Preventing Across-The-Board Direct Spending Cuts

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, it must be nice to be the Speaker of the House. Speaker Pelosi gets to push around our new majority leader and my Democratic colleagues, and they get nothing in return.

This bill is a bailout for Speaker Pelosi and gives California's healthcare system the ability to claim up to 175 percent of uncompensated care costs in their DSH Program while all the other States can only claim up to 100 percent of costs.

How is that fair to Florida?

How can the majority leader and my new colleagues from Georgia, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona justify a vote that is unfair to their States? Well, welcome to Pelosi's U.S. Senate.

Seriously, how can anyone in this body, except, perhaps, my two colleagues from California, possibly justify voting against this amendment?

This is a very simple concept. All 50 States should be treated equally. One State should not be given special treatment over the others. This is a bailout for Speaker Pelosi, period.

I want to be very clear. I oppose any cuts to Medicare benefits. So what I am offering protects Medicare benefits, and the only change it makes to this bill is to strip out this ridiculous Pelosi bailout.
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Mr. SCOTT of Florida. What I am offering protects Medicare benefits, and the only change it makes to this bill is to strip out this ridiculous Pelosi bailout.

A vote for my amendment is a vote to ensure that all 50 States play by the same rules. It is to preserve the current law.

A vote against my amendment is a vote to say that your State plays by the rules, but Pelosi gets her own set of rules.
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