[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19570]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        WHAT IS BEING REFORMED?

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, when I hear the word 
``reform'' in the same sentence as health care, I wonder what is being 
reformed.
  Fact 1: Some 80 percent of Americans are satisfied with their present 
health care.
  Fact 2: Do we know what we're reforming? No. According to the 
Washington Post, the Democrats jumped at a chance to brief on what is 
in their 1,700-page Democrat health care bill. ``The bill is so 
complex,'' said Ways and Means Chairman Rangel, ``that when staff 
agreed to hold the session, response was overwhelming.''
  Fact 3: The Democratic plan will not save money. The nonpartisan CBO 
projected $1 trillion in costs and mounting deficits, and they ``do not 
see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce 
the trajectory of Federal spending by a significant amount.''
  Fact 4: The bill has harmful cuts to Medicare Advantage that will 
result in more than 10 million seniors losing the program on which they 
rely. This plan would have your money spent, your current health care 
gone, no guarantee of satisfaction, all in the name of ``reform.''

                          ____________________