If this new proposal truly represents commonality, as the president claims, than surely there is no need to jam this bill through under reconciliation.

Over the past year, Americans have said in every possible way – through letters, phone calls, town hall meetings, and elections – that they do not want a government takeover of health care. Today, the president will once again deny the American people the right to a clean start with health care reform, instead opting to push through his own agenda.

 

Last week the president said he did not want to get “too bogged down” in the numbers associated with health care costs. I would argue that we have no choice:  Medicare is currently broke, Social Security is going broke and Medicaid is bankrupting not only the federal government, but also the states. The president’s plan does not fix these problems. Instead, it burdens the taxpayers with yet another entitlement program at a time when we can’t afford the entitlements we currently have.

 

After a year of debate, I appreciate the president’s adoption of a few, select Republican ideas. If this new proposal truly represents commonality, as the president claims, than surely there is no need to jam this bill through under reconciliation. It should be able to garner bipartisan support like other major pieces of legislation that have passed Congress. I look forward to working with President Obama and my colleagues on common sense health care reforms that will lower costs for families and small businesses and expand access to affordable, high-quality care.

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