[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 25800]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1515
                              HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. ROGERS of Alabama asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, the Democrat majority likes to 
say this is about choice and competition when, in fact, they know this 
is about a road to universal, government-run health insurance.
  The President says if we get this public option, you will have a 
choice between your insurance company. If you like it, you can keep it; 
if you don't, you can go into the public option. What he doesn't say is 
that after 2 or 3 years of this so-called competition, the private-
sector companies won't be there any longer.
  The fact is our insurance companies have to make a profit. They have 
to pay taxes, they have to meet Federal regulations, and if they have a 
tough year, they have to just eat it and hope they can do better the 
next year. If they have a couple of tough years, they go out of 
business.
  This new government plan does not have to make a profit, will not 
have to pay taxes because it's the government, will not have to meet 
the same regulations because it's the government, and if it has a bad 
year, it's going to be subsidized by us.
  If anybody in the majority tells you that we're not going to put 
money into this program, they're not being straight with you. And if 
they say they're going to let this program go under because it has 
tough times meeting its obligations, they're not being straight with 
you.
  It will be subsidized. It will be unfair competition. It will end up 
with no private-sector competition, and we will all wind up in 
universal health care.

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