce spoke with the group about how he can assist their efforts.
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Ed Royce Receives "Guardian of Seniors' Rights Award"
This week, Rep. Royce received the "Guardian of Seniors' Rights Award" from the 60 Plus Association, a group that represents over 7 million American seniors. The Association specifically recognized lawmakers that have staunchly defended Social Security and Medicare for current retirees and have ensured those programs will be around for generations to come.
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Chairman Royce Statement on Hostage Deaths
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Rep. Royce, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued this statement on President Obama’s announcement this week that a U.S. counterterrorism operation resulted in the deaths of two hostages:
“The death of Warren Weinstein is a terrible loss for his family, his country, and the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan whose lives he was dedicated to improving. Tragically, efforts to find Mr. Weinstein and Italian hostage Giovanni Lo Porto and prevent further such kidnappings, resulted in the deaths of two innocent men. I offer my condolences to both families.
Others recently killed were al-Qaeda leaders plotting against America as they held hostages. Adam Gadahn was a U.S. citizen, raised in California with every possible opportunity and freedom. And in the end, he spent years trying to destroy our freedoms and encouraging others with hate-filled speech after betraying our country.
It was proper that the Administration released this information to the American people and acknowledged that their deaths were a mistake. As our intelligence and military communities continue to search for our enemies and their innocent hostages, we will be faced with the challenge of making the right call time and time again.”
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Royce Accepting Entries to Congressional Art Competition
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Rep. Royce has announced the start of the 2015 Congressional Art Competition for high school students from the 39th Congressional District of California. The winning student's artwork will hang in the U.S. Capitol alongside winning pieces from every Congressional district across the country.
All interested high school artists from California's 39th Congressional District may participate in this year's contest by submitting their entries no later than 5:00 PM on Wednesday, April 29, to either Rep. Royce's Brea office or Rowland Heights office.
More information on submission guidelines and the contest can be found here.
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