Continuing Extension Act Of 2010

Floor Speech

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Today is April 15, Tax Day, and across the country citizens concerned with the direction our Nation is headed are rallying together to send Washington, D.C., a message. Though I was unable to join the people at these rallies, it is my duty to be here in the House of Representatives today to share their message and to speak and to vote against this bill.

First, this bill is shortsighted because it increases the deficit by $18 billion, a cost to be paid for by future generations. This Congress has spent and borrowed its way into record deficits.

Second, the so-called doc fix in this bill is an example of Congress avoiding real solutions necessary to improve health care for Americans. The short-term doc fix included in this bill is hardly a fix when Kansas hospitals and doctors have to endure this wait-and-see game every few months while still working to care for folks and keep their doors open. We need a permanent solution to this ongoing problem so that doctors can regain a sense of stability and predictability in their practices.

And thirdly, despite its intention, this bill does little to address our country's persistent high unemployment rate. Rather than continuing to spend money we do not have, Congress needs to pursue a strategy of job creation. This legislation is yet another unfortunate example of ``business as usual'' in our Nation's capital; same old story from a Congress that needs to learn its lessons from the American people, a story told one more time on this Tax Day, April 15.

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