Pence Calls on President Obama to Start Over on Health Care

Pence Calls on President Obama to Start Over on Health Care

“What we ought to do is scrap this government takeover of health care…”

AUGUST 31, 2009

Washington, DC - U.S. Congressman Mike Pence, Chairman of the House Republican Conference, made the following remarks on the health care debate today on FOX's Live Desk:



(Excerpts below)

Rep. Mike Pence: I have seen in town hall meetings across Indiana, and I have three more scheduled, Republicans and some Democrats who had them have heard tremendous public concern about health care legislation that has been drafted in the House of Representatives.  It really is time, as Bob Dole says in the Washington Post today, to start over. They ought to scrap the bill that has been moving through the House of Representatives, that is nothing more than a government takeover of health care, paid for with $800 billion in higher taxes, and we ought to demand the President of the United States to bring forward his own bill.

I talked to Bob Dole this morning personally and he told me that when Ronald Reagan had a major legislative priority, the Reagan Administration wrote a bill, sent it to the Hill, and then started the process of negotiation. Here, Nancy Pelosi and Democrats have written this bill with liberal priorities and shut Republicans out of the consideration entirely, and the White House has been on the sidelines.

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FOX Host Trace Gallagher: You look at the CBO numbers, and the White House budget office numbers here, and do you think that the president is going to maintain this stance that this health care plan is going to be deficit neutral, because more and more as the numbers comes in, that is a very hard position to defend?

Rep. Pence: It really is, particularly, when you start to realize that where they are going to find these supposed savings are in cuts to Medicare.  They are actually talking, as House Republicans published today, they are talking about increasing the cost of prescription drugs for seniors under Medicare Part D of upwards to 20% in the coming years, to close that so-called ‘donut hole.'

This whole business is not going to be deficit neutral. We just got news that we are adding not $7 trillion to the national debt in the next decade, but we are adding $9 trillion to the national debt. What we ought to do is scrap this government takeover of health care, with its $800 billion in higher taxes, and we ought to say, ‘Mr. President, if this is your top priority, send us a bill and let's have a thorough going set of hearing, debates, and amendments in the Congress to consider it.

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Gallagher: I know you are in the House, but I want to get your thoughts on Harry Reid saying, we are going to give this a little time when we come back in the fall, because you know this is going to be the battle number one, and then we are just going to push this through; we are going to cram this through.  How much does that polarize members of Congress, members of the House and Senate, and how much does it hurt future bills if the Democrats say, you know what, we are going to take this ball and run with it?

Rep. Pence: It is pretty much standard operating procedure under this Democrat Congress. Unfortunately, they piledrived through a stimulus bill, they piledrived their budget, and they piledrived through their national energy tax. So it is really no surprise to many of us that they, as they attempted to do in July, that they might come back this fall and just try to piledrive health-care reform.

Senator Reid is leaving one person out of the equation: he is talking about Democrats and Republicans, but the American people have a different opinion here. They are expressing that at town halls meetings and public forums all over the United States. I expect they are going to continue to do that this week.  My guess is, as we say in the Hoosier state, ‘Senator Reid might have another think comin', if he thinks the American people are going to stand idly by while Democrats in the House and Senate push through a government takeover of health care.

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For additional information, contact:

The House Republican Conference Press Office at (202) 226-9000 or
Matt Lloyd (matt.lloyd@mail.house.gov)
Mary Vought (mary.vought@mail.house.gov)