Children's Health And Medicare Protection Act Of 2007 --Continued--
CHILDREN'S HEALTH AND MEDICARE PROTECTION ACT OF 2007--Continued -- (House of Representatives - August 01, 2007)
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Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
I have heard a lot of generosity on the floor today, Mr. Speaker. People can always be generous with other people's money. And it seems that the new majority back in power has already gone the way of the old Democratic majority and, in fairness, along the way of mistakes that we made.
I was one of the Republicans that opposed our effort to vastly expand Medicare with the prescription drug entitlement. I think voters actually put some of us on the pavement because, with an $8 trillion national debt, they are tired of reckless and runaway spending in Washington, D.C.
This bill is a massive increase in the government's role in health care. It makes millions of middle-class families eligible for government insurance, many of which are already covered under private plans. I don't think taxpayers should be required to pay for government insurance for the children of parents who earn up to $80,000 a year. And we do this at the expense of seniors, cutting into the Medicare Advantage program.
And I would say to you American taxpayers should not have to support a system that provides health insurance coverage for illegal immigrants. This legislation allows funding of illegal immigrants in health care. It cuts health care for millions of senior citizens in the Medicare Advantage program. It provides government insurance for higher-income families, and it drastically expands the role of the government in America's health care system.
It just seems to me this new majority does well when it reminds the American people that we have a moral obligation to come to terms with an $8 trillion national debt. The next time I hear one of those speeches on the floor, Mr. Speaker, you will forgive me if I run to the floor to remind people of a $47 billion middle-class entitlement that passed the Congress today.
I urge my colleagues to oppose the CHAMP Act, to oppose middle-class entitlements.
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