Hastings talks health care plan

MOSES LAKE - Rep. Doc Hastings visited Moses Lake earlier this week, even sitting down to lunch with area residents and stopping by the Columbia Basin Herald to address hot topics including Obamacare, immigration reform and the National Security Administration. Not all in attendance agreed with Hastings' comments.

Hastings, R-WA, speaking at a Republican Women of Grant County meeting, said what he hears most from his constituents is concerns over the implementation of Obamacare.

Hastings said President Obama recently delayed the implementation of the Obamacare, but the House of Representatives also voted to postpone the employer and individual mandate included in the healthcare law.

The House also passed a bill last week taking the Internal Revenue Service out of the administration of Obamacare.

Hastings said he is completely against Obamacare, and at lunch in Moses Lake Monday, Moses Lake resident Julia Hodgson took it a step further, asking if it's possible to impeach Obama.

Hastings said that although the House may vote in favor of the idea, the Democrat-controlled Senate would never support it, making impeachment impossible. Hastings also addressed immigration reform, which he hopes passes by the end of the year.

"It's a matter of a process more than anything else," he told the Columbia Basin Herald before the luncheon. "We want to make sure we strengthen our boarders. We want to make sure that we have a predictable guest worker program."

He added the current guest worker program, called H2A, isn't working, and it's affecting growers in Central Washington, who say the program is unpredictable, not knowing how many workers will be available each harvest.

Some in attendance Monday seemed surprised in Hastings voting for the National Security Agency's data collection program of phone records. Although Hastings said it was a difficult decision, he said the ability of the NSA to notice communication trends is important in protecting the country.

About 30 people listened to Hastings speak Monday, but one person did not seem supportive of all of Hastings' remarks.

Tony Jamerson, of Moses Lake, sat, shaking his head several times, before addressing Hastings. Jamerson he wanted to see lawmakers, including Hastings, work more to create jobs and improve education rather than focus on repealing Obamacare. Hastings cited his efforts to simplify the federal tax code and help businesses, freeing money for businesses to hire more workerss.

Hastings is on what he called a work period, using the time to travel through his district, from the Oregon boarder up to the Canadian border, hearing input from residents and organizations.