[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 76 (Thursday, June 16, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 16, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                                 BTU-ED

  (Mr. BALLENGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, according to the Washington Post, support 
for the employer mandate in health care reform legislation is shaky.
  Apparently, many Democrats fear they will be BTU-ed.
  For those who are not accustomed to Hill parlance, to be BTU-ed is 
when a House Democrat supports a wildly unpopular concept, only to have 
it stripped out in the U.S. Senate.
  To be BTU-ed is to make a sacrifice for Bill Clinton for no apparent 
reason.
  And, Mr. Speaker, supporting the employer mandate is a sacrifice no 
Member should have to make.
  The employer mandate will kill jobs, freeze hiring, and close small 
businesses. It is the worst way to achieve health care reform.
  I urge my colleagues to turn away from the employer mandate and work 
with Republicans to achieve bipartisan health care reform. Do not be 
fooled again when it comes to health care. Do not be BTU-ed.

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