[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 18844]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        LET'S GET A BIPARTISAN COMPROMISE ON HEALTH CARE REFORM

  (Mr. ROE of Tennessee asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, last night President Obama 
addressed the American public and urged Congress to pass health care 
reform. As a physician who has seen the shortcomings of our system, I 
am glad he strongly urges reform. I want to correct something he said 
about why Republicans oppose this plan and support other measures.
  First, he said a public plan was needed to keep insurance companies 
honest. Republicans don't oppose insurance reform. We wholeheartedly 
embrace it. We oppose the public plan because it's a backhanded attempt 
at moving towards a government-run system where care is provided not 
because it's the best but because it costs the least or, worse, it's 
rationed.
  Second, he said the wealthiest Americans should shoulder the burden 
for everyone's health care with a surtax. What he didn't say is that 
those same wealthy Americans are many of the same people we're relying 
on to create jobs and help reduce the staggering unemployment rate. You 
can't have it both ways. We can't dramatically increase taxes on the 
wealthiest Americans to some of the highest taxes in the world and then 
turn around and expect job creation.
  We support ensuring patients can get the care they need from their 
physician, reforming the insurance industry, making health care more 
affordable through cost containment and tax credits. Let's get these 
ideas, sit down and hammer out a bipartisan compromise.

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