[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 20]
[House]
[Pages 26990-26996]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Pingree of Maine). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 6, 2009, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Gingrey) is recognized for 60 minutes.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank you for the time, and 
I thank my minority leadership for the time.
  We will spend our hour talking about health care reform; and we will 
try to compare and contrast, Madam Speaker, many of the policies that 
were just described by our colleagues on the Democratic side of the 
aisle, by the majority party Members: the gentleman from Minnesota, the 
gentlewoman from California, the gentleman from Colorado. A number of 
statements were made in regard to their bill, the Pelosi health care 
bill, the 2,000-page bill. In fact, Madam Speaker, I have that bill 
behind me, and we'll take a look at it in just a few minutes.
  We certainly want to talk about the 261-page bill, Madam Speaker, 
which is the Republican alternative that, indeed, as we know from a 
letter that we just received yesterday from the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office, across the board, the Republican 
alternative lowers the price of health insurance premiums on an average 
of 10 percent. I'm not sure that my colleagues who have left the floor 
now--and if they were still here, I would be happy to yield them time, 
but I'm not sure that they can say that with regard to this massive, 
monstrosity of a bill of over 2,000 pages that they are going to have 
on the floor of this great body on Friday, tomorrow, to debate and on 
Saturday morning to vote on, the outcome of which, of course, remains 
to be seen.
  Madam Speaker, I wanted to take a little time, though, at the outset 
to talk about the thousands and thousands of great Americans who came 
to Washington today to bring a message to this Congress--a message to 
their Members on both sides of the aisle but especially on the 
Democratic majority's side of the aisle--to tell them how strongly they 
are in opposition to the Federal Government's taking over our health 
care system lock, stock and barrel.
  Madam Speaker, I had an opportunity with many, many of my colleagues, 
led by Mr. Ellison of Minnesota, the gentleman who just spoke; his 
colleague from the great State of Minnesota, Representative Michele 
Bachmann; and others. There were many who worked very hard in putting 
that together and in encouraging people to come to Washington--to take 
time away from your jobs, away from your families. There were many 
physicians in the group. They did it. They did it. We had an 
opportunity to speak to them.
  When I took my minute or so, Madam Speaker, I said to them, You know, 
you're bringing a second opinion. You are practitioners of common 
sense. You are practitioners who love freedom and liberty. You've 
looked at this bill. You've probably read it. You've probably read more 
of it than have most Members of Congress, and you have made a 
diagnosis. You have taken the medical history, and you have done the 
physical examination. You have checked the pulse of the American 
people, and you have found it strong. You have checked the blood 
pressure of the American people, and you have found it, Madam Speaker, 
rising. You have taken a stethoscope, and have listened to the heart of 
the American people, and you have heard it pounding, pounding for 
freedom and liberty; and you have made a diagnosis, and you have 
written a prescription.
  Madam Speaker, these tens of thousands of people who were here today 
brought that prescription to Capitol Hill, and here is what it said:
  Dispense no taxpayer money to fund abortions. Dispense no taxpayer 
money to provide government subsidies to illegal immigrants, despite 
what my colleagues on the majority side of the aisle have said. 
Finally, that prescription said: dispense not one dime of my hard-
earned taxpayer money to allow the Federal Government to take over our 
health care system and one-sixth of our economy, and come between me 
and my doctor. That's the prescription that these great Americans came 
to Washington to bring today.
  I hope, Madam Speaker, I hope that the Members of Congress on both 
sides of the aisle but especially within the majority party--because, 
after all, it is your bill that's going to be voted on, not our bill. 
We have a bill. It will be a motion to recommit--a substitute, if you 
will--of 261 pages, which brings down the cost of health insurance 
across the board on an average of 10 percent. I don't think that they 
can say, Madam Speaker, that you can say, that the majority party can 
say, that your bill does that. This bill, according to the 
Congressional Budget Office, saves $61 billion over 10 years.
  Now, Madam Speaker, I heard my colleagues say just a minute ago that 
their bill, which is the Pelosi bill, saves $100 billion over 10 years, 
but the Congressional Budget Office, again, that bipartisan group of 
expert economists who works for the Congress, the Director of whom is 
hired by Speaker Pelosi, said it's going to cost to create this 
legislation $1.55 trillion over 10 years.
  So, my colleagues, if you save $100 billion but you've spent $1 
trillion, do the arithmetic. This is not calculus. It's certainly not 
brain surgery. You have spent a whole lot of money saving $100 billion. 
In fact, my math tells me that you're kind of in the red there about 
$900 billion. It's ludicrous. It's absolutely ludicrous.
  I say again, Madam Speaker, to those folks who came up--to those 
great Americans who came today on buses and in cars and on planes, many 
of whom traveled 16 hours--and I met some great Georgians from my 
State. They're folks I had talked to last weekend when I was home, and 
I encouraged them to come. They did. They came. A contingent of the 
disabled came. I was so proud to see them.

