Representative Dan Maffei why did you vote with House Republicans to delay the critical individual mandate for one year under Obamacare?

Rep. Cheri Bustos, explain why you voted with Republicans to dismantle Obamacare—this time by delaying the critical individual mandate for one year component of Obamacare.

Firearms ownership. Not personally affected.

It's hard to imagine what would possess someone to align with the obstructionists trying to upset one of the most significant legislative achievements of the past four years. Every delay just adds more uncertainty to the of future health care shopping. Voters of the Illinois 10th district deserve an explanation.

Pennsylvania's public schools are currently funded largely on the basis of local property taxes. This means that richer districts get *much* more funding per student than poorer ones, such as in rural counties or inner cities. The funding formula should be changed so that all property taxes in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are collected into a single, statewide pool, and then redistributed to school districts normalised for cost of living (eg: it costs less to educate a child in Perry County than in Pittsburgh). The end result of this will be better-educated children across Pennssylvania, improving the state's economy over the long term.

Montgomery County (Pennsylvania) Register of Wills Bruce Hanes has decided to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. We support his decision to be the first official in PA to issue marriage licenses. He is sure to get blowback from the far-right. Please send him a message of support. Here is his news release: For the first time since I took office in January 2008, a same sex couple contacted me last week indicating their intention of applying for a marriage license in Montgomery County. In the ensuing days, my solicitor, Michael Clarke, and I, in conjunction with county solicitor Ray McGarry, studied every aspect of the law, including recent Supreme Court decisions and statements by the Pennsylvania Attorney General. Based upon the advice of Mr. Clarke, my own analysis of the law and mindful of the Attorney General’s belief that Pennsylvania’s marriage laws are unconstitutional, I decided to come down on the right side of history and the law, and was prepared to issue a license to the couple. However, the women for reasons of their own decided this morning not to seek the marriage license at this time. When I took the oath of office 19 months ago, I swore to uphold the U.S. and the Pennsylvania Constitutions. Article 1 Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, aptly entitled “Inherent rights of mankind,” says “all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among which is “pursuing their own happiness.” Article 1, Section 26 of the Constitution says, “Neither the Commonwealth nor any political subdivision thereof shall deny to any person the enjoyment of any civil right, nor discriminate against any person in the exercise of any civil right.” Furthermore, Article 1 Section 28 says, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because of the sex of the individual.” Had the couple sought the license today, I would have issued it and wished them all the freedom, independence, happiness and rights that our Commonwealth’s Constitution purports to grant to them.

Remove the cap on taxing Social Security. In this era of record profits, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, this is the moral thing to do. This is the only way to make the program work.

I worked hard to help Scott Peters defeat incumbent Representative Brian Bilbray, because I thought Scott, as a Democrat, would have a better voting record. I want to know why he doesn't vote better than Brian on so many important issues. Documentation: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/07/house-votes-to-delay-obamacare-individual-mandate.php Voting Record: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll363.xml

My husband and I both have no health insurance at this time. We are in our late 50's. We are both counting on being insured under the Affordable Care Act. This is for the good of the country. This is why we campaigned and voted for you, Rep Raul Ruiz.

Stand Your Ground Law in PA is an unnecessary law that can cause more harm than good. Extending the Castle Doctrine to using a gun outside of the home for self defense invites dangerous confrontations and vigilante type behavior, such as the George Zimmerman / Trayvon Martin case demonstrated. The 22 States with Stand Your Ground laws have 8% more homicides than before they enacted the law.

The Supreme Court just made a major decision that impacts voting rights for every American. In striking down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act -- but leaving Section 5 untouched -- there is no longer a mechanism in place to prevent states with a history of voter disenfranchisement from enacting such laws. In the last few years Republicans have dramatically stepped up their efforts to limit voting access. They’ve passed restrictive voter ID laws, cutting back early-voting hours, and eliminating same-day voter registration. The list goes on. While this is a setback, it is by no means the end of the game. The Supreme Court's decision gives Congress complete authority to ensure no person is denied the right to vote. Stand with us who are fighting to protect the right to vote for every American.

This is an urgent issue because 350,000 acres of Nevada land has been sold with more due to be auctioned and fracking is set to begin this year. In states where hydraulic fracturing is occurring such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wyoming, and Texas, evidence of cancer, asthma, neurological issues, and death as a result of contamination have been documented. Some of those studying these risks are scientists and professors at Cornell, UC Berkley, Yale, Harvard, and Penn State (to name a few). Another critical risk is to our food supply. Livestock deaths from fracking fluids seeping into pastures pose serious risks to our food supply: 1) the cattle can directly enter our food supply by being sent to slaughter 2) they can be ground up into feedstock and fed to pigs and chickens which then enter our food supply. Another issue is contaminated crops through seepage of fracking fluids onto farmlands. There are numerous pathways of contamination that puts public health at risk. If we fail to allow time for research, the costs associated with these could far exceed any projected revenue from drilling. Nevada wants a moratorium in order to allow science time to study the potential risks of hydraulic fracturing. Esta cuestión es urgente porque se han vendido unos 350,000 acres en Nevada y hay otros que están a punto de ser subastados, y se proyecta que fracturación hidráulica va a comenzar este año. En los estados en que se está practicando la fracturación hidráulica, como Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wyoming y Texas, hay evidencia documentada de cáncer, asma, problemas neurológicos y muerte producida por la contaminación. Entre los que están estudiando estos riesgos hay científicos y profesores de Cornell, UC Berkeley, Yale, Harvard y Penn State (entre otras universidades).