[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 26549]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. AUSTRIA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. AUSTRIA. Mr. Speaker, this week marks a defining moment for this 
Congress and our Nation, with an $11.9 trillion national debt that 
continues to grow as government encroaches into every aspect of our 
lives. We're about to vote on a nearly 2,000-page bill. We've heard all 
the details of this bill. It will increase the health care premiums for 
millions of Americans who are happy with their current coverage. It 
will cost nearly $1 trillion, placing even more debt on our children 
and grandchildren. It will force businesses, large and small, to 
provide health care for their employees or pay fines to the government. 
It would unbelievably cut $170 billion from the Medicare Advantage 
Program to pay for this bill, putting nearly 10 million seniors 
enrolled in Medicare Advantage at risk of losing their health care 
coverage. In Ohio, there are nearly 500,000 seniors on Medicare 
Advantage and nearly 30,000 of them are in my district alone.
  Mr. Speaker, we all agree that our health care system can and should 
be improved. Unfortunately, Members of Congress are not listening to 
the American people, that more government is not the answer.

                          ____________________