[[Page 26991]]

  This was not a mob, Madam Speaker. These were not thugs. I'm not 
suggesting that you or any Member of this body has referred to them in 
that way, but certainly the media has; the press has--and it's 
insulting. It was insulting back in August when all of these seniors 
showed up for these town hall meetings. Every Member was describing 
town hall meetings that had 10 times as many people as they had ever 
seen before. It's true for me in my district, and I'm in my fourth 
term. It's true for others. We'll hear from Congressman John Boozman 
from Arkansas, and we'll hear from Congressman Paul Broun from the 
great State of Georgia, from Athens; and they'll tell you the same 
thing.
  These were nice people. These were senior citizens. These were 
Medicare recipients, and they were scared to death, and they are scared 
to death today. I know that, of those who couldn't come, many of them 
maybe are shut-ins and who for health reasons were not able to come but 
would have loved to have been here. You were well represented, and you 
will be well represented in this Chamber come Saturday morning when 
it's time to vote.
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle referenced back to the 
days in 2003 when we added a prescription drug benefit to Medicare, 
which is something that our seniors have been wanting for so many 
years, long before I even thought about running for Congress. The 
problem, of course, was that in 1965 when Medicare was enacted, the 
emphasis was on surgical procedures and on hospitalizations, and we 
didn't have all the wonder drugs back then, 40-something years ago, 
that we have today.

                              {time}  2115

  So why was a prescription drug benefit so important? Why did the 
Republican majority at the time spend so much political capital giving 
that to the American people and our 40 million of them who are on 
Medicare?
  It's because they couldn't afford it. The price of these 
prescriptions had gone up, these wonder drugs, research and 
development, very expensive. And people were halving the dose and in 
many cases not taking their medication if it ran out before the month 
was over and they had to wait 2 more weeks to get another prescription. 
And the people with high blood pressure were having strokes. The people 
with high cholesterol were having heart attacks. The people with 
diabetes, which was out of control because they couldn't buy their 
insulin, were having their limbs amputated. People with kidney disease 
were ending up on dialysis machines and in a long cue maybe for a renal 
transplant.
  We, in a very compassionate way, Madam Speaker, passed Medicare part 
D so that these seniors could afford to have those prescriptions filled 
and to take them in a timely way. And I stand here today very proud 
that I voted ``yes'' on that bill on this House floor in the wee hours 
of that morning, yes. A very close vote because all the Democrats were 
voting ``no.'' All the Democrats were voting ``no.''
  But what this bill has done has given them affordable prescription 
drug coverage. And it will keep these seniors, more importantly than 
the cost, out of the emergency room. It will keep them off the 
operating table. It will keep them out of a long-term skilled nursing 
home where they might be for life having had a massive stroke because 
prior to 2003 they couldn't afford the blood pressure medication to 
lower that blood pressure to a safe range. So, yes, I'm proud of that. 
I'm very proud of it.
  Our Democratic counterparts, Madam Speaker, then in the minority, 
they fought it every step of the way. And they absolutely insisted, 
until the final moment when they knew that they couldn't accomplish it, 
they wanted the government to step in and control prices. They wanted 
government price control then and they want it now. It wasn't necessary 
then, Madam Speaker and my colleagues, and it's not necessary now.
  The free market works in this country. It always has and it always 
will. The monthly price of those prescription drug plans, on average, 
was $24 when the Democratic minority said that it would be $40. In 
fact, the Democratic minority wanted us, the Republican majority at the 
time, to agree to set the price at $40 a month. We wouldn't do it 
because we knew, Madam Speaker, that the free market works and we 
wanted to see that competition without the heavy hand of the government 
in there being a competitor and a rule maker and a referee, just 
exactly what your party and its leadership, Ms. Pelosi, the Speaker; 
Mr. Reid, the majority leader; and yes, President Obama--they want the 
heavy hand of the government in this bill.
  And what they really want, and I imagine if any amendment is made in 
order, it will be the one that will be proffered by our friend from New 
York (Mr. Weiner) from my Energy and Commerce Committee and part of the 
majority party, an amendment that would have a single-payer national 
health insurance program. Socialized medicine.
  If we see any amendment, Madam Speaker, I am going to predict that 
that will be the one that will be here because, in fact, they want to 
make that statement one last time. They won't have quite enough votes 
to pass it, but there will be a significant number. And I think my 
colleagues certainly on our side of the aisle, we understand that. We 
understand what the plan is. And the American people understand that. 
But the majority party and this President and this administration and 
all the folks that are advising him, many of whom I guess advised 
President Clinton and his wife, Hillary, 15 years ago, they don't seem 
to get it. Maybe they're not going to get it until that first week in 
November of 2010.
  We've got a lot of things to talk about tonight, Madam Speaker, and I 
am pleased and honored to have my colleagues join me. The hour is 
getting late. A lot of times folks at this point in the evening are 
ready to go home and get a little rest, do a little reading before they 
go to bed and face a long, hard, tough day tomorrow. But they're here. 
They're here tonight. That old saying ``miles and miles and miles to go 
before I sleep.'' I'm not sure which of our poets wrote that. Maybe it 
was Robert Frost. But my colleagues are with me tonight because they 
know how important this is.
  They know that they are the sentinels. And we're going to fight this 
thing, and we're going to do everything in our power to stop it because 
we know it's wrong. It's the wrong prescription for America.
  Let me at this point, Madam Speaker, yield to my good friend and 
fellow doctor from the great State of Arkansas. Dr. Boozman is a part 
of the GOP Doctors Caucus. We have been meeting on a very regular basis 
during this entire 111th Congress. We're 11 months into it now. Time 
really flies when you're having fun. But this group has, I think, 
brought a lot of knowledge to our side of the aisle on this issue. We 
have tried desperately to have an opportunity to meet with the 
President. We've sent letters. He said the door was open, but if the 
door was open, unfortunately the several gates getting to the door were 
closed.
  But I'm honored at this point to yield to my good friend from 
Arkansas, Dr. John Boozman.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. I appreciate the gentleman from Georgia yielding to me.
  I also want to thank you for your leadership on the Doctors Caucus as 
one of the co-Chairs. You've done an outstanding job.
  I think one of the reasons that's so important, I think the reason 
that we had so many thousands of people up here today--and I would just 
echo your sentiments about the importance of that. As I looked around, 
I saw all of these predominantly middle-aged and seniors that had made 
a trip, made a tough trip in many cases from all over the country. I 
think it's due to the fact that we've worked very, very hard as a 
conference. And under your leadership as one of the co-Chairs, I think 
the Doctors Caucus has done a good job of trying to get accurate 
information as to what this bill actually does.
  We did a town hall teleconference 2 days ago. And as you said, there 
are many people all over the country that would have loved to have been 
up here

