Robert Pittenger: “Let's talk about responsibility tonight, Mr. Speaker. You know, we've gotten notices from our constituents for the last…”

“Let's talk about responsibility tonight, Mr. Speaker. You know, we've gotten notices from our constituents for the last many weeks that their premiums now, they're getting their notices, they're going up. I had one doctor who wrote me with his family that's gone up 200 percent--$11,000 deductible; yet he has to pay $1,100 a month. Another friend called me, his premium is 250 percent more. So let's talk about responsibility. Let's talk about what made America great in terms of health care. People come from all over the world to our shores for great health care. Do you know why, Mr. Speaker? Innovation. America has the greatest health care in the world; yet innovation now is going to be curtailed. The great research hospitals of this country now are having to cut back because they don't see that opportunity. We have changed the whole direction through centralized planning, through a great bureaucracy running health care that's going to cut into innovation. It's not going to make us the country we were. You know, there was a time when we used to have to pay about $9,000 for laser surgery, and today it's about $1,500. That's because of innovation; it's because of competition. We're going to lose competition in the market today, Mr. Speaker. That doesn't make sense. I would like to say a bit about this investment tax, 3.8 percent.…”