[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[Senate]
[Pages 31446-31447]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HEALTH CARE AND THE OMNIBUS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, Republicans are fully engaged in the 
health care debate. It is our view that there is no more important work 
we can do here than to show Americans what the Democratic plan for 
health care would mean to them. Once we return to the debate, 
Republicans will be ready with two important amendments.
  One of those amendments, by Senator Crapo, would enable the President 
to keep one of the pledges he made as a candidate and as President 
about what the Democratic plan for health care reform would look like. 
He said that no family making less than $250,000 a year and no 
individual making less than $200,000 a year would see a tax increase of 
any kind. The Crapo motion would ensure that promise is kept.
  An amendment by Senators Hutchison and Thune would ensure that none 
of the taxes imposed by this bill would go into effect a day earlier 
than the benefits. In other words, you don't get taxes before you get 
benefits. This is a commonsense amendment. You certainly wouldn't ask 
someone to pay for the mortgage on a house 4 years before they were 
allowed to move in. In the same way, we should not tax people for a 
benefit they don't get for 4 long years.
  The Hutchison-Thune amendment also aims to keep government honest, 
because most Americans have a hard time believing Washington would 
collect taxes on one thing for 4 years and actually have the discipline 
not to use the money on something else. This amendment would guard 
against that.
  For the moment, the majority has decided to take us off health care. 
It has moved to an Omnibus appropriations bill that has all the 
hallmarks of all the other bloated spending bills we have seen this 
year. It is really outrageous, actually. At a time of double-digit 
unemployment, at a time when Democrats are talking about increasing by 
nearly $2 trillion the amount of money the government is legally 
allowed to borrow, the majority has moved us off of one $2.5 trillion 
spending bill and on to a 1,000-page omnibus that would cost the 
American taxpayer another $\1/2\ trillion right in the middle of a 
recession.
  Once again, the majority has shown a lack of restraint when it comes 
to spending. At a moment of record debt, at a moment when inflation is 
nearly flat, this bill represents a 12-percent annual increase in 
government spending. Let me say that again. Inflation is flat. Yet we 
are increasing discretionary spending by 12 percent in this omnibus 
spending bill. The American people are not increasing their spending 12 
percent. Moreover, it includes a number of controversial, unrelated 
provisions, including, among other things, language to weaken 
restrictions on abortion funding.
  This $\1/2\ trillion spending bill spends $50 billion more than last 
year. All this

[[Page 31447]]

spending comes right on the heels of a new report from Treasury that 
says the government ran a deficit of nearly $300 billion in October and 
November--the worst deficit we have ever had at this point in a fiscal 
year, ever. At a time when families across the country are struggling 
to make ends meet, lawmakers almost seem to be flouting their ability 
to spend taxpayer money. This bill contains many worthy projects. 
Unfortunately, the majority has piled on so much spending, so much debt 
and new controversial policies that I certainly can't support it.
  As you may know, the Senate is considering a bill that would make 
basic changes in the country's health care system. We have been 
debating it for weeks. What I keep hearing on the other side is no 
reference to what the American people think. I hear these arguments 
about making history. Ignoring the public is not a great way to make 
history. We have not seen poll data for months that indicate the 
American people support the Reid bill. The most devastating one came 
out last night. A CNN opinion research poll taken December 2 and 3, 
this week--not exactly a bastion of conservatism--indicates that 61 
percent of the American people oppose this health care bill and only 36 
percent favor it.
  We are looking for one courageous Member of the other side of the 
aisle--just one--to stand up and say he or she will not ignore the 
overwhelming opinion of the American people, he or she will not be so 
arrogant as to assume we have the right answer here and 61 percent of 
the American people somehow don't know what they are talking about.
  The American people are pretty smart. They have been watching this 
carefully. This health care bill, like no other issue, affects every 
single American regardless of age. Everybody is interested in the 
subject. They have watched the debate closely. They are telling us: 
Please, Congress, please do not pass this bill.
  I yield the floor.

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