WALLY HERGER: “we just voted on this so-called stimulus bill that wasn't even available for us to see until late last night. It should…”

“we just voted on this so-called stimulus bill that wasn't even available for us to see until late last night. It should come as no surprise that in this monumental piece of legislation, there are items in it that could not have survived careful scrutiny in the light of day. Many of my colleagues have pointed out the wildly extravagant spending and the lack of real job creation and economic recovery in this bill. I fully share those concerns, but I also want to call to attention a little-known provision tucked six pages deep inside this 1,100 page bill. The Democrats are spending $1.1 billion on a new Federal board to conduct health care research. Sounds innocent enough, right? Unfortunately, this provision is the camel's nose under the tent in the Democrats' quest to have the Federal Government push doctors aside and put Washington in charge of patients' health treatment options. This board, the Federal coordinating Council on Comparative Effectiveness Research, will be comprised of 15 Federal bureaucrats, all appointed by the President. Not a single practicing physician or patient advocate will be allowed to sit on this board. Mr. Speaker, this is the first step of government-run health care. Despite numerous requests from patient groups, this bill does not include a single protection to ensure that this research will not be used by Medicare, Medicaid, VA, DOD or private health insurance to deny access to needed treatments.”