Rep. Roscoe Bartlett Votes Against Unbelievable House Democratic Health Care Bill

Press Release

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett Votes Against Unbelievable House Democratic Health Care Bill

Congressman Roscoe Bartlett said, "$24 billion in phony tax increases on companies like the New Page/Luke Mill plant in western Maryland is just one example of the unbelievable claims relied upon by House Democratic leaders to wrangle a 220-215 vote approval of their version of health care reform. The House Democratic bill is so far out of the mainstream that it was opposed by 39 House Democrats. The House Democratic bill won't be approved by the Senate because key Democrats oppose it. I voted against it because it does the opposite of what Americans want and the President promised. The House Democratic bill is a 2,000 page monstrosity that would increase the cost of health care, increase the cost of health care insurance, reduce health care quality by cutting Medicare, kill jobs by increasing taxes on small businesses and increase our already unsustainable budget deficit."

Objections by Congressman Bartlett to H.R. 3962 include:

$24 billion in phony tax increases on the paper industry

The bill prohibits "black liquor" -- a wood pulp byproduct that can be used as an alternative bio-fuel -- from becoming eligible to receive a tax credit for cellulosic bio-fuel production. This provision is claimed by House Democrats to offset the cost of the bill by raising taxes on the paper and bio-fuel industries by $24 billion. According to a November 6, 2009 letter to the Congress from the American Forest & Paper Association (AFPA) [available upon request] and a November 9, 2009 statement from NewPage the owner of the Luke Mill plant [available upon request], they do not even believe EPA would approve eligibility of "black liquor" to receive this tax credit in the first place. The New York Times reported that the provision to deny the tax credit for black liquor was added at the request of a House Democratic leader responsible for re-electing House Democratic members after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a memo in which the agency said that black liquor might be eligible for this tax credit. The Washington Post reported that no paper companies use or plan to use the tax credit.

3,400 "shall" provisions

"In common language "shall' means the 2,000 page bill contains 3,400 requirements that you must do this or do that," said Congressman Bartlett. "Among the 3,400 is the unprecedented and unconstitutional requirement by Congress that Americans must buy a health insurance policy approved by the federal government or pay a tax penalty enforced by the IRS."

House Republican Budget Committee Analysis

SUMMARY
The 1,990-page Democratic health care bill suffers all the predictable failings that result from its true intent: to initiate a central government takeover of the health sector -- one-sixth of the U.S. economy and one of the most valued and personal services Americans have.

The bill is a costly behemoth that does the following:
► Launches a government takeover of health care that inevitably will increase costs, force rationing of medical care, or both.
► Creates a new $1.3-trillion health entitlement that will cost more than advertised, worsen the Nation's unsustainable fiscal situation, and drive State governments deeper into the red.
► Imposes heavy taxes and fees on both individuals and businesses, including a
burdensome "play-or-pay" tax on businesses that cannot obtain affordable employee
coverage.
► Increases the long-term budget deficit, which already is projected to remain at record levels during the next 10 years.
► Makes no sense economically.
► Results in putting upward pressure on health care costs, instead of bringing down costs as promised.

- One-Size Fits All Health Care. The bill's rating restrictions, coverage mandates,
and benefit requirements will halt innovation and drive individualized health
products out of the market. The bill disqualifies Health Savings Accounts, which
provide more than eight million people with access to low-cost health care;
would cause 64 percent of seniors in Medicare Advantage to lose their coverage
in the next 5 years; and would subject plans to approval by a new Health Choices
Commissioner, with the authority to audit, review, and penalize any health plan
that does not comply with the rules set by this Washington-based office.

Another Unsustainable Health Entitlement. Current challenges in health care are
driven largely by fundamental problems in existing Federal Government entitlement
programs. These include a $38-trillion unfunded liability in Medicare ($335,350 per U.S.
household) that will grow to $52 trillion ($458,900 per household) in the next 5 years); and a Medicaid Program that is the leading cause behind State budget crises. But the Majority's legislation layers on yet another Washington-based medical program -- a new $1.3-trillion health entitlement that will cost $2.4 trillion when fully implemented.

- Budget and Savings Gimmicks. The legislation's $104 billion in deficit reduction
projected over the next 10 years is achieved mainly through timing gimmicks and
savings from extraneous provisions. Of the $104 billion in claimed
deficit reduction, $72 billion [including the $24 billion from black liquor] comes from extraneous legislation added to the bill after the three House committees marked it up.

- Driving States Deeper Into the Red. While the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports this bill would reduce the uninsured by 36 million people, nearly half of those would be enrolled in Medicaid, and would not be eligible for private insurance in the new health care exchanges. This would force States to spend an additional $34 billion over the next 10 years, beyond the unsustainable Medicaid burdens States already face.

- Ignoring Significant Costs. The bill assumes a 21-percent reduction in Medicare
reimbursements to physicians, with additional cuts throughout the 10-year window. But since 2002, Congress has consistently reversed the scheduled physician payment reductions; and the Majority introduced another such "doc fix" the day it unveiled its health care bill. CBO has estimated this payment change would cost $229 billion according to a CBO estimate of H.R. 3200, dated 17 July 2009. While the bill does not account for the "doc fix," it does take credit for $479 billion in reductions to hospitals, nursing homes, and other providers that will either severely disrupt care, or lead to measures reversing these provisions.

Long-Term Costs. The long-term consequences of this legislation are even more severe.
Says CBO: "On balance, during the decade following the 10-year budget window, the bill
would increase both Federal outlays for health care and the Federal budgetary
commitment to health care, relative to the amounts under current law" according to a CBO preliminary cost estimate for H.R. 3962, dated 29 October 2009.This would add
to the unprecedented spending already built into the President's budget

Heavy Taxes and Fees on Individuals and Businesses. To extend coverage to an
additional 36 million legal residents, the bill relies heavily on mandates and tax penalties

CBO estimates that $729.5 billion in new taxes would be extracted from individuals and employers.

Among those tax increases are:
- A total of $460.5 billion in job-killing small-business surtaxes (section 551).
- Another $135 billion in employer mandates, including the "play-or-pay" scheme
punishing even small companies that cannot provide group health insurance
(sections 511-512).
- An additional $33 billion in individual mandates -- including an unprecedented
Washington requirement that everyone must buy health insurance or be subject to
Federal penalties (section 501).

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