Work with the GOP on Health Care Reform

WORK WITH THE GOP ON HEALTH CARE REFORM -- (House of Representatives - July 21, 2009)

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Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, The Hill newspaper today reports that President Obama is pointing his finger at the Republicans, at the GOP, for the stalled health care bill. The last time I checked, the Democrats were in control of the House; they have a 60-Member majority in the Senate, and they control the White House. Clearly, the finger needs to be pointed in a different direction or needs to be reeled in.

I wonder who the President will blame next for double-digit unemployment and for a doubled national debt. We were promised that the Democrats' $1 trillion stimulus experiment would immediately create jobs and that unemployment would not rise above 8 percent, but in June alone, almost a half a million jobs were lost. This has driven unemployment to its highest level in 26 years.

Where are Democrats going to point their finger on that one, Mr. Speaker?

What happens when the $646 billion energy tax that the leadership in this House has rammed through raises energy costs on every American family by over $3,100 and when this energy tax is seen in home utility bills and at the gas pumps, costing up to 7 million Americans their jobs? They're going to lose their jobs. Which direction will the President then point his finger, Mr. Speaker?

When the administration's multitrillion-dollar health care experiment is shoved down our throats before August, costing, as the CBO says, more than 750,000 jobs, I ask again: Which direction will the President point his finger?

The bottom line is that, instead of playing the blame game, I urge congressional leadership and this administration not to ignore the recent deficit and the unemployment news. I urge them to scrap this multitrillion-dollar government health care experiment and takeover. I urge them, instead, to work with us Republicans. Work with us across the aisle to develop a health care plan that helps small businesses create jobs instead of taking away jobs and one that gives Americans better access to lower insurance costs. Work with us to rein in spending and to rein in this egregious, outrageous Federal debt. Work with us to institute meaningful reforms that will truly stimulate the economic growth and that will create jobs for all Americans and that will not just create more bureaucracy. Work with us, Mr. Speaker, Madam Speaker, Democratic colleagues. Work with Republicans.

We are accused by the Democrats of being the Party of No, n-o, but Republicans are the Party of Know, k-n-o-w. We know how to create jobs and how to stimulate the economy. We know how to lower the costs of all health care expenses for Americans all across this Nation. We know how to help small businesses by leaving dollars in their pockets, by cutting their tax base and by giving them the money they need to create new jobs and to buy inventory. We know how to stimulate the economy by leaving dollars in people's pockets so that they can invest in their children's futures and in their children's college education funds, so they can pay off credit card debts, so they can buy new cars and buy new homes. Those are the things that will create a stronger economy.

The Republicans have presented alternative after alternative to the Democrats' plan, but our plans are being quashed by the Democratic leadership, and won't see the light of day. It's not fair to the American people that their Representatives are shut out of the debate.

Mr. Speaker, we need to return to regular order. We need to go through what historically has happened in this House so that we have appropriations bills that are presented here with an open rule so that Members can present their amendments. We need to go through regular order, and we need to stop bringing big bills to this floor through the suspension process where they don't have any vetting in the committee process. We need to return to regular order and to go back to what this country was founded upon, and that's freedom and democracy.

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