Time To Stop Piling On Debt

Press Release

Time To Stop Piling On Debt

The U.S. House of Representatives held a vote on physician reimbursements for Medicare, the so-called "doc fix" bill. Congressman Zach Wamp voted against the bill and issued the following statement:
"While in China yesterday, President Barack Obama suggested that more debt would erode confidence in the American economy. In an interview he said, ‘If we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the U.S. economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession.'
"Each year, Congress provides a doc fix to prevent substantial payment cuts to physicians who treat Medicare patients. I have always supported legislation to prevent these cuts from taking place, but this year's bill includes $210 billion in additional spending with no plans to pay for it. With our nation already $12 trillion in debt, this is not a responsible approach. Republicans proposed an alternative measure that would prevent cuts to physician reimbursements without increasing the deficit, and would be paid for in part by savings from medical liability reform.
"The Senate voted last month with a wide bipartisan majority against a similar measure that failed 47 to 53 and will not pass the House version. This vote is a ‘political gimmick' to give House Democrats the appearance that they are providing a solution for doctors, but it will not actually fix this problem. A better approach would be to replace the current outdated formula that is used to calculate the annual reimbursement rate.
"If the Democrats were serious about fixing these reimbursements, they would have included it in the health care reform bill that they rammed through the House. Instead, it was intentionally left out to lower the cost so Democrats could get enough votes to pass Pelosi's health care bill. There are moments where Congress must put the health of the nation above one group or another -- this is one of them.
"We must control spending and quit this reckless borrowing. President Obama had to reassure our largest foreign lender, the Chinese government, on his administration's plans for the deficit and how health care spending will impact it. China wants evidence that we have a plan to pay them back, and they are worried we will default on what we owe other countries. Piling on $210 billion of new debt will hurt the economy and slow growth even more."

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