On the recordJanuary 19, 2011
The first rule of the physician is ``do no harm.'' The government takeover of health care does a lot of harm, and the damage will get worse. Just on pure economics, it's a bitter pill. Small businesses are bracing for tax increases and higher costs. They are dropping coverage; they are holding off on new hires. The Federal Government is taking on a new open-ended entitlement it can't afford, and that at a time of historically high deficits, annual deficits and a national debt. Washington yet again is building a new bureaucracy to tell people what to do. The Federal Government has no business making private medical decisions that ought to be between you and the doctor. It violates the principles on which this country was established, American exceptionalism. America is not Europe. Our system is based on the individual, on choice, on freedom, on individual initiative and competition. The mandate that asks individuals to buy health insurance is an intrusion on our personal liberty and a violation of our constitutional principles. Allowing taxpayer money to pay for abortions is reprehensible and cannot be allowed to stand. We can address the issues in our health care system without the government running everything and spending uncontrollably. We heard what the American people said last November and in our town halls. To get health care right, we have to start by repealing a misguided law that is bad policy and bad medicine.
