Lexington County Chronicle: Congressman Joe Wilson: Let's Not Forget Our Seniors, Nor 9-11'
Second District Congressman Joe Wilson went to the well Monday evening shortly after talking with the Chronicle.
His target was the health care bill passed by the House and now being debated in the Senate.
He attacked the $289 billion costs and the horrendous impact on the American economy and especially on senior citizens.
The threat to our economy is one thing, he said, but the impact on our lives is something else.
Wilson predicted it would create an even greater deficit problem and would kill jobs. One of the more devastating aspects of the legislation would be the impact on health care for seniors.
The House-approved healthcare overhaul would raise the costs of healthcare by $289 billion over the next 10 years, according to an analysis by the chief actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
The CMS report is a blow to the White House and House Democrats who have vowed that healthcare reform would curb the growth of healthcare spending.
CMS's analysis is not an apples-to-apples comparison to the cost estimate conducted by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) because CMS did not review tax provisions, which help offset the price tag of the Democrats' measure.
However, the CMS analysis clearly states that the House bill falls short in attaining a key goal of the Democrats' effort to reform the nation's healthcare system: "With the exception of the proposed reduction in Medicare... the provisions of H.R. 3962 would not have a significant impact on future healthcare cost growth rates."
The Springdale congressman exceeded his 60 second time allotment and was gavled down by the speaker, but he continued to close as he always does, "God bless the United States and let's never forget nine-eleven."