[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 15066]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Pittenger) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PITTENGER. Mr. Speaker, I was frankly disappointed and really 
perplexed yesterday when the President of the United States called a 
meeting in the White House and asked the Speaker of the House to come 
and meet. He asked the leader of the Democrats in the House to come and 
meet. He asked the majority leader in the Senate to meet. And at the 
same time, his pressman, Jay Carney, was on TV saying: We're not going 
to negotiate. When they ended the meeting, Senator Reid and Ms. Pelosi 
said: We're not going to negotiate.
  Mr. Speaker, I'm aware that this bill has been 50 years in the 
making. The Democrats have wanted to nationalize health care for 50 
years. They found their political timing to do it when they controlled 
the House and the Senate, when President Obama was President, and with 
a total partisan vote, they got what they wanted--even without even 
reading the bill. As Ms. Pelosi said: We're going to pass it and then 
we're going to read it. Yet Mr. Obama has said that House Republicans 
are on an ideological crusade, Mr. Speaker. His staff has referred to 
us as suicide bombers. Really?
  You know, Mr. Speaker, we were all elected to serve our constituents. 
The President was, and so was I. So was the Speaker of the House. We 
don't have a monarch in this country, Mr. Speaker, we have a 
representative government, and our role is to listen and to respond to 
our constituents. They are writing us, they're emailing us constantly 
telling us their concerns. Let's hear about one from Cornelius, North 
Carolina:

       Just received my new monthly premium from Blue Cross/Blue 
     Shield of North Carolina for 2014. With ObamaCare, my monthly 
     cost now has tripled with more limited coverage. But what the 
     heck, now I can get pregnant at 58 years old since I now have 
     my mandatory maternity coverage. Please continue to push to 
     stop this horrible mandate.

  Here is another constituent from Huntersville, North Carolina:

       We are currently paying $270 per month for our high 
     deductible health insurance policy through Blue Cross/Blue 
     Shield. Today, we received our new rate for our family for 
     2014. A comparable plan now with Blue Cross/Blue Shield is 
     $1,037.02.

  Mr. Speaker, this is deplorable. She goes on to write:

       It was my understanding that under ObamaCare, premiums 
     would go down. It was my understanding that this would be 
     good for everyone. If ObamaCare is not good enough for 
     government employees, like Members of Congress and the White 
     House, why is it being delayed for certain corporations and 
     labor unions who are asking for an exemption, and why can't I 
     get out of this program?

  She goes on to write:

       I'm asking you to stand up for freedom, for choice, for the 
     citizens of this country, to delay ObamaCare for at least a 
     year, at the very minimum, or even better, to repeal the law 
     in its entirety.

  Mr. Speaker, this is not an ideological crusade; this is about 
meeting the needs of our constituents. There are other concerns out 
there with jobs. Companies aren't hiring full-time people. They are 
hiring part-time so they can stay under that threshold. The cost of 
this health care plan has gone up dramatically. The Congressional 
Budget Office says it is unsustainable. Why should we allow for 
corporations--there's 1,100 of them today, friends of the President--to 
receive a delay in ObamaCare, and yet ordinary Americans cannot do 
that?
  That's why we proposed an amendment for an individual mandate 
deferment, that they would not be obligated at this time. We also said 
that Members of Congress should not receive the subsidy, nor should the 
White House staff, the President, and his Cabinet Secretaries. Why 
should we get something special that ordinary American people don't 
get? And yet these bills are lying on the desk of Harry Reid because he 
tabled them.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time to bring sound reasoning to this process. 
Let's meet and negotiate, Mr. President and Senator Reid.

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