On the recordJanuary 19, 2011
I thank the gentleman. Madam Speaker, it's been almost 1 year since many of us here in the House offered a sobering prognosis about the devastating side effects the massive $2.4 trillion health care plan would have on our small businesses, our seniors, and our families. Last year many warned that concocting a scheme centered on expensive government mandates, $500 billion in new taxes, and bigger bureaucracy would weaken our economy and is simply the wrong prescription for bringing about meaningful change to a health care system that truly needs a strong dose of reform. Well, that prognosis has turned out to be painfully accurate. Small business owners are furious over the ever-increasing insurance premiums that continue to this day, and the 1099 mandate, which requires them to send a slip of paper to the IRS for every business transaction of $600 or more. A new 2.3 percent tax on innovators in our thriving medical device industry is also choking off investment and hurting job growth. And that's jeopardizing approximately 20,000 jobs in Pennsylvania alone. And all the enactments, tax hikes, and mandates could put an estimated 700,000 Americans out of work at a time when unemployment hovers at 10 percent. Let there be no mistake: Reform is needed. But not big government, high tax solutions.
