July 30, 2009 | House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) | Permalink In
a press briefing today, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH)
highlighted the American people’s growing opposition to the government
takeover of health care proposed by Washington Democrats, and reminded
families and small businesses that “the era of big government is back,
and Democrats expect you to pay for it.” During the press conference,
Boehner noted that none of the Democratic committee chairs who drafted
the government-run health care legislation – nor the President, for
that matter – have spent considerable time in the private sector, which
explains why they crafted a bill that destroys small business jobs and
raises health care costs thanks to a small business tax and harsh
employer mandates. Boehner pointed out that, rather than encouraging
employers to offer quality care to their employees, the Democrats’ plan
instead makes government even bigger and health care more expensive –
exactly what Americans do not support. Fox News reports: | “Throwing
the current system under the bus and replacing it with this giant
government bureaucracy is not what I want, it’s not what the American
people want.” “We can make the current system work better for
more Americans at lower cost. But that has to be the focus not – not
having 53 new agencies, boards, commissions, and programs, as we see
outlined in their bill.” |  CLICK TO PLAY Following are other key excerpts and audio from Boehner’s news conference today: BOEHNER SAYS DEMS DEFENDING THEIR GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF HEALTH CARE WILL HAVE A “VERY, VERY HOT SUMMER”: “The
American people don’t want the government involved in delivering their
health care. They want real reforms that drive down the cost for
themselves and their families. And Democrats appear ready to leave
town for the August recess with a so-called deal in hand. I think it’s
safe to say that, over the August recess, as more Americans learn more
about their plan, they’re likely to have a very, very hot summer.” (AUDIO) BOEHNER HIGHLIGHTS AMERICANS’ OPPOSITION TO DEMS’ HEALTH CARE BILL, WHICH OFFERS NO REFORMS TO LOWER COSTS: “It’s
pretty clear that the more Americans hear about the President’s health
care plan, the less that they like it. And a new NPR poll that was out
yesterday show more – shows that more Americans oppose the plan than
support it. A new Gallup poll that’s out today also indicates that the
more Americans hear about it, the less support that it has. And a
majority of Americans are opposed to their plan. You know, higher
health care costs are the key issue for most Americans. They like the
health care coverage they have, but they want lower cost, and they
don’t want to expand government, and there’s nothing – nothing – in the
Democrat proposal that will reduce costs of health insurance for the
average American.” (AUDIO) BOEHNER
NOTES THAT NONE OF THE DEMOCRATIC CHAIRMEN WHO WROTE GOVERNMENT-RUN
HEALTH CARE LEGISLATION HAVE ANY PRIVATE SECTOR EXPERIENCE: “None
of the committee chairmen that are writing this bill have any
private-sector experience or, for that matter, neither – neither does
the President. They’ve never met a payroll that wasn’t provided by the
taxpayer. They’ve never negotiated a package – a benefits package or
health care package with their employees, nor have they ever had to
make a decision about whether to hire an employee or how to handle an
increase in insurance premiums. And so the bill that they’re writing,
I think, reflects that. It’s going to raise costs of doing business
for smaller firms, forcing them to make some really tough decisions,
like cutting jobs or cutting benefits. And I think the deal cut by
some of the Blue Dogs really doesn’t make it any better. It still
includes a job-killing small business tax and a health care mandate for
those small businesses. It still cuts Medicare and choices for
seniors. And it still puts a government czar in charge of personal
medical decisions that only patients and their doctors ought to be
making. In short, it's the same government-run plan that Democrats
have been trying to ram down the American people's throats all year.” (AUDIO) BOEHNER REMINDS AMERICANS THAT “ERA OF BIG GOVERNMENT IS BACK, AND DEMOCRATS EXPECT YOU TO PAY FOR IT”: “In
February, I said that the era of big government is back, and Democrats
expect you to pay for it. Well, that’s exactly what’s happened this
year. And if we look at what has happened, you know, they passed a
trillion-dollar stimulus plan that no one read, and it’s not created
the jobs that Democrats said that it would. As a matter of fact, we’ve
lost some three million jobs this year already. In the House, they
passed a national energy tax that’s going to kill jobs by driving up
cost for families and small businesses. And now, on the way out of
town for the August break, they’re cutting deals on a government
takeover of health care that will raise costs, drive up the deficits,
and destroy jobs in America.” (AUDIO) |
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