Congressman Rehberg's 'Cash Poor' Comments Reveal a Deeper Problem

Helena, MT -- On April 29th of this year, Congressman Dennis Rehberg--the 23rd richest member of Congress--told constituents at the Missoula City Club that he’s ‘cash poor’ and 'struggling like everyone else.' [CQ Roll Call, 5/1/11] Congressman Rehberg is estimated to be worth between $6.5 million and $56 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
 
Congressman Rehberg’s inability to understand how his lifestyle differs from the reality most Montanans face reveals a deeper problem – he doesn’t represent working Montanans.
 
This misunderstanding has come to life in Congressman Rehberg’s recent comments (or lack thereof) about the Montana minimum wage, Pell Grants, Medicaid, and Medicare.
 
If Congressman Rehberg can’t understand how most Montanans get by, then his ability to create responsible economic policies that work for the middle class must be questioned.
 
Minimum Wage            
Earlier this year, Congressman Rehberg couldn’t respond to questions about whether he knew Montana’s minimum wage [Politico, 3/8/11].
 
The problem isn't just that Congressman Rehberg doesn’t know the minimum wage – it’s that he keeps voting against it.
 
In 2007, Rehberg voted against increasing the minimum wage from $2.10 an hour to $7.25 an hour.  [CQ House Action Reports, No. 110-3, 3/20/07] The measure passed 218-212. [HR 1591, Vote #186, 3/23/07]. In 2006, Rehberg voted four times against Democratic attempts to offer an increase in the minimum wage.
 
The federal minimum wage is $7.25. In Montana, it’s $7.35.
 
Pell Grants
Pell Grants are a responsible way to help thousands of low and middle income Americans access an affordable education. Without Pell Grants, many of these students wouldn’t get the education they need to find good jobs.
 
However, in March, Congressman Rehberg launched an irresponsible attack Pell Grants in a radio interview with a blogger:

    "So you can go to college on Pell Grants -- maybe I should not be telling anybody this because it’s turning out to be the welfare of the 21st century.  You can go to school, collect your Pell Grants, get food stamps, low-income energy assistance, section 8 housing, and all of a sudden we find ourselves subsidizing people that don’t have to graduate from college." [Huffington Post, 4/1/11]

Congressman Rehberg is now saying that he wants to save Pell Grants. Not only has Congressman Rehberg failed to provide a responsible plan to ‘save’ Pell Grants, he voted just this year to gut them. As reported by The Missoulian, “In Montana, 24,000 students are scheduled to receive a Pell grant next year. Should the House spending plan become law, the state will lose $15 million in Pell funding, a cut from $73 million to $58 million.” [The Missoulian, 3/8/11]
 
If Congressman Rehberg believes that Pell Grants are ‘welfare’, than what would his Pell Grants reform plan look like? Rather than attempting responsible reform of the program, his record shows that he’s more likely to keep gutting Pell Grants.
 
Medicaid
Congressman Rehberg has used false reasons to justify ending funding for Planned Parenthood. From the April 29th edition of the Missoulian:

    “[Rehberg] also claimed that family planning services were losing billions of dollars by duplication between Medicaid and Title X services.
    
    Missoula Planned Parenthood volunteer coordinator Tannis Hargrove, who asked about the family planning spending, disputed Rehberg's duplication claim. She said Title X services were not available to Montanans eligible for Medicaid, and that Medicaid eligibility was too strict to allow that kind of double-dipping.”

In Montana, only women who are pregnant or have children or other dependents can get Medicaid coverage. Ending funding for Title X would deny access to breast cancer screenings, pre-natal care, or family planning to any woman who doesn’t qualify for Medicaid.
 
If Congressman Rehberg doesn’t understand who qualifies for Title X services, can he be trusted to make responsible decisions about women’s access to preventative care?
 
Medicare
Congressman Rehberg’s irresponsible attempt to defund the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would have caused ‘significant disruptions in services’ to Medicare recipients, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
 
More from an AP story on March 3rd of this year:

    “Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says if Congress passes defunding legislation, Medicare would not be able to issue payments to popular private insurance plans that cover about one-fourth of all the seniors in the program. The health care law scaled back payments to Medicare Advantage plans, as the private insurance option is known.”