[[Page 26992]]

today, but they couldn't get up here. And we did a poll during the 
course of that teletown hall. We had 12 percent for, 75 percent 
against, 13 percent undecided. And I think if we had done that a few 
months ago, the numbers wouldn't have been that great.
  The more the American people learn about this bill, the unintended 
consequences that are going to occur, the more they don't like it.
  The gentleman talked earlier about somebody working in a place and 
was a part-time employed person. The reality is that under this bill, 
as you start taxing small business the way that it does for full- and 
part-time employees where you don't offer good enough insurance by 
government standards, many of those jobs are going to disappear, and 
this truly is a job killer.
  I'm going to go ahead and yield back because I really want us to talk 
about our alternative versus what's being presented. I want us to talk 
about the fact that we're not cutting Medicare. I have got 25,000 
Advantage patients in my district. Our bill does not cut them in any 
way. That program goes ahead and continues on. Then I also want to talk 
about the effect on small business, our bill cutting the insurance 
rates versus taxing small business in the other plan.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman and 
I hope the gentleman will stay with us so we can continue----
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Yes, very much.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Because I do want to hear from Dr. Boozman in 
regard to the Republican alternative and some of the unique things that 
he's talking about. And I mentioned, of course, the CBO score and 
that's fantastic. But I think it is important for our colleagues to 
know, especially those who are undecided. And quite honestly, I think, 
Madam Speaker, there are a lot of undecideds.
  I know there are many caucuses in the Democratic majority. You have 
257, something like a 40-seat majority over us Republicans. And you 
have those many caucuses. You have the Hispanic Caucus. You have the 
Congressional Black Caucus. You have the Progressive/Liberal Caucus of 
which Speaker Pelosi is, I guess, the titular head. And then you have 
the Blue Dog Caucus, some 52 members, who many of them, Madam Speaker, 
and I know you're aware of this, hold seats that Candidate Senator John 
McCain carried in the 2008 election. So their districts, Madam Speaker, 
are not unlike mine. And I won my last election, my third re-elect 
fourth term with 69 percent of the vote. And I know that many of these 
Members are agonizing over their vote come Saturday.
  Our colleagues earlier--I think the gentlewoman from California was 
here in 2003 when we had the vote on Medicare modernization and the 
prescription drug plan, Medicare part D. And she said some things that 
were accurate in regard to the length of the vote and the fact that it 
was a very close vote, and when the clock struck double zeros, there 
were still people undecided. And there was still a lot of persuasion 
going on. Maybe a little arm twisting, maybe a few calls from the 
President, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, a lot of weeping 
and gnashing of teeth. And then, of course, finally that bill did pass 
at 5 o'clock in the morning, as I recall.
  I would say to the gentlewoman from California, you ain't seen 
nothing yet until we get to 2 days from now, on Saturday, when we're 
trying to--when I say ``we,'' I think most people on my side of the 
aisle, if given the opportunity to vote on our bill, would vote 
``yes,'' every one of us, but I doubt if there will be too many of us 
voting for the Federal Government to completely take over our health 
care system.
  And there's going to be some arm twisting and there's going to be 
some blood letting, not literally but figuratively. A lot of persuasion 
going on. So we'll see what happens.
  I am also joined by a good friend who, like Dr. Boozman, is a part of 
our GOP Doctors Caucus. Dr. Paul Broun is one of three doctors, three 
on the Republican side, from the great State of Georgia. Our other 
colleague who is chairman of the Republican Study Committee, 110 
conservative Republican members, Dr. Tom Price chairs that group.
  And I want to, Madam Speaker, mention the fact that Dr. Price was 
also very involved in this effort today to have this House call on 
Congress and bring these 15,000. In fact, Dr. Price moderated that and 
did an excellent job.

