Burgess Reacts To President Obama's Speech On The Way Forward With Health Reform
Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas), Chairman of the Congressional Health Care Caucus, released the following statement reacting to President Obama's speech today on health care reform:
"Unfortunately, President Obama seems determined to force through Congress in the next few weeks his idea of health care reform, disregarding the wants and needs of the American people who are telling him to slow down and start over. Republicans and the majority of Americans saying ‘let’s start over’ aren’t asking for another year of debate. We are asking President Obama and Democratic leadership to abandon their two thousand-page, trillion dollar Washington takeover, and instead move forward with several smaller bills that would enact the bipartisan reforms Americans support and know will make an impact.
"There are several areas where Republicans and Democrats agree on health reform – but I will not support a plan that takes half a trillion dollars from Medicare to create a new entitlement, raises taxes, increases health insurance premiums for many Americans, and adds millions more to the rolls of the failing Medicaid program. And offering to include on top of the huge Democratic bills four apparent Republican ideas – including ‘tort reform’ in the form of grants to states for studies – does not make a bill bipartisan. And it fails to heed the wishes of the American people to scrap the current bills and start over.
"Republicans committed to making meaningful and common-sense changes to our nation’s health care system, like myself, stand ready to pass bills that would benefit patients, help doctors do their jobs, and lower costs for all Americans. Passing their health care reform bill, which would affect one-sixth of the American economy, with no Republican votes and scant public support is absolutely the wrong path for Washington Democrats to take. President Obama’s plan, which includes using reconciliation in the Senate to jam through Democrats’ unpopular health care reform bill, is bad for the health of our nation, bad for the economy, and bad for the American people."
Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D., is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and a member of the Health and Energy & Environment subcommittees. He is also a member of the bipartisan, bicameral Joint Economic Committee. Prior to becoming a member of Congress in 2002, Congressman Burgess practiced medicine in North Texas for over 25 years.
