[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 32 (Monday, March 8, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1243-S1244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, for more than a year now, Democrats in 
Washington have been focused--some would say fixated--on making 
dramatic changes to the American health care system as we know it.
  It is an open debate as to whether spending so much time and energy 
on this issue was in the best interest of the public at a time of 
record unemployment and a need to address jobs and the economy. But 
what is not open to debate is, the plan they came up with was 
fundamentally flawed--that it focused too much on expanding the size 
and cost of government and not enough on the core problem with our 
health care system, which is cost.
  This is why Americans have been telling Democrats in Washington to 
scrap their plan and start over. This is why so many Americans are so 
frustrated with government right now. The administration says we need 
to pass its health spending bill to show Americans government still 
works. Americans are saying the opposite. They are saying the first 
thing Washington can do to show it is working is to listen to what the 
public is saying, to scrap this bill and to start over.
  Unfortunately, Democratic leaders in Congress are not interested. 
They are still clinging to the same old bill and the same old process 
Americans rejected last year. They are more determined than ever to jam 
their bill through Congress by any means necessary.
  So over the next few weeks, we are going to see a replay of the same 
kind of arm-twisting and deal-making we saw in the runup to Christmas. 
I say we are going to see it, but in reality we will not see any of it. 
We will have to read about it--the deals and the arm-

[[Page S1244]]

twisting--only after the final bill hits the floor because all the arm-
twisting and deal-making is going on behind closed doors, and it has 
already started.
  Somehow the administration seems to think all this arm-twisting and 
deal-making will prove to the American people government works. I 
should think Americans will draw the opposite conclusion. Americans do 
not like the bill any more today than they did 3 months ago. They do 
not like the frantic, backroom deal-making any more now than they did 
then.
  In the midst of all this, it is understandable that a lot of 
Democrats are on the fence about whether to vote for this bill, about 
whether to vote for this process as well. But the reasons they are 
giving for being on the fence do not square with reality, and they are 
not going to fly with the public.
  Some say they like the current bill because they say it reduces 
costs. It does not. The administration's own experts say the bill 
increases health spending by $222 billion more than if we took no 
action at all. In other words, this bill would bend the cost curve up, 
not down.
  Others say they like the current bill because it reduces the deficit. 
But even if you grant that highly speculative premise, the one bill the 
Senate will be voting on tomorrow would wipe away every dime of those 
projected savings with one stroke of the President's pen. If you 
believe the health bill will save $100 billion, then you have to also 
acknowledge the bill the Senate will pass this week increases it by 
$100 billion.
  So far from moving in a more fiscally responsible direction, the 
health spending bill the White House now wants Congress to pass before 
Easter would move us in a less fiscally responsible direction. This 
undercuts the entire point of reform.
  The administration recognizes the weakness of its argument. That is 
why it is trying to create a sense of inevitability about this bill. 
Once again, it is imposing an artificial deadline to put pressure on 
Members. It is talking about how we are in the middle of the final 
chapter of this debate.
  The administration wants Members to believe they are characters in a 
screenplay and that the ending of the play is already written. This is 
an illusion. House Members are not buying these arguments anymore. In 
fact, many of them are already walking off the set. My guess is, a lot 
more are about to.
  They know we may be nearing the final act for this bill and the 
legislative process but that it is just the beginning for those who 
support it. Americans do not want this bill. They are telling us to 
start over. The only people who do not seem to be getting the message 
are Democratic leaders in Washington. But they can be sure of this--
absolutely sure of this: If they cut their deal, if they somehow 
convince enough Members to come on board, then they will get the 
message. The public will let them know how they feel about this bill.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KAUFMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. KAUFMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak in 
morning business for 20 minutes.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________