[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 44 (Monday, March 22, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E440-E441]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2010

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. MICHAEL T. McCAUL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Sunday, March 21, 2010

  Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, in a desperate effort to pass a sweeping 
government takeover of our health care system, Democrats held Congress 
in session throughout the weekend to pass H.R. 3590, The Patient 
Protection and Health Care Affordability Act along with a package of 
desired ``fixes,'' H.R. 4872, The Health Care and Education 
Affordability Reconciliation Act. In a purely partisan fashion, the 
Democrats have now passed the largest tax increase in history, a 
massive expansion of entitlements, and policies which will put the 
health care system at the whim of the Federal Government.
  One of the most distressing aspects of this legislation is the 
dishonesty which has been utilized for its passage. While I am pleased 
that the Democrats forfeited the ``Deem-and-Pass'' ploy to hide a vote 
on the Senate health care bill, I am shocked that they support this 
2,700 page monstrosity, complete with its slew of sweetheart deals that 
benefit home states of members who once opposed the bill. Despite the 
backlash that rightfully followed these deceitful kickbacks, the 
Democrats included even more million-dollar deals for specific members 
in the reconciliation package. This tactic is an abuse of power, an 
abuse of taxpayer money, and abandons the integrity that the American 
public expects from their Congress.
  The numbers in this Democratic health care package are astounding. 
The bill costs about $1.2 trillion over the next ten years, imposes 
almost $570 billion in new taxes on the American public, and cuts the 
Medicare program by over $500 billion. As our economy attempts to 
recover from the largest recession since the Great Depression, this 
bill's laundry list of new taxes is deplorable: $32 billion in taxes on 
health care benefits, $52 billion in taxes on employers, $17 billion in 
penalties on individuals, $210.2 billion in an unprecedented Medicare 
tax on wages, self-employment income, and certain investment income, 
and many more. While these taxes will be in effect immediately, 98% of 
the bill's provisions do not begin until 2014. Therefore, Americans 
will be paying for health reform for four years without ever seeing the 
government return the favor. Unbelievably, the bill's true ten-year 
cost when fully implemented totals about $2.4 trillion dollars. To pay 
for this spending, it proposes half a trillion in cuts to Medicare and 
Medicare Advantage, robbing the benefits our seniors deserve.
  What may be worse than the vast cost of this bill are the budgetary 
gimmicks used in its scoring. The authors use ten years of revenue to 
pay for only six years of government spending. They also double count 
savings from Medicare cuts to simultaneously pay for Medicare 
entitlements and the bill's new entitlements. Furthermore, the bill 
does not include the ``doc fix,'' legislation that will likely be 
passed separately to ensure doctors do not incur a huge cut in 
reimbursements--and costs an additional $371 billion. These methods 
were used to dupe the American people, a smoke-and-mirrors strategy to 
uphold President Obama's pledge that health care reform will ``not add 
a dime to the deficit.'' Unfortunately, if one omits these budgetary 
tricks from the bill's cost, it will actually increase the deficit by 
almost $600 billion in the first ten years.
  The structure of this bill is a clear effort to give the government 
complete control over health care--it takes choice and flexibility from 
American citizens while also making them pay more. For example, the 
bill instructs the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary to 
determine what constitutes a ``minimum

[[Page E441]]

benefits package'' for all Americans and then requires all citizens to 
purchase it. This mandate will be enforced by a massive expansion of 
the IRS, which will fine those who do not comply two percent of their 
income. I believe that individuals can best determine for themselves 
how comprehensive their health care insurance should be, and that 
Americans have many different needs which cannot be defined by a one-
size-fits-all package. Unfortunately, H.R. 3590 sets the stage for 
mandated, standardized health care.
  The provisions in H.R. 3590 will hurt families, businesses, and kill 
jobs at a time when we can least afford it. The Congressional Budget 
Office (CBO) has reported that this health care package will most 
likely raise premiums for millions of families by $2,100 per year. It 
also taxes employers if they cannot provide health insurance and their 
employees receive federal subsidies--this provision will cause 
employers to lay off employees due to cost increases, and it 
discourages companies from hiring low-wage workers who are more likely 
to qualify for subsidies. Furthermore, Democrats have promised that 
Americans may keep their health insurance if they like it, but the CBO 
has predicted that up to 9 million Americans will lose their employer-
based coverage. Additionally, the bill imposes an unfunded mandate on 
Texas by drastically expanding the Medicaid program, costing Texas an 
estimated $24.3 billion dollars in the next ten years.
  Unfortunately, the reasons why this bill will hurt this country 
abound. This legislation fails to ensure federal funding is not used 
for elective abortions. While the President has promised to issue an 
Executive Order for political effect, the President cannot amend a bill 
by issuing an order, and the federal courts will enforce what the law 
says. The bill also fails to include proper verification procedures to 
ensure illegal immigrants do not receive federal subsidies to purchase 
health insurance. Furthermore, it lacks protections for 9.2 million 
military personnel, families and retirees that their health insurance 
will not be affected. These pitfalls explain why Americans have flooded 
the DC area in protest, a visual testament of the public opinion on the 
Democratic health bill, which has become largely opposed throughout the 
debate. Unfortunately, the Democrats have not listened, and in one of 
the largest abuses of majority power, have forced their hand on the 
American public.
  My fellow Republicans and I have been willing to work on health care 
reform from the beginning of this debate. We have introduced numerous 
proposals emphasizing free market solutions and cost-cutting strategies 
to make health care insurance readily available and more affordable to 
Americans. We were present when the President called us to discuss 
health care reform, but our willingness to start over and work together 
was ignored by our colleagues. I am disappointed by the events of 
tonight, but I have not given up and will continue to work for true 
reform that will lower costs instead of simply shifting those costs 
onto the government.

                          ____________________