[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19572]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. HARPER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HARPER. The health care reform proposal expected to come before 
the House contains provisions that include a tax increase of more than 
$500 billion on American small businesses and working families, as well 
as a tax on jobs of up to 8 percent of employer's payrolls. 
Additionally, individuals would be required to buy coverage or pay a 
2.5 percent fine on their income.
  This government-run plan proposed by the Democrats will force more 
than 100 million individuals to lose their current insurance. Knocking 
this many Americans off their current coverage is a clear violation of 
the President's pledge to allow individuals to keep their current 
health plan if they like it. We need preventive medicine, not defensive 
medicine. I want health care decisions to be between you and your 
doctor, not some Washington government bureaucrat.
  If the President and the Democrats are serious about health care 
reform, then they will work with the Republicans toward a bipartisan 
plan. The American people do not need health care reform legislation 
that can only get 218 votes in the House. Let's come up with a plan 
that will get 435 votes.

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