                              {time}  2130

  But Dr. Broun has been wonderful on this issue, brings a tremendous 
amount of knowledge, plus about 40 years of clinical experience as a 
family practitioner who it comes as close to Marcus Welby as anybody I 
have met in years because he did house calls.
  Madam Speaker, I will now yield to Dr. Broun so that we can hear from 
him.
  Mr. BROUN of Georgia. I thank the gentleman, Dr. Gingrey. I did house 
calls full time prior to coming to Congress in 2007, and I actually 
still make house calls.
  I appreciate the people coming here today and getting in the house 
call business. They made a house call on the people's House, and I 
congratulate them on doing so because their voices were heard. The 
Constitution of the United States. I carry it in my pocket all the 
time. I believe in this document, as it was intended by our Founding 
Fathers. It starts out with three very powerful words.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. And if the gentleman will yield just for a 
second, just for the visual effect. Congressman Gingrey also carries 
it, and I think every Republican--this document is not what we describe 
as a living, breathing, changing document unless we do it under the 
rules of the Constitution by amendment, but I wanted to let the 
gentleman know that I, too, carry this every day.
  I yield back.
  Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Thank you.
  The Constitution starts out with three extremely powerful words ``We 
the People.'' We the People are speaking, and they don't want a 
government takeover of their health care system. In Hosea 4:6, God 
says, ``My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.'' Mr. Speaker, 
the Doctors Caucus and Dr. Gingrey have been trying to educate the 
people about the onerous effects of a government takeover of health 
care. I just want to mention a few of those things.
  Dr. Boozman, my good friend from Arkansas, was already mentioning the 
increased taxes and the attacks on small business. But this bill, if 
it's passed into law, is going to destroy our economy. It's going to 
destroy our economy because it's going to spend--right now CBO, with 
their zombie economics, is going to spend over $1 trillion. I call it 
zombie economics because you have to be a dead person walking around to 
believe the accounting procedures that CBO went about utilizing in 
evaluating this bill. But this bill has been scored by CBO as costing 
over $1 trillion. When Medicare was passed into law 40-some-odd years 
ago, CBO, when they evaluated it then, they missed the mark. In fact, 
Medicare, in the first decade, cost almost 10 times what CBO scored it, 
and that's exactly what's going to happen with this one. I think 10 
times will be a conservative estimate of what the CBO is scoring it. 
It's going to destroy our economy.
  The second thing it is going to do is it's going to destroy the 
State's budget. In Georgia, as the gentleman from Georgia, Dr. Gingrey, 
knows, we have a balanced budget amendment to our State Constitution. 
Well, this bill shifts a lot of cost in unfunded mandates to the State 
because it expands Medicaid. Georgia is already struggling to meet its 
balanced budget amendments and is already cutting services in the State 
of Georgia. This bill, for the State of Georgia, from everything I can 
tell, is going to increase the cost to Medicaid to the State of Georgia 
$1 billion. We don't have that kind of money. The State of Georgia is 
going to have to cut its services markedly or increase taxes.
  Mr. Speaker, the Governors all over this country should be contacting 
every single Member of Congress in their delegation and telling them to 
vote ``no'' on this Pelosi bill that is

[[Page 26993]]

