Kline Statement: Consideration of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act
WASHINGTON, D.C.,
November 7, 2009
Thank you Madame Speaker – where do I begin?
We have before us over 2,000 pages of legislative text that continues to be amended with additional changes none of us have had much of any chance to review. I cannot even begin to convey to you what’s wrong with this bill in the short time available. But let me share just a few of my concerns.
Those are the numbers. Here are their consequences:
I could go on, but our time is scarce. The few hours we have been given today are simply not enough to spell out the catastrophic consequences this legislation would bring. We have a choice with this bill and this vote. Sure, we can expand government. It would not be the first time, and I expect it won’t be the last for this Democrat Congress. First it was the banking system. Then the credit markets. And the auto industry. The feds are taking over school construction. And college curriculum. And student lending. Health care is roughly one-sixth of the American economy. It represents jobs and innovation. But more than anything else, health care represents the security and well-being of the American people. Another government takeover is not the answer. We need targeted solutions. Our reforms must be meaningful – and they must be fiscally responsible. We can bring down health care costs without growing the size of government. We can expand access to coverage without inflating broken entitlement programs. The Republican plan will reduce health care premiums by as much as 10 percent. Democrats fail to bend the cost curve. Republicans will reduce the deficit, expand access to coverage, and prevent tax hikes. Democrats rely on budgetary gimmicks and crippling new taxes. Republicans keep medical decisions between patients and their doctors. Democrats empower a new super-bureaucrat with unprecedented authority over personal health care decisions. This Health Choices Commissioner – heading up the Orwellian Health Choices Administration – will have vast powers to define, deny, deem, determine, assess, establish, and administer benefits and care. In the remarkably short time since this legislation was released for review, my staff and I have combed these pages to develop a clearer picture of this one individual’s immense authority. We had to restock our supply of page tabs after this project. As you can see from this document, the sheer number of times this individual is granted a new power in the bill would deplete any office supply store. The choice is clear. And it is stark. H.R. 3962 costs too much. Too many Americans will lose their coverage – and their jobs. The American people deserve better. I don’t believe this bill should ever see the light of day. It is a recipe for massive future job losses and a clear power grab by Washington bureaucrats. We ought to discard it altogether – press the ‘reset’ button and write a better bill. It’s not too late to stop this fiscal and policy train wreck. # # # |