Garvin County Democrats

Andrew Rice Speaks to Garvin County Democrats

At the Santa Fe Depot Museum on Saturday, State Sen. Andrew Rice asked the crowd a question: "How many of you think that, if you're a veteran, you get health care from the VA?" About half of the 40 or so people in attendance raised their hands. But Rice, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, somberly shook his head. "There are 2 million veterans in this country who do not have health insurance," said Rice, 35, during a meeting of the Garvin County Democrats.

Rice, who will face incumbent Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, if he receives the Democratic nomination, joined Democratic candidate for U.S. House District 4 Blake Cummings to discuss issues they felt were not being addressed or were being addressed poorly in Washington. Rice explained why so many veterans do not have health care, a story that began because "George Bush passed tax cuts that, I'm assuming didn't help anybody in this room." "Whoever heard of giving tax cuts to the wealthy in a time of two wars?" Rice asked. "So, they don't have enough money to pay for veterans' health care, so they changed the means test for who can get health care." Rice said the 2 million uninsured vets are "middle class veterans."

"The government is saying they make too much money to qualify (for health insurance) from the VA," he said. "Why should a veteran not have the same health insurance that I have (as an Oklahoma State Senator)? Does anybody disagree with that?" That's why Rice said he authored a bill in the Oklahoma Legislature this year that would have made the same health insurance plan that legislators have available to any Oklahoma veteran. The bill, however, stalled and did not receive a hearing in the Oklahoma House of Representatives owing to partisanship that protects health insurance companies. "God-forbid the government spend money on something that's important," Rice told Garvin County Democrats, and even two Republicans in the audience.

Rice said rising health care costs and rising gas prices represent two things that are important - health care reform and energy diversification. Rice said the failures of the Bush Administration and Republican leadership in Congress to address the issues are the reasons his father, a life-long Republican, recently became a Democrat.

"You think the $4-a-gallon gas we're about to have could have been prevented?" Rice asked. "Absolutely. They knew we were going to have to get to a point where we needed to diversify." Rice said Inhofe and other Republicans in Congress are trying to blame the energy situation on Democrats who gained a majority in 2006. But he said Republicans were in control of Congress and the White House from 2000 to 2006 and did nothing to decrease our dependence on foreign oil. "Why can't you go down to the CP station here today and fill up your truck with Compressed Natural Gas?" he asked, praising Oklahoma's natural gas industry. "It's better for the environment. It's our own energy source. Can you get more patriotic than that - using Oklahoma energy? "But you don't have that option. We're not able to do that, and that's because people like Jim Inhofe who wanted to protect the status quo. Exxon Mobile (based in Texas) just came out with the highest profits they've ever had. We are the most technologically advanced country in the world, but we haven't diversified our energy."

Rice said Inhofe has taken about $1 million from "big energy" thus far in his campaign, but he said a lot of private citizens are taking the lead in energy diversification because the federal government has refused to do so.

He mentioned people he knows in Western Oklahoma who installing wind mills on their farm and ranch land. "They're going to make six-figures a year leasing their land," he said. "How is that not a win-win for Oklahomans? This is clean, renewable energy. It never goes away. The wind doesn't stop blowing in Oklahoma."