going to take over the health care system. It's going to destroy 
States' budgets. It's going to destroy everybody's home budgets because 
taxes are going to go up on all goods and services, particularly health 
care services. But there is going to be taxes on every single small 
business and large business in this country, which means that those 
taxes are going to be passed through at an increased cost for every 
good and service in this country. So everybody, including the middle 
class, the poor people, those on limited income, the elderly are going 
to have to pay more for everything that they buy, for every service 
that they contract for. So it's going to destroy everybody's home 
budgets.
  It's going to destroy our children's futures. It's going to destroy 
their futures because Congress is borrowing and spending dollars that 
our children and our grandchildren are going to have to pay for. So 
we're stealing their future.
  Scripture says in the Ten Commandments, ``Thou shalt not steal,'' and 
I call on this House to stop stealing our children's and our 
grandchildren's futures.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. If the gentleman will yield back to me, and I 
think that is a very, very good point. Mr. Speaker, I agree with the 
gentleman that it, indeed, is stealing our children's futures to have a 
current debt of $11.2 trillion. A trillion, you can't imagine. I've 
heard Members describe what $1 trillion is. I won't try to do that 
tonight. It's unfathomable. Our current debt is $11.2 trillion.
  It's estimated that in the next 10 to 15 years, if we continue down 
this road, that debt will be $24 trillion. We'll be paying more 
interest on the debt than we do on discretionary spending. We'll have 
no money to defend our country. In talking about that Constitution, 
when you really look at it, there is nothing in here about spending 
trillions of dollars for health care or for education, but we just keep 
spending and spending.
  But I did want to take this a step further before yielding back to 
the gentleman from Arkansas, Dr. Boozman. We're not only stealing our 
children's and grandchildren's futures, Dr. Broun--and I know you know 
this--we are stealing their present. Now, let me explain.
  First of all, Mr. Speaker, the irony of that is that in the cohort of 
people age 18 to 29 in this recent election, 66 percent of them voted 
for then-Senator, now-President, Obama. They elected him. In the 18- to 
29-year-old cohort, 66 percent. Of that group, Mr. Speaker, that's the 
highest plurality for a President ever from that age group. I don't 
impugn their motive or their vote. That's what's great about this 
country. I'm not sure why each and every one of the 66 percent made 
that decision. I'm sure they were, as I was, impressed by then-
candidate Senator Obama's youth, his energy, his charisma, his 
communication skills, and he made promises. He made attractive 
promises. You know, after 8 years of an administration, people are 
ready for a change, and he promised them change. Indeed, I think he 
said a change that they could believe in. My English teacher would have 
changed that and said a change in which they can believe. But in any 
regard, it made a good sound bite.
  Shortly after the President was elected and inaugurated, the 
President was asked by the media or asked by the minority about these 
policies of massive government expansion in every sphere, and his 
response was a glib, Elections have consequences.
  Mr. Speaker, indeed, elections have consequences. That's what I'm 
talking about, Dr. Broun, in regard to robbing our youth not only of 
their futures but of their present, because this bill that guarantees 
community rating and universal coverage, it drives up the cost of 
health insurance for all of our young, healthy 18- to 29- to 39- to 45-
year-olds who are taking care of themselves, who are exercising, who 
are not overweight, who don't smoke. Today, they're able--in most 
States--to be able to get affordable health insurance because their 
lifestyle is less risky and because their age is less risky.
  What the President and what Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid and the 
Democratic majority want to do is have a one-size-fits-all, where the 
costs for people that are in their fifties--obviously not eligible yet, 
Mr. Speaker, for Medicare--it will lower the cost of health insurance 
for them, and that's a good thing. But at the same time, it drives up 
significantly the cost of health insurance for those low-risk 
individuals. In fact, today, many young people will choose a low 
premium, a low monthly premium, you know, maybe $100 a month, with a 
very high deductible, and they'll combine it with a health savings 
account. Under this plan, H.R. 3962, they will not be permitted to do 
that.
  Mr. Speaker, we are robbing the future of the youth of America.
  With that, I yield to my friend from Arkansas, Dr. Boozman.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Let me just say that, again, one of the concerns that I 
have are the unintended consequences that are going to be as a result 
of the bill, as you are talking about now.
  I had a gentleman call me, oh, a month or so ago, and he owns several 
fast food restaurants. Many of the people that he employs are part-time 
employees. They're high school kids going to school, working a little 
bit on the side, many, many college kids. He said that if this bill 
goes through and he's going to have to be responsible for providing 
coverage for all of those part-time employees--he provides the coverage 
now for the full-time employees--he simply can't do that. In this 
economy, that's so tough, you know. He's barely making it now. So the 
first thing he's going to do is start laying off those kids. So again, 
the unintended consequences of them not having a job, going to school 
and things like that, those are the things that we're going to see so 
much as a result of this.
  I will give you another example. This bill hits community hospitals 
very, very hard. The only way that you can save money is to 
consolidate. In Arkansas, and I know in Georgia where you gentlemen are 
from, there are many, many community hospitals. You start 
consolidating. You start ratcheting back on your community hospital. 
That's probably the best jobs in that community, you know, well paid 
and all of the ancillary things that they buy and things. It is a big 
part of the economy. You lose your hospital. It's not too long that you 
lose your physicians? You lose your doctors, you lose your providers. 
You lose your providers, and then at that point, you really start 
talking about losing these small communities.
  So again, there are so many things out there that this is such a huge 
deal. You can be for this or against it, but the reality is that it 
truly is a massive increase in government.
  Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Would the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Very much so. The only other point I would make is that, 
from Washington, the important aspects of health care--who does what, 
who gets paid or whatever--are going to come out of Washington, D.C., 
versus from a myriad of places right now.
  Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Well, I appreciate that, Dr. Boozman. I 
practiced medicine for a few years in Blakely, Georgia, a town of 5,000 
people. We had a small community hospital there. I moved from there to 
Americus, Georgia, which has 17,000 people; 25,000 in Sumter County, 
Georgia, both down in rural southwest Georgia.
  We had a regional hospital in Sumter County, an excellent regional 
hospital. At the time I was there, we had a little over 30 doctors in 
Americus, Georgia. We had just about any specialty, except for 
neurosurgery and neurology, in that community.
  Then from there, the Lord moved me to Oconee County, just outside of 
Athens, Georgia, where I still live today. Athens is a town of a little 
over 100,000 people. There are two hospitals in Athens, Georgia. St. 
Mary's, I am on the foundation board. I have worked with St. Mary's 
Hospital. It's a Catholic hospital. I have worked with them for years, 
trying to help provide care for indigents and people that don't have 
insurance and to help that hospital be viable. But we also have Athens 
Regional Hospital.

