Jack gives his reaction following the House’s vote on a massive government takeover of health care. Jack voted against the bill because it fails to address the underlying issues in our health care system, spends too much and places new taxes on small businesses and savings which will hurt job creation.
Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA) released the following statement after tonight’s passage of a government takeover of health care:
“The most significant legislation of our generation and it has been rushed through not on its merits but by using parliamentary tricks and special interest payoffs. If the bill was that good and full of true reform and lasting solutions, the debate would have been marked by transparency and bipartisanship.
“Health care is one-sixth of our economy but, more importantly, one of the most personal facets of our lives. Inserting government bureaucrats between doctors and patients is not the answer. With Social Security and Medicare going broke and America’s national debt at more than $12 trillion we’re now starting a new trillion dollar entitlement program – it’s irresponsible. And with 10% unemployment, we’re going to put a new tax on businesses whenever they hire somebody. This is a sad day for America.”
To listen to audio of Jack’s statement, click here.
I am about to walk to the floor to cast the final vote against the health care bill. Below are events that have happened in DC since my last update.
Last night – 5:00pm
Jean Shugart of Camden County came by my office after yesterday’s votes and the rally ended. We left the office and found Elizabeth Mancha of Chatham County and the other Georgia TEA Party members on Independence Avenue, outside of the Capitol. Steering them through the police barrier to the steps of the Capitol, we decided to take a Georgia group photo. After the photo, and under the watchful eye of the Capitol Hill police, we started discussing the parliamentary acrobatics that the “Slaughter House” rule entailed.As we talked, a crowd began to gather. Within a few minutes, the crowd had swelled to hundreds of people, and our talk turned into a speech.
I found myself addressing many frustrated Americans who had come to Washington to visit their Democrat Congressmen, only to find their doors shut. They welcomed the opportunity to sound off to a member of Congress. Before we knew it, an hour had gone by, and our crowd had increased to several thousand people.
Last night Congressman Kingston was speaking to a small group of people when pedestrians gradually stopped to listen. The crowd kept growing and soon hundreds of people where on the East steps of the Capitol.
In case you missed it, Jack spoke on the floor earlier today asking House Democrats why all the deals and backroom negotiations were necessary if their health care takeover is so good?
Jack mentioned the following sweetheart deals included in the bill:
The health care debate is as tense as any I’ve seen. I came to work at 7:00 am today to see if anything had happened overnight. There have been lots of arms twisted. One Democrat friend who sits on the Rules Committee told me they’ve been instructed not to allow a vote on one single Republican amendment. Let me repeat. He didn’t say they were instructed not to vote for any Republican amendment. He said they aren’t even going to allow one to come to the floor for a vote!! Yet this is the largest, most comprehensive government intrusion into the private sector and individual liberties since 1913, when we created the income tax!
At 9:00 am, we had a meeting in the Republican Whip’s office. Our troops remain unified and have been joined by many Democrats who don’t like the back room deals, the big government reach and worry about the overall impact of the bill.
At 9:30 am and 11:30 am, I held telephone town hall meetings with about 10,000 people from south Georgia. We called thousands of households based on a computerized random selection. That way we had people on all sides of the spectrum. I regret that I couldn’t get to all the questions because we were interrupted by a floor vote. (It wasn’t on health care, but on a Department of Interior issue). I heard from people who support the bill and those in opposition, a courtesy not allowed on the House floor!
At 1:00 pm, I spoke at the TEA Party rally on the Capitol lawn. At least 20,000 grassroots activists have come to Washington today to protest the high-handed manner in which the process has been perverted. Their energy level and enthusiasm is incredible. If not for their push back, this bill would have passed in August last year! Unlike so many pro ObamaCare groups, such as the Federal Employee Union, the TEA Party people pay for their own expenses out of their own savings. My hat is off to them. My office remains open and phone lines are manned for them and anyone else who wants to be heard.
At 2:00 pm we had a Republican Conference meeting strategizing and discussing the bill. As you know this bill was posted online only about 24 hours ago. Therefore, we’re seeing it for the first along with the American public. As our various House Committees read through the bill, we are appalled by some of the things we are seeing for the first time.
For example we just found out if you are a Veteran with TRICARE coverage your policy might not “qualify” under the bill. By “qualify”, I mean meet the minimum standards for health insurance which will be set by the new government oversight bureau. The Senate bill and now the subsequent reconciliation do not clarify that TRICARE coverage is sufficient, leaving it up to a Department of Treasury bureaucrat to decide whether or not our veterans’ health care qualifies or if they will have to purchase additional insurance.
The bill also includes a new unprecedented 3.8 percent tax on the “unearned income” of people who have adjusted gross income above $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for married couples. Unearned income includes interest, dividends, passive business income and capital gains.
At 3:00, because of Democrat Member defection and push back, the Speaker has had to abandon the “Slaughter House Rule”. This was the tricky parliamentary scheme that would have “deemed” the Senate version of the healthcare bill as passed by the House- without a House vote! Apparently the grassroots activism has made a difference!
