The President’s now-discredited pledge that Democrats’ costly government-takeover of the nation’s health care system would not add “one dime to our deficits” didn’t go over well with fiscal watchdogs, or the American people for that matter. Newspapers across America are also weighing in with editorials taking President Obama to task for being “at odds” with the facts by failing to come clean about just how fiscally reckless the Democrats’ health care plan is:

• “President Obama talked forcefully about cutting waste and promised repeatedly that he would not add to the deficit. …  He didn't say how that is possible, though. And the Congressional Budget Office has said that the Democrats' legislation would add $220 billion to the deficit over a decade. The president and Democratic leaders have argued that they don't have to count the $245 billion that it will cost to adjust Medicare reimbursement rates, but that is disingenuous. If the president wants to get the American people and skeptics in Congress to trust his plan, he can't play word games. Not adding a dime means not adding a dime.” – New Orleans Times-Picayune editorial, 9/13/09

• “Unfortunately, the president's proposals are still short on specifics and his pledge to not ‘add a dime’ to the deficit doesn’t hold up under even casual scrutiny” – Indianapolis Star editorial, 9/13/09

• “More disturbing was the president’s lack of specificity on how he hopes to pay for extending coverage to tens of millions of Americans -- while not adding a dime to the federal deficit. … We share the administration's belief that significant savings can be wrung from current budgets, but it is impossible to imagine them covering the lion's share of a $900 billion price tag.” – Cleveland Plain Dealer editorial, 9/13/09

• “More troubling, the president insists that his health reform efforts would not add ‘a dime’ to the deficit. But the claim is at odds with the very credible Congressional Budget Office which projects it adding $220 billion over the coming decade.” – Richmond (IN) Palladium-Item editorial, 9/14/09

• “The president insists that his plan won't expand the federal deficit, but that’s difficult to swallow. Nonpartisan number crunchers have estimated that under current proposals, the deficit would explode.” – Dallas Morning News editorial, 9/11/09

• “Mr. Obama says he won’t add one dime to the deficit, but a lot of dimes remain unaccounted for. When politicians … don’t provide specifics – and when the amounts under discussion are in the hundreds of billions of dollars – you should get even more nervous.  …Mr. Obama was vague about where the money would come from, and administration officials have since declined to provide specifics.” – Washington Post editorial, 9/13/09

• “From the folks who brought us a $10 trillion deficit over the next decade, that’s hard to swallow. The White House has assured us the public option would be funded by premiums. So, it's hard to know what he means by savings or spending cuts.” – Investor’s Business Daily editorial, 9/11/09

• “Mr. Obama continued to insist Wednesday that his approach will not result in higher deficits, vowing again to veto any bill which would have that effect. But the Congressional Budget Office says Mr. Obama’s plan will cost a fortune.” – Las Vegas Review Journal editorial, 9/11/09

The President’s talking points are falling on deaf ears because the American people are fed up with the endless spending and big government scheming going on in Washington. House Republicans are offering better solutions to make quality health care more affordable and accessible for every American. These common-sense reforms will fix what’s broken without breaking what works.

REPUBLICAN LEADER PRESS OFFICE
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH)
H-204, THE CAPITOL
(202) 225-4000 | GOPLEADER.GOV