Reconciliation Act Of 2010

Floor Speech

* Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, in a desperate effort to pass a sweeping government takeover of our health care system, Democrats held Congress in session throughout the weekend to pass H.R. 3590, The Patient Protection and Health Care Affordability Act along with a package of desired ``fixes,'' H.R. 4872, The Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act. In a purely partisan fashion, the Democrats have now passed the largest tax increase in history, a massive expansion of entitlements, and policies which will put the health care system at the whim of the Federal Government.

* One of the most distressing aspects of this legislation is the dishonesty which has been utilized for its passage. While I am pleased that the Democrats forfeited the ``Deem-and-Pass'' ploy to hide a vote on the Senate health care bill, I am shocked that they support this 2,700 page monstrosity, complete with its slew of sweetheart deals that benefit home states of members who once opposed the bill. Despite the backlash that rightfully followed these deceitful kickbacks, the Democrats included even more million-dollar deals for specific members in the reconciliation package. This tactic is an abuse of power, an abuse of taxpayer money, and abandons the integrity that the American public expects from their Congress.

* The numbers in this Democratic health care package are astounding. The bill costs about $1.2 trillion over the next ten years, imposes almost $570 billion in new taxes on the American public, and cuts the Medicare program by over $500 billion. As our economy attempts to recover from the largest recession since the Great Depression, this bill's laundry list of new taxes is deplorable: $32 billion in taxes on health care benefits, $52 billion in taxes on employers, $17 billion in penalties on individuals, $210.2 billion in an unprecedented Medicare tax on wages, self-employment income, and certain investment income, and many more. While these taxes will be in effect immediately, 98% of the bill's provisions do not begin until 2014. Therefore, Americans will be paying for health reform for four years without ever seeing the government return the favor. Unbelievably, the bill's true ten-year cost when fully implemented totals about $2.4 trillion dollars. To pay for this spending, it proposes half a trillion in cuts to Medicare and Medicare Advantage, robbing the benefits our seniors deserve.

* What may be worse than the vast cost of this bill are the budgetary gimmicks used in its scoring. The authors use ten years of revenue to pay for only six years of government spending. They also double count savings from Medicare cuts to simultaneously pay for Medicare entitlements and the bill's new entitlements. Furthermore, the bill does not include the ``doc fix,'' legislation that will likely be passed separately to ensure doctors do not incur a huge cut in reimbursements--and costs an additional $371 billion. These methods were used to dupe the American people, a smoke-and-mirrors strategy to uphold President Obama's pledge that health care reform will ``not add a dime to the deficit.'' Unfortunately, if one omits these budgetary tricks from the bill's cost, it will actually increase the deficit by almost $600 billion in the first ten years.

* The structure of this bill is a clear effort to give the government complete control over health care--it takes choice and flexibility from American citizens while also making them pay more. For example, the bill instructs the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary to determine what constitutes a ``minimum benefits package'' for all Americans and then requires all citizens to purchase it. This mandate will be enforced by a massive expansion of the IRS, which will fine those who do not comply two percent of their income. I believe that individuals can best determine for themselves how comprehensive their health care insurance should be, and that Americans have many different needs which cannot be defined by a one-size-fits-all package. Unfortunately, H.R. 3590 sets the stage for mandated, standardized health care.

* The provisions in H.R. 3590 will hurt families, businesses, and kill jobs at a time when we can least afford it. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has reported that this health care package will most likely raise premiums for millions of families by $2,100 per year. It also taxes employers if they cannot provide health insurance and their employees receive federal subsidies--this provision will cause employers to lay off employees due to cost increases, and it discourages companies from hiring low-wage workers who are more likely to qualify for subsidies. Furthermore, Democrats have promised that Americans may keep their health insurance if they like it, but the CBO has predicted that up to 9 million Americans will lose their employer-based coverage. Additionally, the bill imposes an unfunded mandate on Texas by drastically expanding the Medicaid program, costing Texas an estimated $24.3 billion dollars in the next ten years.

* Unfortunately, the reasons why this bill will hurt this country abound. This legislation fails to ensure federal funding is not used for elective abortions. While the President has promised to issue an Executive Order for political effect, the President cannot amend a bill by issuing an order, and the federal courts will enforce what the law says. The bill also fails to include proper verification procedures to ensure illegal immigrants do not receive federal subsidies to purchase health insurance. Furthermore, it lacks protections for 9.2 million military personnel, families and retirees that their health insurance will not be affected. These pitfalls explain why Americans have flooded the DC area in protest, a visual testament of the public opinion on the Democratic health bill, which has become largely opposed throughout the debate. Unfortunately, the Democrats have not listened, and in one of the largest abuses of majority power, have forced their hand on the American public.

* My fellow Republicans and I have been willing to work on health care reform from the beginning of this debate. We have introduced numerous proposals emphasizing free market solutions and cost-cutting strategies to make health care insurance readily available and more affordable to Americans. We were present when the President called us to discuss health care reform, but our willingness to start over and work together was ignored by our colleagues. I am disappointed by the events of tonight, but I have not given up and will continue to work for true reform that will lower costs instead of simply shifting those costs onto the government.

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