[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 10, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S1323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the American people are looking at what 
is going on in Washington right now and they are wondering what the 
White House and Democratic leaders in Congress could possibly be 
thinking. The fact that we are still even talking about a health care 
bill that raises costs, increases premiums, and increases government 
spending is a complete mystery to most people. Americans have issued 
their verdict on this bill. They don't want it. It is that simple.
  That is to say nothing of the process. The process that Democratic 
leaders have used to try to pass this bill is viewed even less 
favorably than the bill itself. So even if Americans supported the 
bill--which they clearly don't--they would still want the process 
cleaned up. Americans expect lawmakers to be completely up front and 
transparent about any changes they are thinking about making to the 
health care system.
  Americans also expect a level playing field. That means union leaders 
don't get special deals that nonunion members don't. It means the 
people of Nebraska don't get a free ride bought and paid for by the 
rest of the country. Even Nebraskans are telling us they don't want 
that kind of special treatment. It means if you are a senior citizen, 
you don't have to move to Florida to keep your health care plan. It 
means that Louisianans don't get a windfall of Federal money because 
one of their Senators was willing to vote for a bill most Americans 
overwhelmingly oppose.
  These are just some of the things Americans don't like about the way 
Democratic leaders are trying to push their bill through Congress and 
past the public. But they didn't much like the way the bill was put 
together either. They didn't like the fact that members of both parties 
spent endless hours negotiating and in committee meetings, only to see 
Democratic leaders write their own bill behind closed doors. These are 
the kinds of things Americans have been complaining about at townhall 
meetings and in statewide elections for months and months. These are 
the kinds of things the people of Massachusetts were saying in January. 
Americans can't believe that after all this--after a year of protests 
and all of the statewide elections--Democratic leaders are still 
stubbornly pushing the same bill and the same process.
  Democratic leaders knew the public didn't support their bill, so they 
tried to jam it through on a party-line vote. When they had trouble 
with that strategy, they went for the kickbacks and special deals. As a 
result, they lost their 60-vote majority. So they came up with another 
strategy. They tried to get around the normal routes. They decided they 
would try to jam it through with a bare partisan majority, something 
that has never been done before on legislation of this magnitude.
  Some in the media are blaming the resistance the administration and 
Democratic leaders have faced on the White House messaging machine. 
That is absolutely absurd. Americans aren't rejecting this bill because 
they don't understand it. They are rejecting it because they know 
exactly what is in it.
  Democratic leaders continue to deceive themselves. I saw the Speaker 
said yesterday Congress needs to pass this bill so Americans can see 
what is in it. Let me say that again. The Speaker said Congress needs 
to pass this bill so Americans can find out what is in it. That is like 
telling somebody they have to buy a house so they can walk through it.

  The White House seems to be throwing out every idea it has, hoping 
something will stick. The President is expected to highlight fraud and 
abuse in a speech today. I am glad the administration wants to use the 
enforcement power of the government to find and prosecute fraud, but 
that is something we can and should be doing already--right now. Do we 
need to pass a $2.5 trillion spending bill, raise taxes, and slash 
Medicare to go after fraud and abuse? I think not.
  Finding waste, fraud, and abuse is one of the areas where we have 
agreement. Senators Grassley, Coburn, Cornyn, LeMieux, and others have 
been leading this effort for quite some time. Tackling fraud and abuse 
is one of the issues that can and should form the basis of a 
bipartisan, step-by-step approach to health care reform, not as a 
hook--not as a hook--to drag this monstrous bill over the finish line.
  On the contrary, Democratic leaders should leave this bill on the 
field. Then we can talk about passing commonsense ideas such as 
tackling fraud and abuse on their own, one by one.
  The fact is, this whole debate has devolved into a little bit of a 
farce, and it might actually be funny if the stakes were not so high. 
Americans don't know how else to say it. They don't want this bill. The 
American people do not want this bill. They want the process cleaned up 
as well.
  How much longer do Americans have to wait before Democratic leaders 
will give up this partisan quest and agree to start over, to work 
together, out in the open, on the kind of commonsense reforms Americans 
want? That is the question Americans are asking, and we owe them an 
answer.
  The American people aren't an obstacle to be circumvented. This is 
their health care system, not ours. It is time to end this partisan 
effort, listen to the people, and start over.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Arkansas.

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