Challenges and Opportunities

Floor Speech

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Mr. STUTZMAN. First, I would like to thank the gentlewoman for yielding and organizing this Special Order about solutions. That is what the American people expect from us as Congress, whether you are a Republican or whether you are a Democrat. The American people are looking to Washington to find solutions, to work together, to make America strong again. So I want to thank you for your comments today and for representing your district so well.

It doesn't take much to sort out and to realize the difficulty that we are facing in our country and what our Federal Government is facing: $17 trillion in debt, a struggling economy, a health care system that does need to be fixed. People are looking to Washington to gain confidence in the marketplace. And in spite of Washington, you will find bright spots throughout the country where good things are happening, but it is not enough. We can still do better. And it is time for Washington to find solutions for our economy, for the American people, for American families so that way when a family sits down to have dinner tonight, they are not going to be wondering if Dad is going to be going to work next week. They don't have to worry whether Mom will have her job the following month. What is going to happen after Christmas time? What is going to happen next year? They hear so many different stories about the new health care law and what it means for them. What is their insurance plan going to be like next year? There are so many unknowns and questions that are not answered because of the uncertainty that Washington has placed irresponsibly on the American people.

While we know we have $17 trillion of debt, a deficit that is running out of balance, a health care law that is crushing the American people today, an Independent Payment Advisory Board that has 15 board members that are unelected and unaccountable who will be making health care decisions for Americans in the near term, we still have an unemployment rate of 8 percent and mandates from ObamaCare that are forcing companies to cut hours. Too much uncertainty is being created by our Federal Government.

Small businesses are trying to figure out how they are going to make ends meet next year, how they are going to plan their budget when they know the mandates and the cost of insurance continue to crush them, how they are going to create new jobs and expand their companies if regulations continue to hamper them and the new health care law continues to sidetrack them.

One of the taxes that is in the health care law that is driving jobs away from Indiana is the medical device tax, also known as the pacemaker tax, the wheelchair tax. Anything that is a medical device, such as a hip, a knee, a joint, these things are taxed now because of ObamaCare. It is over 20,000 jobs just in Indiana. Warsaw, Indiana, in particular, is the orthopedic capital of the world. It is the home to Zimmer, Biomet, DePuy, Paragon, and so many other companies that are doing so much remarkable work for the betterment of Americans.

I know that my grandmother had her hip replaced before she passed away 10 years ago, and it changed her life. It gave her a new ability to enjoy life with her children and her grandchildren. This is an industry that is being harmed by ObamaCare, and it is time that we take a step back and reevaluate and find new solutions.

Unfortunately, this tax is putting 2,000 jobs in jeopardy in Indiana, and I believe that it is time for Washington, for the President, for the Senate, and for the House to come together. Let's stop stumbling from crisis to crisis. That is not the best way to govern. The American people are tired of the way Washington has these cycles of political stunts and fiscal cliffs and all these other manufactured crises.

Hoosiers know, as many Americans know, that in order to get a job done, you have to sit down and figure out a way to get it done, talk about it, and then go out and do it. But Washington is broke because government spends too much and talks too little. So I think now is the time for us to get serious about our debt. We need to reform our entitlement programs. We need to work towards reforming our Tax Code. We have solutions. We have ideas. We can make things better for not only the American people, but for the world, if we would just trust the instincts of the American people. If we followed those instincts and followed the example of the American people, the Federal Government would be in a much better place today.

It is time for solutions, and I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for her leadership on this issue tonight.

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