[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 177 (Wednesday, December 2, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12093-S12094]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, this historic health care reform bill before 
us is strong, and it is a strong head start in the right direction 
toward urgently needed change. But similar to nearly every bill to come 
before the Senate, it stands to benefit from the constructive input of 
all Senators. This good bill will be even better when this body debates 
it, refines it, and improves it.
  I am pleased we have begun the amendment process. I hope we will soon 
be able to begin voting on those amendments--the ones drafted and 
sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats. But as we delve into the 
details and give the individual parts of this bill the considerable 
thought and attention they deserve, let's not forget the big picture.
  So as we begin the third day of debate on this bill, let's remember 
what it does: First, we are making it more affordable for every 
American to live a healthy life. Second, we are doing it in a way that 
is fiscally responsible and in a way that will help our economy 
recover.
  This bill does not add a dime to the deficit--quite the opposite. In 
fact, we will cut it by $130 billion in the first 10 years and as much 
as $\3/4\ trillion in the next 10 years. We do this by keeping costs 
down. This critical piece of legislation will cost less than $85 
billion a year over the next decade--well under President Obama's goal. 
It will make sure every American can afford quality health care. We 
will make sure that more than 30 million Americans who don't have 
health care today will soon have it. It will not only protect Medicare, 
but it will make it stronger. In short, this legislation saves lives, 
saves money, and saves Medicare.
  The Congressional Budget Office and respected economists outside 
Washington have studied it, and they agree. The bill will do what we 
set out to do at the beginning of this Congress: It will lower costs 
and increase value so all Americans can afford quality health care, not 
just a few.
  The experts have crunched the numbers, and they have come back with 
positive reviews. It will help parents afford to take care of their 
children and help bosses provide coverage for their workers. It creates 
more choices and more competition in the health care market. It will 
protect everyone against insurance company abuses, and for all the 
changes, in areas where our health care system does work, it keeps it 
the way it is.
  I am very happy with the way Democratic Senators have stood for these

[[Page S12094]]

principles and those who have defended them against hollow attacks from 
the other side. One after another, Republicans have come to the floor 
with disingenuous claims.
  For example, they have talked about health care premiums, overlooking 
the fact that those costs will go down for the vast majority of 
Americans--in fact, 93 percent. They have talked about the deficit, 
ignoring the fact that health care reform will do more to lower the 
deficit than any other measure has in years--remember, over 20 years, 
almost $\3/4\ trillion. They have tried to scare seniors, saying you 
are going to die soon, as an example, closing their eyes to the fact 
that we strengthen Medicare and cut waste, fraud, and abuse from the 
program. They have tried to scare women, closing their ears to the fact 
that we will make it easier than ever for women to get the preventive 
screenings they need, and that is a gross understatement. They claim to 
speak for the American people but neglect to mention that, for the last 
year, a majority of the Americans have consistently said it is more 
important than ever to nurse our health care system back to health.
  What is the most consistent Republican attack on this bill? They 
carefully count the number of pages in this legislation but completely 
discount the number of people it helps. Can anyone think of a more 
superficial way to measure the worth of a bill than how many pages it 
is printed on? As far as I can tell, the only threat that poses is more 
paper cuts, perhaps.
  Those who want to keep the broken system the way it is throw 
everything they can at the wall, but nothing has stuck. Incredibly, my 
distinguished counterpart, the Republican leader, last week, called the 
health care crisis manufactured, in spite of the fact that 750,000 
people filed for bankruptcy last year--70 percent of them because of 
health care costs. In one sense, my Republican counterpart is right--it 
was manufactured. This health care crisis has been manufactured by the 
greedy insurance companies that raise families' rates on a whim and 
deny health care to the sick.
  Remember, the health care industry is exempt from the antitrust laws. 
They can conspire to fix prices with no civil or criminal penalties. No 
other business is like that, except baseball. This crisis was 
manufactured by leaders who enabled them, who empowered them, and who 
sat idly by while the problem grew worse and worse, until it finally 
collapsed into a crisis.
  My Republican friends have been so busy coming up with distortions 
that they have forgotten to come up with solutions. They seem more 
concerned with scaring the American people than helping them. This 
barrage of baseless accusations underscores how desperate some are to 
distract the American people from the real debate and from the fact 
they have no vision for fixing our health care system, which is broken.

  Yes, correcting the record has taken a long time. That is OK. We will 
continue to do so as long as necessary. Democrats are more than willing 
to defend this good bill. After all, it is not hard to do. As Mark 
Twain, a great Nevadan, said: ``If you tell the truth, you don't have 
to remember anything.''
  I wish to note that I especially appreciate the assistant leader, my 
friend of decades, Senator Durbin, for his brilliant statements on the 
floor during the last several weeks on this health care issue. I so 
admire his spunk, his intelligence, and his ability to deliver a 
message.

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