Missouri US Congressman Eric Burlison joins the Morning Newswatch to discuss affordability

Are you essentially being spied on while driving your car? That is what Missouri US Representative Eric Burlison is trying to prevent with his Auto Data Privacy Act.

He stopped by the Morning Newswatch to talk about it.
“People don't realize this but modern cars have the ability to track everywhere that you go,” Burlison said. “They can track how you drive, whether how fast you stop, how fast you accelerate, whether you were speeding, whether you went through the Taco Bell drive thru last night. There's so much information that they're collecting about you. I've even heard that there's some vehicles that can actually know that you've gained pounds or lost weight.”

Burlison is trying to prevent car companies from selling your information without notifying you in some sort or fashion.

“It's gotten to the point where there's a lot of data and it's being pinged,” Burlison added. “They're sending it directly from the car to their databases through cell towers. So with that, most people have no idea. 

“Now, a lot of American car companies like Ford, for example, will put, like on a regular basis, something on the screen that says, do you wish to continue or can we send this data? And that's what I think every car company should be doing. It’s at least at the bare minimum, before they, before they rat you out or spy, you know, to sell your data to anybody, they need to at least get your permission.”

The topic of healthcare also came up in the conversation, with Burlison explaining that Obamacare has been nothing short of a disaster.

“Obamacare has proven to be a complete train wreck,” Burlison said. “It's the Unaffordable Care Act. And so it's ironic that the Democrats are blaming Republicans for not keeping this system propped up artificially with glue and tape, with taxpayer money. That's why I think that we really need to do a wholesale reform of the health care system because we have a system today where we're not healthy people. Being insured does not mean having access to health care or, or even being healthy. And we need to move in a different direction.”

Burlison added that he advocates for patient-centered healthcare reform that empowers individuals with more choices in providers and care decisions. He described a recently passed limited reform package as insufficient and unlikely to become law due to Democratic opposition in the senate. He emphasized that true change requires a second budget reconciliation process ("reconciliation 2.0") to bypass the filibuster and enact a comprehensive, market-based alternative to Obamacare.

Affordability is the hot-button issue as the midterm elections near. Burlison agreed that affordability should be in the crosshairs. He said we are finally starting to see a change in the mess President Trump inherited. 

“Prices are coming down and people's wages are going up,” Burlison said. “Eventually, it'll start feeling better. It'll feel really better when we get to January 1st and people start realizing that they're paying less in taxes. This coming April 15th is going to probably be the biggest tax refund like amount in US History because when people start seeing how they've got a little bit more money in their pocketbook because we're taxing them less, hopefully that will help. I also think we need to continue to do things like try to make sure that our interest rates remain low, which helps people be able to afford to purchase a home or refinance a home at a better rate.”