[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 79 (Tuesday, June 21, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     TRIGGERS: A DATE WITH DISASTER

  (Mr. KNOLLENBERG asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Speaker, I have just one comment first. I would 
like to suggest to the Members that the previous speaker apparently has 
obtained a waiver for her particular area, and I think we should make 
note of that fact.
  Mr. Speaker, by now we have all heard about the various so-called 
triggers, being debated here on Capitol Hill and around the country.
  As you know, those are the points in time, where if all our market 
reforms fail that federally mandated, Big Brother-like health care 
reforms could go into effect.
  Those same triggers are being touted as areas of compromise, making 
health care reform more palatable for those Members of Congress who 
can't make a decision.
  Let us face it. Triggers are just another way for Congress to 
postpone an action it is unwilling to take today.
  Plain and simple, this is just another way for many of my colleagues 
to pass the buck. And all of us here know that buck is going to end up 
in only one place--right at the feet of the American taxpayer.
  I want substantive health care reform. But I do not want us to rush 
to settle our differences and sacrifice the public's best interests in 
the process.
  This is an American issue--not a Republican or Democrat one. Let us 
work together on resolving our differences, not on finding ways to 
abdicate our responsibilities. Triggers aren't the answer.

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