Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act

Floor Speech

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I thank the ranking member of the Health Subcommittee and my colleagues.

You know, we're at about the halfway mark of this debate today. So I think it's time for us to kind of take a little review and also offer people listening at home kind of a viewer's guide to what they have heard and what they are likely to hear coming forward.

There are basically three formations of the argument by the Republicans:

First, they start by making stuff up. You kind of have to wonder if any of them actually read the bill: 137 new agencies--not true; new IRS agents--not true; death panels--not true; Members aren't covered--not true; no tort reform in it--not true.

You know, I want to just advise people watching at home playing that now popular drinking game of you take a shot whenever the Republicans say something that's not true, please assign a designated driver. This is going to be a long afternoon.

Then there are my colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle that are basically pursuing the ``we don't really mean it'' strategy. My good friend, the new chairman, Mr. Upton, started his remarks with this long litany of things they are going to do in the new bill. They're going to have coverage for preexisting conditions. They're going to have help for the doughnut hole. They're going to make sure there are incentives for small businesses to offer insurance. You know what they call that, my colleagues? They call that the bill they're repealing. It sounds very strange, but they want to repeal the bill but they still want to give it a big hug and embrace as if they support the things.

And then, of course, there is the old fallback, and this is a particularly powerful one for the newer Members who are just joining us. It's kind of the bogyman strategy. You know, you pull those canards out of the sky: It's socialized medicine. Socialized medicine? Giving people incentives to go to private insurance companies? How is that socialized medicine? If that's the case, you all have socialized medicine.

Now, it's worth noting that this is the same Republican Party who last year in their budget alternative and this year in their campaign manifesto said, We want to end the Medicare program as we know it. I mean, they don't talk about it much, but that's their philosophy. And we have a fundamental disagreement about it. They say there is going to be a government takeover of health care. Really? Who's taking over what health care plan?

We're offering people tax incentives, small businesses tax incentives to go buy private insurance plans. You know, this was a proposal first made by Republicans that was adopted. We decided that that was the way to go.

But stay tuned, ladies and gentlemen. This is the sign of a philosophical division. You have one side that stands up for patients and for citizens and for businesses and the other side which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the health insurance industry.

But we've seen it. Whether they're making up things, whether they're creating bogymen, or whether they're saying, Well, no, we don't really mean it, this is a harbinger.

And I would say to Americans watching at home, think what side you're on. If you're in love with insurance companies and want them to succeed and you don't care about anything else, by all means, this is your team. These are your guys. But if you believe that we need to make sure that people get health insurance, that they're not passing along their bills to the taxpayers each and every single day, that you believe in programs like Social Security and Medicare, these are your guys.

This is kind of your half-time wrap-up for the debate that we're having here today. And those are the two sides. Ladies and gentlemen, pick your side.

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