Republican Weekly Address: Harry Reid's Nationalized Health Care Plan Is a National Disaster

Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) delivered the weekly Republican address about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s 2,074 page health care bill.
Democrats plan on ramming a vote on nationalized health care through the Senate at 8:00 PM EST tonight.

From the video: Sen. Crapo says, “This 2000-page bill will drive up the cost of health care insurance and medical care, not down, increase taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars, cut Medicare for senior citizens by hundreds of billions of dollars, grow the federal government by over $2.4 trillion in new spending, push the needy uninsured into a failing Medicaid system, impose a damaging unfunded mandate on our struggling states, leave millions of Americans uninsured, and establish a massive governmental intrusion into management of our health care economy.”

Here is the full transcript from Senator Crapo’s address:

“This is Senator Mike Crapo from Idaho. Americans are calling on Congress for health care reform because they can no longer tolerate its skyrocketing cost. They want us to stop the punishing increases in insurance premiums and health care costs that, year after year, are driving families across this nation to the edge. And, they want us to ensure that they have meaningful access to quality health care. But, when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid finally revealed the 2,074-page bill that has been crafted for weeks now behind closed doors, that’s hardly what we got.

“This two-thousand page bill will:

** Drive up the cost of health care insurance and medical care, not down;
** Increase taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars;
** Cut Medicare for senior citizens by hundreds of billions of dollars;
** Grow the federal government by over $2.4 trillion in new spending;
** Push the needy uninsured into a failing Medicaid system;
** Impose a damaging unfunded mandate on our struggling states;
** Leave millions of Americans uninsured; and
** Establish a massive governmental intrusion into management of our health care economy.

“This is not true health care reform, and it is not what the American people want. This bill will result in higher premiums and higher health care costs for Americans – period.

“At a time when we are experiencing record double-digit unemployment, the Reid bill raises taxes by nearly half a trillion dollars. A significant number of these provisions violate President Obama’s promise to the American people, namely that lower – and middle-class Americans would not see a tax increase under his proposals. And, yet, this bill clearly breaks that promise as it taxes a wide range of Americans: the uninsured and the insured; families with so-called high value insurance plans; employers who create jobs or provide retiree drug coverage; individuals who need medicines or medical devices; and many others. It also levies fines and penalties on individuals, families and businesses.

“Medicare faces cuts of nearly $500 billion to create the new government entitlement, even though Medicare is already facing enormous unfunded liabilities and looming insolvency. These cuts will reduce access to, and the quality of, care our seniors receive from a number of Medicare providers, including hospitals, nursing homes, home health and hospice services. And, as they see their access to and quality of care reduced, seniors enrolled in the popular Medicare Advantage plans will also lose many of the benefits that they enjoy today.

“We are already experiencing record deficits and debt, and yet, this bill creates a massive expansion of government, growing the size of the federal government by over $2.4 trillion over ten full years of implementation. When you take away the budget gimmicks used in the early years of the implementation that make the total cost look smaller, the truth is glaring and the Congressional Budget Office agrees: this plan will increase federal spending and health costs, not lower them. That means both you and the federal government will see costs go up.

“The legislation pushes 15 million people into the failing Medicaid system rather than giving them access to health insurance. And, in addition to forcing the neediest of the uninsured into a failing entitlement program, this expansion will result in $25 billion in unfunded Medicaid mandates on the states, which are already struggling financially. This mandate further jeopardizes state budgets as it forces them to drive up spending.

“The bill creates a government option insurance company and establishes unprecedented expansion of governmental control over health care. It establishes the government as the determiner of what kind of insurance Americans can purchase. It also imposes new federal mandates on all Americans. The first mandate would apply to the individual: buy insurance, or the IRS will collect a fine from you. Then, on employers: face a penalty if you don’t provide a government-approved health plan. The bill imposes $28 billion in new taxes on employers who don’t comply. Those new taxes would be passed along to employees in the form of reduced wages and lost jobs.

“You’re going to hear a lot about this bill. That’s why I encourage you to read the bill yourself and form your own opinion. This bill is available on my website as well as a number of other Internet sites. Take a close look at how the bill is funded and who and what it covers and doesn’t cover and how it may impact you and your family. It’s a real eye-opener!

“In recent months, I’ve heard from many Idahoans in my home state about health care, and they echo what Americans want in health care reform–lower costs and better quality. What Americans really want is the kind of step-by-step reforms that Republicans have been advocating for years — common-sense ideas like the ability to purchase insurance across state lines, allowing small businesses to pool together to offer more affordable health insurance to their employees; changing the incentives in our system from numbers of procedures to quality of outcomes; eliminating pre-existing condition limitations, equalizing the tax treatment of insurance; eliminating waste, fraud and abuse and promoting wellness and prevention programs that encourage people to make healthy choices. These are the kinds of reform that make sense and would really make a difference for all Americans. Thank you for listening.”

Please take time today to call your US Senator.
It only will take a minute.
** HERE IS THE PHONE LIST.
Don’t let the democrats destroy our health care system.

#2 November 21, 2009 at 11:35 am
non_dhimmie commented:

Coburn isn’t even going to read the bill on the floor. The GOP let America die today.

