Political Quotes

“I say to my colleague from Nebraska, I am afraid the answer is yes. It is increasing costs and, therefore, making us less competitive. When we increase the costs of doing business, of course, it impacts the economy. The Senator has laid this out very well. I appreciate the Senator's comments this morning. The Senator talked about the 800,000 jobs that are projected to be lost, and that is probably a conservative figure, given the information I am getting from back home and what the Senator just talked about. The Senator talked about the fact that premiums are going to increase dramatically--27 to 30 percent. Since the Senator mentioned the Office of Management and Budget, I will also say this is about our businesses and their ability to create jobs and get this economy moving. It is about all of us as families and consumers having higher costs. It is also about our Federal budget deficit. We have an expert on that in Dr. Coburn, who will speak in a moment. But the point is, this is increasing costs to all of us in various ways, and the budget deficit is already at record levels--a $15 trillion debt. Our country, obviously, is awash in red ink, and one of the reasons, of course, is higher health care costs. So this is impacting us in a lot of different ways. Let me address the Senator's question more directly, though, and that is in terms of the impact on business.…”