[[Page 26994]]



                              {time}  2145

  Now that I am a Member of Congress, I represent the northeast corner 
of the State of Georgia, and we have a lot of small community hospitals 
scattered through my congressional district in Hart County and Elbert 
County and Thomson, which is McDuffie County, and a lot of these, and I 
can go on. There are many small rural hospitals.
  Now, back to something I just said earlier in Hosea 4:6: My people 
are destroyed for lack of knowledge. What it's going to do if the 
Pelosi bill, this one right here in front of me, is passed into law, 
small rural community hospitals all over this country are going to 
close down. Small communities are going to have all those people who 
work there be jobless. They are going to be put out of work.
  Folks are going to have to drive miles and miles to those regional 
hospitals to get the health care that they so ably deserve. This is not 
a health care bill. This is a health insurance bill to set up--in fact, 
the President himself has said he wants to establish socialized 
medicine where the Federal Government is the only insurer. This bill is 
the step that they need to put that into place.
  That's exactly why the progressives, I call them Marxists, because 
that's really their philosophy is Marxism or communism, socialism, is 
based upon, this bill is a step to go to that socialized medicine. But 
not only the health care markets and small community hospitals are 
going to be put out of a job. The President's economic adviser has said 
5.5 million people are going to lose their job, so it's going to 
destroy jobs all over America.
  Mr. Speaker, if the American people could see this document and 
understand how onerous it is, they would say ``no,'' and they should. 
This is the Republican alternative that's going to be considered on and 
voted on Saturday. Look at the difference in the size.
  The Republican Party is the Party of Know, k-n-o-w, know. We know how 
to lower the cost of health insurance for everybody in this country and 
let the doctor-patient relationship be how health care decisions are 
made. This bill is going to put a bureaucrat from Washington D.C., 
making health care decisions for every single person in this country.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Reclaiming my time, I think the gentleman is 
making some excellent points, but we do want to have a moment to talk 
about our alternative. Dr. Broun is holding that up now, the 261-page 
Republican alternative that's fully paid for, that cuts insurance 
premiums on average by 10 percent across the board, according to the 
CBO, and saves $65 billion over 10 years.
  I am going to yield back to Dr. Boozman. Before I ask him to go 
through a couple of slides with us, I want to point one out to our 
colleagues, this second opinion. I talked about this earlier, about 
these great Americans that were up here today, as Dr. Broun referenced. 
They were making a House call on the House, their House, the people's 
House, absolutely.
  Their second opinion included, I talked about that prescription: 
dispense no money to pay for abortions, dispense no money to pay for 
illegal immigrants, dispense no money to let a big government 
bureaucracy take over our health care system and come between our great 
doctors and their patients, indeed, our constituents. But also in their 
second opinion they are going to say and they did say today, many of 
them are wearily driving back home now, but they said, and I point out 
in this slide: patients don't want government-run health care, period.
  Now, I am going to yield to Dr. Boozman for a few minutes, because I 
have got a couple of slides. I hope he can see those. He should; he is 
an optometrist. He knows about eyesight. I will lend him my glasses if 
he needs them. But we will go through a couple of bullet points and 
talk about things that people are outraged, Mr. Speaker, outraged over.
  It's unbelievable, but I will yield to Dr. Boozman and let him talk 
about it.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Well, again, our first point that it is not government-
run health care, and we have alluded to that earlier. We don't 
federalize 16 percent of the economy. We don't cut seniors to pay for 
health reform.
  Again, I have 25,000 Advantage members. The Advantage Program is so 
important to them. Also, the other Medicare cuts, you can't increase 
the population by 30 percent that you are going to serve, not give them 
any more resources. Something is going to give and the quality of care 
will suffer with the Pelosi plan.
  It doesn't raise the deficit. Your fourth point, health care choices, 
not government mandates. Then, again, this is a bipartisan compromise.
  The other thing I would add, I heard the discussion earlier, people 
from Arkansas, it just drives them crazy when they hear us talking 
about giving, allowing illegal immigrants to buy subsidized health care 
programs. I mean, that's something that they just don't understand.
  I am very much opposed to that. I know that you all are very much 
opposed to that.
  But, again, that's something that the majority of this country does 
not understand, why we would want to do that. Our country is 
struggling. We are barely--I get the phone calls, as an optometrist, a 
provider. I used to see people all the time that couldn't afford their 
health care. That's what we are trying to do to fix.
  But the idea, like I say, of giving illegal immigrants subsidies such 
that they can buy makes no sense at all to the average American. That's 
one of the reasons so many people are opposed to this is things like 
this in the bill.
  Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Some people may say that that's a racist 
comment you just made.
  First thing, they are not immigrants. They are aliens, they are law 
breakers, they are criminals, and they need to go home. We certainly 
should not give them taxpayer subsidies, not only health care but a lot 
of the taxpayer subsidies, and they are getting them today. In spite of 
being against the law getting Medicaid, SCHIP, they are getting those 
things today because they have fraudulent Social Security numbers, 
fraudulent driver's licenses. They are criminals. They need to go home.
  I want to tell you, I have been accused of being a racist by saying 
things like that. But I also volunteer as a medical doctor at a clinic 
called Mercy Clinic in Athens, Georgia, and the vast majority of people 
that come to that are illegal aliens, people who have no insurance. I 
have devoted my time, and there are 40-some-odd doctors in our 
community that devoted our time to go take care of sick people who need 
our help.
  I have a heart for them, but I also believe in the law.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Reclaiming my time, Dr. Broun, as I referred 
to him earlier as a modern day Dr. Welby, I like the compassion, and I 
know that he treats people without regard of their ability to pay, and 
he is a good man.
  I wanted to go back to Dr. Boozman because we got into talking about 
the cost. This next slide, and I want my colleagues to look closely, 
please. I hope you can see this because these three bullet points are 
hugely important. I will ask Dr. Boozman to begin to comment on the 
very first one.
  Because on this chart, on this slide, this is how the Democrats, the 
Pelosi health reform bill comes up with the $1.055 trillion to so-call 
pay for this thing and not add one dime, as they say, to the deficit.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Right. Well first one, no $570 billion in Medicare cuts, 
which again is such a concern to seniors and why they are very much, I 
think, as a group, opposed to this bill, at least in the Third District 
of Arkansas. No 700 billion in taxes on employers and citizens. Again, 
small business is very, very concerned about the impact that this is 
going to have on their businesses.
  No taxing States. The Medicaid increases, Dr. Broun alluded to that 
earlier. That's going to be a huge impact on our States, and the States 
have to either raise taxes or cut services in order to provide that 
service. Again, that's a real problem.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Dr. Boozman, I don't think there is anything

