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




       KILLER OF THE HEALTH CARE BILL IS NOT POLITICS BUT POLICY

  (Mr. WESTMORELAND asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, Democrats have a 70-vote majority in 
this House. They have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. They 
have a President with high personal popularity ratings. They don't need 
Republicans to pass their agenda. They remind us of this often, 
changing the House rules whenever we manage to score a tactical 
victory. Yet, Democrat leaders would have Americans believe that 
Republicans are obstructing passage of their health care legislation 
for political purposes.
  If we had the power to stop the health care legislation, why didn't 
we Republicans stop the stimulus bill that has run up debt without 
creating jobs? Why didn't we stop the cap-and-trade bill that killed 
hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs and tax every American that 
owns a light switch? Why not? Because Democrats have the votes to pass 
whatever they like.
  The health care agenda has hit the rocks not because of Republican 
politics, but because of Democratic policy. Americans know a government 
takeover of health care won't bring down costs; it will simply raise 
taxes, kill jobs, and lower quality of care. The killer of this bill is 
not politics but policy.

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