[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 196 (Monday, December 19, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H9933]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


       SENATE PLAN NOT GOOD FOR PHYSICIANS, PATIENTS, OR AMERICA

  (Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of doctors around 
the country.
  As a physician, and now a legislator, I am personally devastated at 
the way our government continues to treat those who care for America's 
patients, particularly those who care for America's seniors.
  Physicians have staff to pay, electricity bills, building leases, and 
numerous other costs associated with running a practice. The 2-month 
patch that the Senate sent back to us as part of the payroll tax 
package does not provide doctors and their practices with the stability 
that they need to do their job--caring for America's seniors.
  At a time when American businesses need certainty, Congress gives 
them a brief, unpredictable, and unreliable timeline. Two months of tax 
payment relief is just another short-term fix, and it's simply not good 
enough. Physicians deserve better. Patients deserve better. The 
American people deserve better.
  I will vote ``no'' on the Senate bill and urge my colleagues to do 
the same. Then let's come back with a policy that will, for heaven's 
sakes, at least take us through the year ahead.

                          ____________________