[[Page 26995]]

about raising Medicare coverage to 150 percent and putting this burden 
on the back of States in the Republican bill, is there?
  Mr. BOOZMAN. No, not at all. In fact, I think an unintended 
consequence that we might see that people need to look at is many of 
our State county employees, city employees, our teachers, I don't think 
that they will meet the mandate that is pushed forward in the Pelosi 
plan. I think that will up their costs greatly at the State level. 
Again, that's going to have to be taken through increased property 
taxes and things like that to pay that bill. So many unintended 
consequences.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Dr. Boozman, I did want to go back to my 
first bullet point. Again, my colleagues, I refer you to this slide 
that's on the easel, ``no $570 billion in Medicare cuts.''
  If the camera could focus on Dr. Broun for a second, because that 
bill, that bill, H.R. 3962, is right in front of him. I am glad he is 
not trying to hold it, because we would be working on his back 
tomorrow; he would probably be in a back brace.
  But in that bill, that $1.055 trillion pay-for includes this $570 
billion, $570 billion cuts in Medicare.
  Dr. Boozman, would you elaborate on some of those cuts and why that 
should be of some concern to our seniors, because the folks on the 
other side of the aisle, Dr. Boozman, Dr. Broun, Mr. Speaker, my 
colleagues, just an hour ago said they don't need to worry about that; 
they are not going to hurt them. They are going to be okay. Let's talk 
about that a little bit.
  Mr. BROUN of Georgia. They lie. They lie.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Well, I will just say this----
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Well, you know like some others on this side 
of the body Dr. Broun just spoke out of turn, but we will forgive him 
for that.
  I will yield now officially to the gentleman from Arkansas.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Well, we have a situation where Medicare gets in big 
trouble and goes broke in 2017 without aid. I have many people call me, 
I know that you guys do too, that have moved to town, you know, that 
maybe their mom has moved in or something, they can't find a Medicare 
provider now because physicians, because we are not paying them what it 
takes to see some of these patients.
  They are starting to either not accept new Medicare patients, or they 
are limiting the Medicare patients that they already see. Again, we are 
already seeing a form of rationing.
  So to make 570 billion in cuts, with that going on, its just makes no 
sense at all. If anything, we need to be shoring up Medicare.
  The other thing, too, is that they add significant increased 
population, increased patients to the thing. We already have 10 
percent-plus. I think everyone agrees it's at least 10 percent in fraud 
and abuse.
  Why increase the system? Why not take care of the problems that we 
have got now, shore it up so we don't have problems in 2017 before we 
just throw more money into it and just create even more problems?
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Dr. Boozman, reclaiming my time, I am so glad 
you elaborate on that $570 billion Medicare cut, because that's 12 
percent a year over the next 10 years. We are not spending $570 billion 
today on Medicare; I can assure you we will in the very near future, 
but we are not today. So a $570 billion cut is more than what our 
yearly expenditure is today on Medicare. So over a 10-year period of 
time, about a 12 percent cut. The most egregious cut is coming from 
Medicare Advantage. Some 120-something billion dollars, a 17 percent 
cut per year, from that program.
  Well, if that program was just some fluke that a few seniors signed 
up for and it wasn't that good of a program and we were wasting money 
on it, that would be one thing, Mr. Speaker. But 20 percent of our 
seniors are Medicare patients. They love it; they love it.
  They get prescription drug coverage so they don't have to sign up for 
part D and pay that extra monthly premium. They get an annual physical. 
You don't get that in Medicare fee-for-service. They get screening, 
they get follow up, they have a nurse practitioner call them after 
their appointments to make sure they are taking their medication. They 
have a nurse call them when it's time for the next appointment, and 
they are staying healthy. The President and the majority party and all 
of us agree that preventive care is cheaper than treating the illness.
  Yet you want to cut that program? That's bizarre to me.

