[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 18531]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                WORK WITH THE GOP ON HEALTH CARE REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Broun) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, The Hill newspaper today reports 
that President Obama is pointing his finger at the Republicans, at the 
GOP, for the stalled health care bill. The last time I checked, the 
Democrats were in control of the House; they have a 60-Member majority 
in the Senate, and they control the White House. Clearly, the finger 
needs to be pointed in a different direction or needs to be reeled in.
  I wonder who the President will blame next for double-digit 
unemployment and for a doubled national debt. We were promised that the 
Democrats' $1 trillion stimulus experiment would immediately create 
jobs and that unemployment would not rise above 8 percent, but in June 
alone, almost a half a million jobs were lost. This has driven 
unemployment to its highest level in 26 years.
  Where are Democrats going to point their finger on that one, Mr. 
Speaker?
  What happens when the $646 billion energy tax that the leadership in 
this House has rammed through raises energy costs on every American 
family by over $3,100 and when this energy tax is seen in home utility 
bills and at the gas pumps, costing up to 7 million Americans their 
jobs? They're going to lose their jobs. Which direction will the 
President then point his finger, Mr. Speaker?
  When the administration's multitrillion-dollar health care experiment 
is shoved down our throats before August, costing, as the CBO says, 
more than 750,000 jobs, I ask again: Which direction will the President 
point his finger?
  The bottom line is that, instead of playing the blame game, I urge 
congressional leadership and this administration not to ignore the 
recent deficit and the unemployment news. I urge them to scrap this 
multitrillion-dollar government health care experiment and takeover. I 
urge them, instead, to work with us Republicans. Work with us across 
the aisle to develop a health care plan that helps small businesses 
create jobs instead of taking away jobs and one that gives Americans 
better access to lower insurance costs. Work with us to rein in 
spending and to rein in this egregious, outrageous Federal debt. Work 
with us to institute meaningful reforms that will truly stimulate the 
economic growth and that will create jobs for all Americans and that 
will not just create more bureaucracy. Work with us, Mr. Speaker, Madam 
Speaker, Democratic colleagues. Work with Republicans.
  We are accused by the Democrats of being the Party of No, n-o, but 
Republicans are the Party of Know, k-n-o-w. We know how to create jobs 
and how to stimulate the economy. We know how to lower the costs of all 
health care expenses for Americans all across this Nation. We know how 
to help small businesses by leaving dollars in their pockets, by 
cutting their tax base and by giving them the money they need to create 
new jobs and to buy inventory. We know how to stimulate the economy by 
leaving dollars in people's pockets so that they can invest in their 
children's futures and in their children's college education funds, so 
they can pay off credit card debts, so they can buy new cars and buy 
new homes. Those are the things that will create a stronger economy.
  The Republicans have presented alternative after alternative to the 
Democrats' plan, but our plans are being quashed by the Democratic 
leadership, and won't see the light of day. It's not fair to the 
American people that their Representatives are shut out of the debate.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to return to regular order. We need to go 
through what historically has happened in this House so that we have 
appropriations bills that are presented here with an open rule so that 
Members can present their amendments. We need to go through regular 
order, and we need to stop bringing big bills to this floor through the 
suspension process where they don't have any vetting in the committee 
process. We need to return to regular order and to go back to what this 
country was founded upon, and that's freedom and democracy.

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