|
| ||||
 |
||||
February 23, 2010 Republican Leadership Conference |
||||
Republican Leadership Press Conference Participants: Conference Chair Mike Pence Good morning all. Welcome back. House Republicans just completed our weekly meeting of the House Republican Conference, and we have a few remarks then be open to questions. There's no question after two weeks home House Republicans know the American people want health care reform that lowers the cost of health insurance without growing the size of government. But it's also clear that the American people don't want a government takeover of health care. They don't want the government takeover of health care that passed the House or the Senate, and the American people don't want the more of the same government takeover bill that the White House raised the curtain on yesterday. And House Republicans are on the side of the American people. House Republicans believe that this administration and Democrats in Congress should heed the voice of the American people and scrap this new bill, scrap the old bills, and renounce once and for all any plan to force through ObamaCare 2.0 abusing the legislative process in the form of reconciliation. Now as this summit is approaching, House Republicans are going to seize every opportunity on the floor and on the airwaves to explain to the American people that we have better solutions. We have a proposal that's been online for months that would give Americans the opportunity to choose health insurance across state lines, that would bring about meaningful tort reform, and would even deal with preexisting conditions through existing state funds. Republicans welcome any good faith effort to hit the reset button and start over on health care reform that will lower the cost of health insurance for working Americans. But House Republicans will continue to oppose any effort to use this so-called summit as a media preamble to forcing through ObamaCare 2.0. |
Republican Whip Eric Cantor
Good morning. You know, they say that the definition of insanity is to continue to do the same thing and expect a different result. And the president clearly seems to be trying to prove that true. Republicans care about Americans' heath care. We want more affordable, quality health care for all Americans. We just don't care for this bill, and neither do the American people. And it's time for us, it's time for this president and this majority in this Congress to start listening to the American people. As we anticipate Thursday's discussion, there will be no question as to where Republicans stand. And it is on the side of the American people. It is with a much more common sense, modest approach to reform health care to bring down costs, not to transform our entire system and push it into a status where government has replaced the system that we know.
Conference Vice Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Good Morning. Just over a month ago, there was an election in Massachusetts that sent shock waves, and Massachusettsbeing one the most liberal states in the country, everyone took note of the fact that it seemed that Massachusetts was joining a chorus of people all across this country who were saying "no" to the current health care proposal in Congress. And yet, that chorus doesn't seem to have been heard down at 1600 Pennsylvania. Yesterday, President Obama introduced his new healthcare bill that looks very similar to the old healthcare bills that have been introduced. It's a $950 billion price tag paid for with higher taxes, cuts to Medicare, it will raise the deficit and it will ultimately jeopardize the high quality of care that we've enjoyed in this country. But worst of all, now is that the Democrats are planning to pass this by changing the rules of the game. They are talking about reconciliation, and it would really kill the possibility of bipartisanship on health care reform. And it would also thwart the will of the American people. The American people deserve a bipartisan agreement on health care. And we can get that agreement, but the Democrats must first start treating Republicans like legitimate negotiating partners, not as obstacles to be overcome or avoided.
Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite
Good morning. I'm Ginny Brown-Waite, from Florida. When we look at the bill that the president is proposing, it's not a bill that the American people want. Republicans are coming to the table with their arms full of ideas from listening to the American people as opposed to preconceived ideas. When you take bad ideas from the Senate bill and you combine them with bad and expensive ideas from the House bill, you do not get a good bill. The American people know that and I believe they are, as we speak, summarily rejecting this also. It doesn't have tort reform. It does take away money from Medicare recipients and that's just not acceptable. America doesn't need higher taxes at this time. We don't need to be penalized and forced into a system that no one wants. It's a bad idea and I hope that the president and his Democrat colleagues will start over and really work in a bipartisan manner. This, ladies and gentleman, is not bipartisan.
Republican Leader John Boehner
As my colleagues have said, the American people have spoken loudly and clearly that they want to scrap this big government takeover of health care and start over. Republicans have been offering ideas for months about how to take commonsense steps to make our current system work better for American families and businesses that would help bring down the cost of health insurance and make it more available for more Americans. You can go to healthcare.gop.gov and look up those Republican proposals. But if you look at what the president has done, he's basically crippled the summit that's expected on Thursday by coming in with a re-run of the same failed bill that couldn't pass the House or Senate. And if you look at his new proposal, I don't see how in the world the American people will ever allow it to be passed. I would hope that the president would heed our call. Let's scrap the bill. Let's begin to work on common sense steps that will make our current system better. But if you look at one piece of the president's proposal yesterday, and that's the tax - or penalty, if you will - on employers who do not provide health insurance. Under the president's new proposal, it's $2,000 per employee if you don't provide health insurance to your employees. What that will do will cripple job creation in America at a time where the American people are asking ‘where are the jobs?' We can't make it more difficult for American employers to bring new employees onto their payroll. It's our intent to be there on Thursday. Eric and I sent a letter to Rahm Emanuel two weeks ago and we are waiting for a response and we are hopeful that we will receive one soon.