Gerald Kleczka: “Mr. Speaker, I really do not know where to start, to start answering some of the critics and the proponents of this…”

“Mr. Speaker, I really do not know where to start, to start answering some of the critics and the proponents of this legislation. This bill started out about a week ago or so in the Committee on Ways and Means, which I serve on, and the cost was $14 billion. Then the day the bill came up, the cost rose to $72 billion. And then last night the cost went to $173 billion. Mr. Speaker, let us pass this bill quickly, because I am afraid it is going to continue to grow. But that does not make it a good bill. What is going on here, my friends, is this is the demise of the employer-sponsored health care system in this country. The employers do not like it. They want to get out of it. Members of the committee, including the chairman, have indicated that their desire is to dismantle the employer-based health care system. This bill does it. How does it do it? It gives the employer an option. It says, Mr. and Mrs. Employee, we are changing your health policy. I am going to give you one starting next month that will provide for a $2,000 deduction on your health care costs.”