I think one of the lessons we should have learned from what's happened with the current plan is that there is insurance coverage, but there is not really, many times, access to health care. If you have these high deductibles, there is every - there is a disincentive to get the policy, because you would have to pay another - I think the average of deductible policies on the individual market.
Roy BluntSomebody was telling me about the French Army rifle that was being advertised on eBay the other day - the description was, 'Never shot. Dropped once.
Roy BluntIt's a problem that Congress has really taken on in the last couple of years. We tripled the money that was being - to be spent on opioids. Legislation sort of followed that. Then we doubled that tripling. I think, at some point, there's a limit to how many times we can multiply that in a short period of time, but this is a real problem. In Missouri, more people die from drug overdoses than car accidents.
Roy BluntIf you're a first-responder in Missouri as part of a fire department, you're three times more likely to respond to a drug overdose than you are a fire. So it's a problem. I don't know exactly what the right number is, but certainly I think members of the Senate and House are rightly concerned about it.
Roy BluntElectric service providers in Missouri have warned that the EPA's so-called Clean Power Plan will raise energy costs for Missourians, reduce jobs, and hurt our state's economic competitiveness. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I've fought hard to ensure provisions that would defund this harmful power grab were included in the final appropriations bill. I also support legislation to block this harmful rule and protect workers and families from the damaging effects of the Obama Administration's executive overreach and costly energy regulations.
Roy Blunt