They couldn’t even put up a sham fight…had to get home to their mansions, cadillac insurance, and super duper retirement packages, and the American people can now have rationed health care. Less innovative medicines.

Greed and power won the day.
#4 November 21, 2009 at 11:38 am
blr2449 commented:

The 2 senators from MI are a joke. I sent a letter to Stabenow about one issue and got a letter back about something entirely different!! WTF??? They don’t even read them! I hate them all.

#5 November 21, 2009 at 11:51 am
Uriel commented:

they will do whatever they want to do…its about them and their hold on power, not about the American people. Just hearing about all the new taxes that will slam the American people and leave the poor always in the ‘poor’ never to rise up out of the hole, its dis-heartening.

not much to say about America anymore…
#6 November 21, 2009 at 12:00 pm
NotGivingUp commented:

Senator Landrieu just said she’ll vote to proceed. That $100 Million bribe for LA must’ve worked. Senator Lincoln is the only one left. Wonder what they bribed her with.
#7 November 21, 2009 at 12:01 pm
bg commented:

++

via TRBO

Hunt for 60

[POTUS has called a Jobs Summit at the White House for Thursday December 3. The next morning, Friday December 4, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, is the red line for health care reform and the 111th Congress.

Is it fate or is it a coincidence that Sarah Palin will be signing books at Fort Hood on Friday December 4 — in a media blackout as designed by the US Army for anxiety that her event will become a political circus.

Who is the 60th vote? It’s what happens
on December 4th that is the 60th vote.]

Glenn Beck Show November 19, 2009

Glenn Beck Show November 20, 2009

==
#8 November 21, 2009 at 12:02 pm
non_dhimmie commented:

They might as well do Cap and Trade tonight too.

I am sick of hearing all the baloney from both sides.

Their lives will not change, the middle class is now no more…..
#9 November 21, 2009 at 12:04 pm
non_dhimmie commented:

ACORN and SEIU and the corrupt media. We are now officially communists.
#10 November 21, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Derak commented:

How utterly convenient! It’s Saturday, and their office hours are 8-5pm Mon-Friday! Have a nice day! beeeeeep! (oh, no way to leave a message, either!

These people are criminals, not senators.
#11 November 21, 2009 at 12:16 pm
bg commented:

++

Obama Single Payer Strategy State Power

clip #4: Beck lists some of the taxes embedded
in the Senate version of the health care bill.

the reason for reform is to bring costs to the consumer down.. they are set to tax US & Insurance companies into oblivion.. how they can LIE with a straight face is not only despicable, but beyond all logic, reason, and plain old common sense..

==
#12 November 21, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Sandy commented:

Instead of dealing with the real problems Americans face Obama wants to force Healthcare down our throats because no one else has ever been able to pass it. However, recent history tells us that Lyndon Johnson signed a bill which gave Seniors Medicare and AA’s The Civil Rights Act–yet two years later he had to announce that he would not run for President again. Ok there was that thing about Vietnam. But the truth was that Lyndon Johnson came along after a popular President and he misread the American People.

Obama has the wrong style in much the same way as Lyndon Johnson. LBJ once remarked “I gave the people everything they wanted and they still hate me”. When you determine that you know more about what the people want than the people themselves–YOU WILL BE A ONE TERM PRESIDENT.
#13 November 21, 2009 at 12:47 pm
declineofanation commented:

In addition,they would like to get rid of health savings accounts which give individuals are able to (partially) control their choices.Just another way of government control over the individual- and the beginning of America’s decline.I have blogged about it here.
http://declineofanation.blogspot.com/2009/11/health-savings-accountsrip.html
#14 November 21, 2009 at 12:49 pm
myna commented:

Michelle Obama seems to be quiet lately. So does she think about the mandates that has been taking place..hmm? The democrats are lying to you. They will pass all the mandates they can imposed to contain cost.
#15 November 21, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Robert commented:

The taxes to pay for this will start immediately, while the program does not start costing for a few years. This is a trick to make the budget appear “neutral”. After the initial ten-year estimated budget timeframe passes, the program will start weighing down the national budget.

You will also have the tendency for public money to run up costs, as everyone tries to get their piece of the pie. How do you think medical costs inflated so much? Kinda like college educations did…

Finally, the budget depends on cutting costs to Medicare by $500 billion. Does anyone think that Congress is going to do that?

With a stagnant economy limiting revenue income for the government, we’re looking at large deficits on into the 2020′s.

To inifinity, and beyond.
#16 November 21, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Jim commented:

I have been calling McCaskill’s offices for the past two days, day and night, and only get a busy signal. I am calling multiple offices St Louis, KC, Springfield, Washinton, same thing at all places. She have the phones off thehook so she doesn’t have to hear from us little people???
#18 November 21, 2009 at 2:27 pm
myna commented:

Let not democrats make billions on this monstrosity. Democrats do not represent you. Look at the inner cities that they have been maintaining for the last 70 years. Vote OUT all your democrat representatives.
#19 November 21, 2009 at 2:35 pm
disgusted commented:

I feel like wearing an American flag pin with a black ribbon on it starting tomorrow.

This is so depressing.