[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 14477-14478]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, in a single word, the health debate is about 
``choices.'' Will our country choose to tell parents they cannot take 
their child to the doctor because insurance is not in existence or is 
prohibitively expensive? Will we choose to tell small businesses they 
have to lay off employees because they cannot afford skyrocketing 
health care premiums? As was outlined by Senator Durbin yesterday, a 
small businessman he talked about was dealing with the travails of 
trying to maintain health insurance for his employees. Will we choose 
real, meaningful health care reform that assures everybody the quality 
care they deserve?
  There is another way this debate is about choice. Democrats are 
committed to ensuring all Americans can choose their doctors, 
hospitals, and health plans. No matter what the Republicans claim, this 
government has no intention of choosing any of these things for you or 
meddling in any of these relationships. We have said that time and 
again. If you like the coverage you have, you can choose to keep it or 
you can change if you desire.
  Like most Americans, we believe there should be more choice and more 
competition to lift the heavy weight of crushing health care costs. 
Today, 18 cents of every dollar spent in America is on health care. If 
we don't do something about this legislatively, by 2020 it will be more 
than 35 percent of every dollar spent in America. If we leave it up to 
private insurance companies, which are more interested in keeping their 
profits than keeping us healthy, that won't happen. One of the best 
ways to do that--that is, to give people choice and competition--is to 
pass the health care legislation.
  Third, the Republicans have a choice in this debate. They can choose 
to work with us or against the interests of the American people. From 
the start, we have reached out to Republicans in this debate. Senator 
Baucus has done everything he can to get a bipartisan bill. He still 
believes he can do that. I hope that is the case. Senator Dodd, filling 
in for Senator Kennedy, has done the same. He has reached out to 
Ranking Member Enzi and others on the committee to try to come up with 
a bipartisan bill. That bill was given to us yesterday.

[[Page 14478]]

  Again, from the start, we have reached out to Republicans. We have 
let them know we would rather write this bill with them. That is what 
we want to do. Republicans, so far, have made it quite clear what they 
are against. We remain interested to learn what they are for. Democrats 
continue to save for our Republican colleagues a seat, or seats, at the 
table, and we sincerely hope they will take those seats.
  Last year, the American people made their choice clear. In no 
uncertain terms, they rejected the Republican status quo. Those with 
coverage know their health care bills are higher because of tens of 
millions of Americans who are uninsured. They know they should not have 
to go bankrupt or lose their home just to afford to stay healthy or 
care for a loved one.
  I am sure we will disagree in the debate at times, and that is fine. 
We welcome an open and honest debate on the issue. We welcome a dialog.
  One choice we do not have is to wait. We don't have a choice to wait. 
Health care is not a luxury. It should not be a luxury. We cannot 
afford another year in which about 50 million of us have to choose 
between basic necessities and lining the pockets of big insurance 
companies just to stay healthy.

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