[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 30 (Thursday, March 4, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H1155]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 SPECIAL DETAILS IN SENATE HEALTH BILL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. You know, Mr. Speaker, I have great respect 
for my colleague who just spoke. While listening to him, a lot of 
people in their offices probably would think, Well, we're against the 
changes in the health care procedures in this country. That couldn't be 
further from the truth. Obviously, the health care system in this 
country needs to be adjusted, needs to be changed. But do we want a 
bill that's 2,700 pages long that's going to cost about $3 trillion a 
year that we don't have and is going to put the government between 
people and their doctors, that's going to end up being a socialistic 
kind of approach to medicine, and which I believe will destroy one of 
the greatest health care systems in the world--the best health care in 
the world?
  I think it's a mistake to approach this from the standpoint that 
there's only one way to solve the problem, and that is the way that the 
President wants to shove through the Congress and doesn't want to even 
talk to the Republicans or the minority about this.
  We've had all kinds of suggestions: buying insurance across State 
lines to put more competition in it; allowing small businesses to ban 
together to get the same kind of rates of major corporations; 
individual medical savings accounts; making sure that people can take 
their insurance with them when they go to a new job; preexisting 
conditions. There's all kinds of things that we've suggested that we 
support that will reduce the cost of health care and give everybody the 
opportunity to have health care. And we've suggested these time and 
again.
  The President had a bunch of our leaders down at the White House just 
recently and then he finally ended up saying as he left, Well, we'll 
leave it up to the electorate; that is what elections are for. 
Indicating that they're going to push through their plan whether we 
like it or not. And their plan is going to cost trillions of dollars 
that we don't have. They're going to have 10 years of coverage with 
only 6 years of taxes. And so when you take the overall cost and really 
figure it out, it's not going to cost $700 billion or $800 billion, as 
they said. It's going to cost about $1.6 trillion, minimum, over the 
next 10 years.
  And what are they doing to get these folks votes? I will never impugn 
the integrity of my colleagues, but I think it's important that the 
American people know, Mr. Speaker, if they happen to be paying 
attention or my colleagues in their offices, what is being done to get 
these votes.
  In Louisiana, Senator Mary Landrieu is going to get between $1 
million and $3 million additional for her State Medicaid population. 
Vermont's going to get an extra $600 million in Medicaid funding. They 
want to get those votes so they're porking up a little extra money for 
them in order to get those votes. At least that's the appearance. 
Vermont and Massachusetts secured $1.2 billion in Medicaid money, a 
change that was described as a correction to the current system which 
exempts those two States because they have robust health care systems. 
Vermont's Senator Bernie Sanders also boasted he was going to get an 
investment worth $10 billion to $14 billion for community health 
centers that the rest of the country will be paying for.
  Florida and New York and Pennsylvania, they're going to have 
Protected Medicare Advantage benefits, even as the program sees massive 
cuts in other parts of the country. Hawaii is getting a benefit. It 
secured an increase in Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital 
payments in Hawaii, while the other 49 States pay more for that special 
benefit. Senator Max Baucus reportedly secured expanded Medicare 
coverage for victims of asbestos exposure in a mine in Libby, Montana. 
They're giving these things out to get their votes--at least that's the 
appearance.
  Connecticut secured $100 million for a health care facility. Western 
States secured higher Federal reimbursement rates for doctors and 
hospitals that the other States don't get in order to get votes. 
``Cadillac'' plans: the unions secured a special deal in the Senate 
bill. It was a $60 billion exemption for union workers from the 
Cadillac tax on health insurance.
  Now, while President Obama's latest proposal removes the ``Nebraska 
deal'' that was scheduled to buy a vote from a Senator there, the 
unions still get their Cadillac plans. If President Obama is so 
concerned about public perceptions created with backroom dealing, why 
didn't he propose to strike all the special agreements, which he did 
not.

                              {time}  1645

  And then of course we just heard one of our colleagues, Mr. Matheson, 
who voted against the health care bill, his brother was just appointed 
to the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. Now, I 
wouldn't impugn Mr. Matheson's integrity at all, but it does look 
peculiar that they are trying to get his vote and his brother was just 
appointed to the Circuit Court of Appeals.
  These sorts of things really bother the people of this country. And 
at a time when we really need to revise health care and work together, 
they're trying to buy a plan that is going to lead to socialized 
medicine.

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