                              {time}  2200

  I want to yield to my friend from Athens, Dr. Broun. He may want to 
discuss the $700 billion in taxes in addition to the Medicare cuts and 
where that is going to come from and whose back is that on. Is this 
from the ultra-rich, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett and folks like that?
  Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Yes, they are going to pay higher taxes. 
Everybody in this country is going to pay higher taxes, from the 
extremely rich to the poorest people; but most of those taxes will come 
on the backs of the small businesses. That is the reason that the 
President's own economic adviser has said that 5.5 million jobs in 
America are going to be destroyed. People are going to be put out of 
work because of that tax burden that is placed on small businesses.
  This whole bill, this Pelosi health care takeover, is going to 
destroy America. It is going to destroy everything we have in America.
  Let me tell you a little story. Recently, I was talking to one of the 
Blue Dog Democrats, and I asked him to show me in this document where 
Nancy Pelosi has the constitutional authority to take over the health 
care system in America. He could not because this is unconstitutional.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, we have just a few minutes left. 
This bill that we are talking about, H.R. 3962, this bill that we will 
be voting on on Saturday, this massive increase in bureaucracy, when it 
came through the Energy and Commerce Committee, I counted that it had 
53 czars. I think we are up to 120 now. But the most egregious of all 
the czars that have been created through this bureaucratic bill is 
someone called the health choices administrator.
  Now the health choices administrator is the person who is going to 
say what has to be in every health plan. That is why I was talking 
about driving up the prices for the youth of America, and why we are 
robbing from their present as well as their future. This health choices 
administrator is going to be more powerful than the Social Security 
administrator. They are going to decide not only are we going to force 
you to buy insurance or we are going to charge you a 2 percent fine, 
maybe put you in jail, or force your employers to provide insurance for 
your employees or fine you 8 percent, or maybe put you in jail, too. 
The person that is making those decisions on what type of plan is 
offered, and, Mr. Speaker, I am sure these low-premium, high-deductible 
health savings accounts are the types that young people love because it 
gives them protection against ``horrendoplasty,'' as we call it in 
medicine, a terrible car accident which causes them to lose a limb, and 
every bit of their financial wherewithal.
  Here on this slide is a caricature of the health choices 
administrator. The gentleman from Georgia recognizes him because he ran 
Hazard County, Georgia. His name was Boss Hogg. Some may be too young 
to remember the ``Dukes of Hazard,'' but Boss Hogg, he made all of the 
decisions. He was the health choices administrator. And Boss Hogg says, 
kind of like Big Boss Hogg says, the President of the United States, 
you can have whatever you like as long as the boss approves it. As long 
as the boss approves it.
  Let me just conclude by saying the people that came up here today had 
a prescription for America, and they told us, and I had one, too. I had 
it in my pocket, I just didn't have a chance to share it.
  Here is my 10 prescriptions for a healthy America:
  No government-run health care plan.
  No cuts to senior care.

[[Page 26996]]

  No new deficit spending. The President promised that.
  No new taxes. That is in the Republican bill.
  No rationing of care. The seniors don't want to get thrown under the 
bus, but they will under H.R. 3962.
  No employer mandate. It is unconstitutional to force them. We want to 
encourage them. We want to lower the prices, as the Republican bill 
does, so they can get health care insurance, but in a voluntary way.
  And we don't want to have taxpayer-funded coverage for illegal 
immigrants.
  And we don't want to pay for abortions with taxpayer dollars.
  Mr. Speaker, thank you for your patience. We will be back tomorrow 
night. God bless you and good evening.

                          ____________________