[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 24, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E475]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2010

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Sunday, March 21, 2010

  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 3590, 
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and H.R. 4872, The 
Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010. 
These severely misguided bills authorize $1.2 trillion in new mandatory 
spending over the next decade, impose costly unfunded mandates on 
States, increase taxes on small businesses and families by more than 
$500 billion over ten years, and provide a clear path for federal 
funding of abortions.
  Both President Obama and Speaker Pelosi have talked about the 
``historic'' nature of their health care legislation. While they claim 
to be acting upon the unrealized goals of a century of past Presidents 
and Congresses to expand health care access to all Americans, the real 
history that's being made by the passage of the legislation is less 
inspiring. Rather than seeking a national consensus to forge a truly 
historic, and badly needed reform of American health care, the 
President and the Speaker instead cynically crafted alone a one-sided, 
purely partisan bill that ignores the desires of the majority of the 
people.
  Unlike the Social Security and Medicare Acts which enjoyed strong 
bipartisan support in their day, the President and the Speaker's health 
care legislation, which will impact nearly one-sixth of the economy, 
did not see one single Republican vote in support of their effort. 
Furthermore, 34 members of their own party joined Republicans in 
opposing this blatant power grab, dressed up as health care reform.
  The reason for this lopsided vote is clear. The Democrat health care 
plan facilitates a backdoor takeover of American health care. The 
Federal Government would force small businesses and even individuals to 
buy health coverage or face stiff penalties. This mandate may well be 
unconstitutional and, in many states, including my State of Alabama, 
there are already attempts to challenge this in court.
  This $1.2 trillion health care scheme will increase federal deficits 
by $59 billion over the next ten years, while inflicting a painful 
combination of Medicare cuts and tax increases, affecting millions of 
seniors, families and small businesses.
  Ironically, the elderly--the most vulnerable to high medical costs--
will suffer the loss of $200 billion from the popular Medicare 
Advantage program, upon which over 170,000 Alabama seniors rely. In 
all, a total of $500 billion will be taken from Medicare to pay for the 
broad health care expansion.
  But that's not all. This bill will also, for the first time, levy 
Medicare taxes on investment income. It imposes a new tax of 3.8 
percent on unearned income.
  Small businesses would also be forced to provide a government-
approved level of coverage or face a $2,000 penalty per employee. 
Businesses already providing coverage would face the same penalties if 
the government deems the coverage ``unaffordable.''
  What's more, individuals would also have to buy government-approved 
insurance--whether they want it or not--or face fines. The IRS will 
become the health care enforcement agency, hiring up to 16,000 new 
workers to ensure that everyone buys federally approved coverage.
  The Democrat health care bill will also place an unfunded mandate on 
States to expand Medicaid rolls. In my State, it will move an 
additional 400,000 people into an already cash-strapped Alabama 
Medicaid program. Alabama will have to come up with an additional $61 
million annually to sustain this mandatory expansion of Medicaid, which 
will cost State and Federal taxpayers a total of nearly $1.1 billion a 
year. As Governor Bob Riley recently said, ``I am deeply concerned that 
sustaining this level of coverage would translate into a substantial 
tax increase on the people of Alabama.''
  Equally troubling is this health care bill's green light for the 
federal funding of abortions. Despite the President's Executive Order 
barring the use of any Federal funds for abortion, there is no 
permanent prohibition over using Federal funds to pay for abortions. 
Whatever deal Rep. Bart Stupak and his group think they may have struck 
with the President, it does not carry the force of law. Executive 
orders are signed by the President and they can be revoked by the 
President--and frequently, they are.
  Mr. Speaker, Republicans have been shut out of the President's and 
your health care bill from the beginning. We offered to sit down and 
start from scratch to write a bill the American people could actually 
support, including the ability to buy insurance across State lines, 
give small businesses the power to pool coverage, and address liability 
lawsuit abuse. The Congressional Budget Office said the Republican 
health care plan would increase access to care, lower premiums by up to 
ten percent and reduce the Federal deficit by $68 billion over ten 
years. Sadly, this kind of real reform was all but ignored by the 
administration and the Congress.
  This is truly a sad day for this House and for our country. Americans 
wanted and deserve so much more than a cynical push for bigger 
government. I am committed to supporting efforts to fix this badly 
flawed legislation and replace it with true health care reform that 
Americans can support.

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