[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 19346-19347]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HEALTH CARE WEEK VIII, DAY I

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the American people want health care 
reform--and they want us to take the time we need to get it right. As I 
have said repeatedly, and as an increasing number of Senators and 
Congressmen from both sides of the aisle are also now saying, the last 
thing Americans want is for Congress to rush through a flawed bill that 
would make our health care system even worse just so politicians in 
Washington can have something to brag about at a parade or a press 
conference.
  The President and some Democrat leaders in Congress now acknowledge 
that getting health care reform right is more important than rushing 
through some slipshod plan no one has even looked at and calling it 
reform. Last week, the President said he wants to get health care 
reform right and that the most important thing is that Members of 
Congress continue to work together on the difficult issues in this 
debate. And one senior Democrat said last week that ``it's better to 
get a product that's based on quality and thoughtfulness than on trying 
to just get something through.''
  Republicans agree, and so we are encouraged to hear our friends on 
the other side acknowledge that health care reform is too big, too 
important, and too personal an issue to rush.
  In the coming weeks, Congress should work to achieve real reforms 
that actually address the problems in our health care system without 
tampering with the things that Americans--and many other people from 
around the world--like about our health care system and can no longer 
find in other countries.
  The American people want health care that is more affordable and 
easier to obtain. What they don't want is a government takeover of 
health care that costs trillions of dollars, adds to our unsustainable 
national debt, forces them off the health insurance they have, leaves 
them paying more for worse care than they now receive, and leads to the 
same kind of denial, delay, and rationing of care we see in other 
countries.
  One thing Democrats and Republicans should be able to work together 
on are practical ideas the American people support, such as reforming 
malpractice laws and getting rid of junk lawsuits; promoting wellness 
and prevention programs that encourage people to make healthy choices 
like quitting smoking and fighting obesity; encouraging more robust 
competition in the private insurance market; addressing the needs of 
small businesses through new ideas that won't kill jobs in the middle 
of a recession; and leveling the playing field when it comes to taxes. 
Right now, for example, if your employer offers health insurance, they 
get a tax benefit for providing it. If they don't, and you have to buy 
it yourself, you don't get the same benefit they do. In my view, this 
isn't fair, and we should change it to make it fair.
  These are commonsense ideas that would enable Republicans and the 
increasingly vocal block of skeptical Democrats to meet in the middle 
on a reform that all of us want--and that all Americans could embrace.
  The President has already acknowledged that both Democratic bills 
working their way through Congress are not where they need to be. In 
fact, by the President's own standard that any health care reform must 
not increase the national debt and must reduce long-term health care 
costs, he would not even be able to sign either of these bills we have 
seen so far.
  According to the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, both 
bills would lead to an increase in overall health care costs. Just this 
weekend, the CBO said there is a high probability one of the 
administration's central proposals for reducing long-term costs would 
not lead to any savings in the near future and would generate only 
modest savings in the future.
  Moreover, even if this proposal did generate any savings, they would 
likely be dwarfed by the new spending and deficits in the Democratic 
bills we have seen. It is like charging a new Cadillac to the family 
credit card and getting excited about saving a few dollars on the cup 
holder.

[[Page 19347]]

  On top of that, the CBO says both bills would add hundreds of 
billions of dollars to the debt. Simply put, these bills are moving in 
the wrong direction and would make the problems in our health care 
system even worse than they are today.
  So it is clear we need to hit the restart button and begin working on 
real reform that would address the problems in our health care system. 
Americans want the two parties to work together on something as 
important and as personal as health care reform. Embracing the ideas I 
have mentioned and finding responsible ways to pay for reform are a 
good place to start.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and thank again my colleague from 
Oklahoma.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, first, I thank the minority leader for his 
comments. I said before he came in that there is no issue more 
meaningful to our people in Oklahoma than health care. I think there is 
an awareness. If you look at the polling data that was given by the 
Senator from Arizona, people are now aware this is not the way we 
should go.
  We do have good ideas on this side of the aisle in terms of the 
health savings account, medical malpractice, and small businesses 
getting together to resolve this problem.

                          ____________________