On the recordMarch 20, 2010
Madam Speaker, there are some important, vital, and principled reasons why those of us on this side of the aisle will be opposing the health care plan should it come to a vote tomorrow. And just briefly let me recap these. It raises taxes by $570 billion over 10 years. It will cost the taxpayers $1.2 trillion, not to mention the so-called doc fix of about $371 billion, a massive increase of government spending. It's also a takeover by the government, a dramatic step away from personal, private coverage and choice to a government-run system that will end up rationing care. It's unconstitutional. There is nowhere in the Constitution that says the government has the power to require every single person to go out and buy insurance whether they want to or not. It fails to adequately address illegal immigrants through no enforceable means of citizen verification. It funds abortion. There's lack of tort reform. It forces Americans out of their current plans. It increases premiums. It will increase personal health expenditures whether people can afford it or not. It bends the curve of government spending in the future in the wrong direction. It constitutes a massive permanent government takeover of the private student loan industry. That's 30,000 jobs right there. It is chock-full of special deals, from the Bismarck bank job to the Louisiana purchase and others. It does not factor in market risks regarding defaults on student loans.…





