[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 44 (Monday, March 22, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E437]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2010

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. MARSHA BLACKBURN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Sunday, March 21, 2010

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I have followed this debate closely. We 
all have. But I haven't heard a colleague from Massachusetts say, ``In 
spite of my State's five billion dollar budget deficit, 
CommonwealthCare is a great model.'' I haven't heard my colleagues from 
Maine say ``Dirigo covered more people and lowered costs, let's try 
that approach.'' My colleagues form New Jersey can't say, ``When we 
passed guaranteed issue laws, costs came down, let's try our model.'' 
And you certainly haven't heard any of the Tennessee delegation come to 
the floor and say, ``TennCare was a great success, let's try that!''
  You haven't heard these things because my colleagues know what is 
proposed today has been tried and tried and tried before. It has never 
worked. The theory sounds good, but the hard facts are that when you 
gamble that near-term costs will be made up by long-term savings, you 
always lose.
  The real losers will be our children and grandchildren who will labor 
under heavy taxes to finance their own mediocre care. There is a 
bipartisan collection of Members who know that is the only result of 
this bill. I hope that we will be a bipartisan majority.

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