[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3181]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, as Democratic leaders in Congress 
continue to insist that we are at some make-or-break moment in the 
health care debate, and that for some reason we need to pass a bill 
that raises taxes, raises premiums, and cuts Medicare, I would like to 
call attention to a notice we received just yesterday from the 
Congressional Budget Office informing us that they plan to issue a cost 
estimate today for the Senate-passed health care bill.
  In other words, sometime today the CBO will release its final cost 
estimate on the health spending bill the majority passed on Christmas 
Eve. This is March 11. We passed that bill on Christmas Eve. We are now 
getting a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.
  So our friends on the other side--every single one of them--voted for 
this enormous bill, a bill affecting the cost and quality of health 
care for every single man, woman, and child in America without knowing 
the full cost to the taxpayers.
  Well, excuse me for noting the obvious, but this is no way to 
legislate on an issue of this importance. Month after month, we were 
told it was urgent to pass that bill--so urgent, apparently, that 
Democrats in Congress could not even wait to find out the effect the 
bill would have on the cost to the American people.
  Now we are being told the same thing. Democratic leaders are telling 
their members they have to vote on this latest version of the same bill 
by Easter--the latest version of the same bill by Easter. When are we 
going to find out how much that one costs, Columbus Day?
  Americans are not in any rush to pass this or any other 2,700-page 
bill that poses as reform but actually raises the cost of health care. 
Members of Congress should not be deceived by these theatrical attempts 
to create a sense of urgency about this legislation. The least that 
lawmakers can do is find out how much these bills will cost the 
taxpayers before they schedule a vote. They cannot have it both ways. 
They cannot say they are concerned about how much these bills cost and 
not even ask to see the pricetag.
  The fact is, anybody who even considers voting for these health 
spending bills does not have lower costs as a priority because we know 
these bills are going to drive costs up, not down.

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