Johnson Opponnet, Gerratana, Rallies Local Democrats

Terry Gerratana, Democratic candidate for Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District, visited the Newtown Democratic Party at its meeting last week, and criticized her opponent, Rep Nancy Johnson, on issues ranging from Medicare to the war in Iraq.

“Draw your own conclusions: in the last election, my opponent took more money from big drug companies and HMOs than anyone else in the Congress,” Ms Gerratana said. “We can do better than a Medicare system that confuses our seniors instead of caring for them.”

The Medicare bill Nancy Johnson proudly takes credit for favors the big drug and insurance companies over our senior citizens, Ms Gerratana said, adding that the legislation needs to be rewritten in such a way that it benefits the people it should serve.

Thanks to the gap in coverage built into the Johnson Medicare legislation, when the changes kick in two years from now, people will be paying much more out of pocket than what they have projected, she said. Further complicating the situation for seniors is the fact that, should they choose to opt out of Medicare for one of the 70-plus private programs rumored to be available, once they have locked into their new program, the terms can be changed by the insurance company and the senior is stuck with the changes. Any drug that is not on your plan must be paid for out of pocket, she pointed out.

“It isn’t deficit-reducing,” Ms Gerratana said. “It’s going to cost about 30 percent more than projected over the long run. And Nancy Johnson made sure that the drug and insurance corporations reaped a $139 billion windfall from the deal.”

In her remarks at the Democratic meeting in Edmond Town Hall, Ms Gerratana set out the case for sending her to Congress. Her remarks aired in their entirety on the Democratic Town Committee’s program in its normal slot on Charter Channel 21, at 8 pm on Tuesday, and will air again at noon on Friday.

“We can do better than an unfunded mandate on education — the so-called ‘No Child Left Behind’ legislation — that tests our children rather than providing the tools needed to educate them,” she said.

On the subject of the war in Iraq, Mrs Gerratana said, “We can do better than sending our sons and daughters overseas and into harm’s way without the protective body armor and armored vehicles they need and with no firm date to come home.” Mrs Gerratana has conducted a number of meetings with veterans in the district. “I believe that there are many, many things we can do to better serve our veterans, beginning with access to the affordable medical care and prescription drugs,” she said, relating the story of one man who explained that he has to drive 40 miles one way to the nearest Veterans’ hospital to obtain the medical care he needs.

Terry Gerratana served for five years as an Ethics Commissioner for the city of New Britain. She served as president of the League of Women Voters for the New Britain area, and then was legislative director for the Connecticut State Board of the League of Women Voters. She served for ten years as a legislator representing New Britain and Berlin in the Connecticut General Assembly.