Barrasso: Do Not Pass This Bill

Press Release

U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) made the following remarks on the Senate floor Thursday regarding the Reid healthcare bill:

"As a physician practicing medicine and taking care of people in Wyoming for 25 years, I have great concerns about this bill or at least what we know for sure is in it, which is $500 billion of cuts in Medicare to our patients who depend on Medicare, and that's a system we know to have gone broke.

"That's why there's a front page story in one of the Wyoming papers, "Doctor Shortage Will Worsen.' It will be harder for rural communities around the country if this goes through.

"We know that because folks who looked at the parts of what we have seen, they said that one-fifth of the hospitals if they're able to keep their doors open will operate at a significant loss 10 years from now.

"Let us go home and see it and share it. Right now the American people are--from what they have seen of the 2,000-page bill--the American people believe this will increase the cost of their own personal care.

"The support right now of the American people for this bill is at an all-time low, the lowest level of support ever. This is the new NBC poll out yesterday, fewer than one out of three Americans support this bill.

"They don't know what's in it but they sure don't like what they see so far because they all believe, overwhelming numbers, believe their own cost of their own care will go up, that this will add to the deficit, will hurt the economy and that their health care would actually be better if we pass nothing.

"So why would the American people support a bill that's actually going to cost them more personally and their health care is going to get worse?

"That's not the value the American people have ever wanted.

"So, you know, that's what I hear from my patients at home.

"That's what I hear at telephone town hall meetings. That's what we're hearing in all of our states.

"That's what the American people continue to say: do not pass this bill. As our leader said, we do need health care reform.

"The American people are saying, don't cut my Medicare, don't raise my taxes, and don't make things worse than they are right now.

"And this bill cuts Medicare, raises taxes, and for people depending upon a health care system in this country, this makes things worse."

Source