[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 24]
[Senate]
[Page 31963]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, reclaiming my leader time, the longer 
the debate over health care goes on, the clearer it becomes that the 
problem the Democrats are having isn't with some of the provisions we 
keep hearing about on the news; their problem is the fundamental 
opposition of the American people to the core components of the bill--
the core of the bill.
  Americans oppose the Democratic plan because they know the final 
product is a colossal legislative mistake. Not only does this bill fail 
to achieve its primary goal of lowering the cost of health care, it 
makes matters worse by driving up premiums, raising taxes, and wrecking 
Medicare for seniors.
  The bill is fundamentally flawed, and the American people know it 
can't be fixed. That is why they are asking us to stop and start over 
with the kind of commonsense, step-by-step reforms that will address 
the cost problems.
  Fortunately, a growing number of Democrats are beginning to listen to 
the voices of the American people. We have, just today, a Washington 
Post poll indicating, once again, the polls are unanimous that the 
American people are overwhelmingly opposed to this bill, and seniors in 
particular, by a very wide margin, do not favor this bill.
  So our friends on the other side of the aisle face a choice. They can 
either side with those who are making a call to history or they can 
side with their constituents who say a vote on this bill would be a 
historic mistake.
  That is what is unfolding behind the scenes: As a handful of 
Democratic leaders press ahead in a blind rush of frantic dealmaking to 
find 60 votes by Christmas, a handful of other Democrats are wondering 
which side they want to be standing on when the dust settles--with 
those who are pushing them to support a bill they don't like or with 
the American people who are imploring them not to do it.
  This is an important moment in the life of our Nation. This is one of 
those moments when the free decisions of a handful of elected leaders 
are the only difference between America going down one road or another. 
History will be made either way. History will be made either way. But 
in this case, as in many others from our history, Americans want 
history to show that a determined few took their side and triumphed 
over a powerful majority--a majority who clearly misread its mandate.

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