On the recordFebruary 15, 2012
I thank the gentleman from Michigan, the physician. In the closing moments here, what have we learned? We've learned that we have a Medicare system that's highly bureaucratic, highly expensive and, as the graph showed, is going to be insolvent as early as 2016. That's 4 years away. And we desperately need a solution to that. We've got this side of the aisle which has already come up with a solution, a premium support plan that basically offers to Americans the same opportunity we, in Congress, have, an excellent health care plan. And then we have got this side of the aisle, Democrats, who absolutely have come up with no solution. As the gentleman says, they bury their heads in the sand and offer nothing. I would submit to you, Mr. Speaker, that we can't continue going this way. We have got to move forward. We've got to find solutions by, again, putting health care providers in the arena, having them compete with each other, always doing that. If it's a level playing field--and that's our responsibility in government--the quality of care goes up while the cost goes down. I want to thank my colleagues here tonight. We have had a great discussion, and I look forward to doing this again very soon. With that, I yield back the balance of my time. ____________________
