Manzullo Supports Alternative GOP Bill that Will Reduce Health Care Costs for Americans, Cut Deficit $68 Billion
Congressman opposes Speaker Pelosi’s Government Takeover of Health Care
Washington,
Nov 7 -
Congressman Don Manzullo (R-IL) will vote later tonight against Speaker Pelosi’s $1.3 trillion job-killing government takeover of health care and instead support the Republican alternative bill that cuts health care costs and insures more Americans without cutting jobs, raising taxes, and threatening the health insurance of millions of Americans. He issued the following statement:
“I will vote for the 230-page Republican alternative to the massive 2,032 page Democrat bill. Our alternative is a common sense approach directly aimed at the problems Americans face with health care insurance. Our bill provides tools for small businesses to pool together, like corporations and labor unions, to form massive purchasing pools (Association Health Plans) to help lower the cost and availability of health insurance to Americans, including those with pre-existing illnesses. State high risk pools are enhanced so that those with pre existing illness have an additional source for insurance. Our bill restores common sense to the legal system with meaningful health liability reform to help lower insurance premiums for doctors, cut health care costs for Americans, and reduce the federal budget deficit by $54 billion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). When Republicans controlled the House, we passed Association Health Plans and medical liability reform, but both died in the Senate where 60 out of 100 votes are needed. Our bill also provides options for young adults to stay on their parents’ plans, and eliminates yearly or lifetime caps on insurance payments.
“Best of all, the Republican plan, according to the CBO, will save$68 billion, and reduce health care costs and insurance premiums by up to 10%, while the Pelosi-Democrat bill will cost $1.3 trillion and increase insurance premiums, as stated by the CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation.
“I could not in good conscience vote for the Pelosi-Democrat health care bill, which increases taxes by $766 billion, taken from badly needed capital for operations and loans for small businesses, and from taxes on medical equipment. It also cuts $500 billion from Medicare, which will hurt seniors. The Democrat bill creates 111 new bureaucracies, commissions, agencies, or offices, which will require the hiring of thousands of new bureaucrats, and dramatically hikes Medicaid expenses for states, already behind on meeting existing Medicaid cost. Americans will lose their choice of coverage by eventually being forced into a government run insurance scheme. And unbelievably, the Democrat bill not only contains no medical liability reform, but it actually incentivizes states to repeal their existing medical liability laws in exchange for money!”
(END)
