Duncan Faircloth: “Yesterday, when the Senate passed welfare legislation we took an important first step toward reforming our failed…”

“Yesterday, when the Senate passed welfare legislation we took an important first step toward reforming our failed welfare system. Similarly, the health care reform bill before us today takes another important first step toward addressing some of the serious flaws that exist in our Nation's health care system. We must ensure that this health care bill becomes a step in the right direction, a step away from excessive government regulation and a step toward a health care system based on free-market principles that benefits and empowers individuals. I am very pleased that the conference report includes the foundation for the full implementation of Medical Savings Accounts, this is the single most important feature of this legislation. When we debated medical savings accounts in April, opponents of the provision argued that anyone who want to include MSA's really wanted just to kill the Kassebaum bill. I believe that the conference agreement has proven them wrong. This real issue behind medical savings accounts is a question of whether health care reform should move toward greater government control of our health care system, as President Clinton advocates, or whether health care reform should place more decision making authority in the hands of individuals. Once individual Americans have the power to control how their own health care dollars are spent, they will never allow the government to take that power back.”