Health Care For Women In America

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. FOXX. I thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee for beginning the hour for us.

We stand up here and we talk a lot about what's in this bill, and I know that many Americans wonder are we telling the truth or not. But as you pointed out, there is a provision in that bill that will do away with private health insurance policies beginning in 2013. And if people want to find that, they can find it on page 94, section 202(c). I heard when I came in you were talking about how to read the bill by going to your Web site. I think all of us have Web sites with links to the bill, and I'm assuming most people also have links to these page numbers and section numbers that will back up what we are saying.

I think one of the best things that has come out of the debate that has been going on about this health care, and as our colleague from Illinois said earlier, if this was such a great idea, this bill would have been passed in July, as our colleagues across the aisle wanted. But it isn't a good idea, and it's been very contentious. But we point out to people what's in the bill, and people have been reading the bill.

I think that is a very healthy thing to do, and I hope people will continue to read the bill. I am a bit surprised, actually. The bill was introduced on Thursday, we didn't have session on Friday, and tonight when we had Special Orders and the Democrats had the first hour, I thought they would be here defending this bill and explaining to the American people why this is such a wonderful thing. And yet, they didn't show up. Here we are doing our best to explain to our fellow Americans what is wrong about this bill and why they shouldn't be supporting it. I have found a dearth of Democrats out here defending the bill and saying, Let me tell you on page 94 what is good, or on page 112. It seems to me, if they really liked this bill, they would be doing that. I know over time we have done that kind of thing.

I want to say to my colleague from Tennessee how important I think it is to point out that there are going to be 111 new bureaucracies established by this bill. I am a small government conservative, and I have had the same experiences that my colleague from West Virginia has had. Everywhere I went this weekend, people said to me, Vote ``no'' on that health care bill. Do everything you can to stop that health care bill.

I am not finding people who are saying to me vote for this. My mail is running about 9 1/2 against it to 1. I think the reason is the American people, the average American, understands that increased government intrusion in our lives takes away our freedom. This country is the freest country in the world. We are the greatest country in the world because of that. But when you expand the Federal Government's power over our lives, that undermines our freedom. And Nancy Pelosi's Big Government health care bill is the single largest expansion of government that we have seen in over a generation. It is, I think, a threat to our freedoms. I believe the average American understands that.

When I talk to school groups, I say to them the major difference between Democrats and Republicans is we believe that individuals can solve most of their problems. Yes, we need government. We need a police force. We need an Army. There are many things that we need. But very few things at the Federal level do we need. Republicans have figured this out. We have made proposals. We have not talked much about those tonight. I think we need to at least say that we have made these proposals that fit with what the American people want.

They want to be able to buy insurance across State lines. They want to take a tax deduction for paying insurance premiums like their employer does. They want to be able to get into pools like my small business can join with other small businesses. We want to let the States come up with innovations. We have lots and lots of ideas like that that won't cost $1.4 trillion but will solve this problem for the approximately 10 million Americans who want health insurance but can't afford it.

We are turning our whole country upside down to take care of 10 million Americans who want insurance but can't afford it. We want to do that. What it is going to do, if the American people have any hesitation about what we are talking about in terms of where we are going with health care, we need to point out that it will allow the IRS to be monitoring small businesses and, ultimately, us as individuals. I don't know anybody in this country that wants to be dealing with the IRS. We know what a friendly group they are. And we know what is going to happen to those bureaucracies that take over our health care decisions. That's just the wrong way to go.

We can beat this thing. We need the American people to be calling their Members of Congress who are on the other side who are either undecided or have said that they are going to vote for it and say that this is not what we want. We don't want a further erosion of our freedoms. We want to remain the greatest country in the world.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentlelady for yielding back, and I appreciate that she mentioned how States need to be able to innovate, how they handle the Medicaid payments that are there. This is so very important because they are the ones that are delivering these services. This bill would increase the eligibility for Medicaid to 150 percent of the Federal poverty level. Now, what this does is to shift that burden over to our States. It takes that burden from the Federal Government and places it squarely in the lap of our States.

Now, most of our States have balanced budget amendments. Here we are handing them, and in my State of Tennessee, we know we have heard from our Governor's office that the expectation is this is going to cost us an extra $735 million per year. Every State around the country is looking to see what it would cost them. They know that by shifting that Medicaid burden, expanding that eligibility to 150 percent and then shifting that burden to the States, well, it may help them with budgeting, those that are trying to pass this bill and are looking for budget gimmicks and trying to say it is going to cost less than $1 trillion. Well, that gimmickry might help them, but for the taxpayer who already has too much month left at the end of his money, what you are saying is get ready, your sales tax is going up. Your State property tax is going up. You are going to see State income taxes going up, and that is all because the Federal Government said, States get ready, it is coming to land in your lap.

I recognize the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Ms. Fallin) about how this will affect the States.

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