At 3:30, the House has had its last votes for the day. We are now back in our offices and the Tea Party community are dispersed and knocking on the doors of undecided Members.
Meanwhile, the President has made his way to the Capitol to make yet another sales pitch to Members of Congress. He has been holding this meeting for almost two hours, which is really unusual- these pep rallies usually last around 15 minutes. The President has also made 64 individual appeals to Democrat Members this week alone. No telling how many back room deals have been cut that we don’t even know about!
At the time of this writing, I’m going back outside to talk to Georgians who have travelled throughout the night to be here. Tomorrow we reconvene- please keep praying!
House Democrats this morning jumped the gun and leaked the confidential - and unofficial - Congressional Budget Office (CBO) preliminary estimate of their health care overhaul. While they’re touting the numbers, House Budget Committee Republicans found a few numbers we thought you’d want to see.
According to their analysis of the CBO cost estimate, the bill:
In a separate analysis, Senate Budget Committee Republicans found that the bill:
To read the House report, click here. For the Senate report, click here.
To read the full text of the newly unveiled bill, click here.
House Democrats just released the latest version of their government takeover of medicine. If you would like to read it for yourself, click below:
The Associated Press reports this morning that the person charged with balancing the books in Massachusetts has a dire warning for Congress as a government takeover of health care is being debated: it could wipe out the economy.
From the article:
The Massachusetts treasurer said Tuesday that Congress will “threaten to wipe out the American economy within four years” if it adopts a health care overhaul modeled after the Bay State’s.
Treasurer Timothy Cahill — a former Democrat running as an independent for governor — said the 2006 law has succeeded only because of huge subsidies … from the federal government.
“Who, exactly, is going to bail out the federal government if this plan goes national?” He asked.
To read the full post, click here.
The AP took some time to fact check the President’s claims that health care premiums would decrease under President Obama’s plan and what it found may be interesting to you.
From the article:
Buyers, beware: President Barack Obama says his health care overhaul will lower premiums by double digits, but check the fine print.
Premiums are likely to keep going up even if the health care bill passes, experts say. If cost controls work as advertised, annual increases would level off with time. But don’t look for a rollback. Instead, the main reason premiums would be more affordable is that new government tax credits would help cover the cost for millions of people.
Specifically, it found that the President’s claim earlier this week that his plan would save employers $3,000 per worker was based on an outdated study of general ideals in Democrat proposals - not any piece of actual legislation. From the article:
An analysis by the Congressional Budget Office of earlier Senate legislation [on which the President’s plan is most closely based] suggested savings could be fairly modest.
It found that large employers would see premium savings of at most 3 percent compared with what their costs would have been without the legislation. That would be more like a few hundred dollars instead of several thousand.
In fact:
The budget office concluded that premiums for people buying their own coverage would go up by an average of 10 percent to 13 percent, compared with the levels they’d reach without the legislation.
To read the full article, click here.
If you’re so proud of the bill, why are you hiding it? That’s the question Congressman Jack asks as he speaks on the floor of the House. As Speaker Pelosi resorts to subverting the rules of the House to force through an unpopular government takeover of health care, Jack calls on fair-minded Democrats to join him in blocking the Speaker’s slash and burn tactics.
President Obama’s budget team came before the Appropriations Committee today for a hearing on the President’s record-setting budget. Jack used the chance to quiz Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Economic Advisor Christina Romer, and Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag on the President’s failed economic policies and out of control spending in Washington.
On the Effectiveness of the “Stimulus”:
“If you are telling me the stimulus program is good. I would suggest to you that more people have experienced Elvis sightings than have seen jobs created by the ‘stimulus’ program. If you guys think it’s working, I suggest you go out to Main Street America and talk to people.”
On the Road to Economic Recovery:
“The economy is showing signs of recovery despite the ‘stimulus program,’ despite irresponsible spending, despite misguided and excessive regulatory burdens. The private sector is recovering because of the business cycle. If we really want to help create jobs, we’ve got to get away from big business and big government solutions for everything. We need targeted regulatory and tax relief for small businesses and we need to help community banks, not the big boys on wall street who will always get their bail outs.”
On Out of Control Spending by Democrats in Congress:
“I want to talk a little bit about the deficit because I keep hearing how horrible everything was that this Administration inherited. From 1995 to 2007 the Republican Party – which spent too much money – Republican deficits accumulated to 1.2 trillion dollars and in 2009 the deficit alone was $1.4 trillion. Three years of Democrat majority rule in the house and you got a deficit bigger than 12 years accumulated. That’s not the end of it – you got another deficit this year projected of $1.6 trillion this year followed by $1.3 trillion the next year.”
In case you missed it, Jack appeared on Newsmax.TV to discuss the incredible pressure being put on House Democrats to pass Speaker Pelosi’s health care plan and the desperate need to rein in federal spending. To view the clip, click below: