Enzi: HELP Democrats’ Bill a Prescription for Failure

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) today slammed the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee's rubber stamp approval of a healthcare reform bill that nonpartisan experts at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) say will drive up health care costs, increase the national deficit by more than $1 trillion and force millions of Americans to lose the health care they have and like.

“Based on everything the President has promised and said he wanted in a health care reform bill, I don’t see how he could ever sign this bill. The HELP Democrats’ plan makes a mockery of the President’s promises,” said Enzi, Ranking Member of the HELP Committee. “The HELP Committee bill is a complete failure that would make our health care system even sicker than it is today. I support President Obama’s call for a bill that will bring down costs, let Americans who like the care they have keep it and not drive up the deficit, but this bill doesn’t achieve any of those goals,” said Enzi, the Senate’s only accountant.

Despite President Obama’s promise not to raise taxes on Americans earning less than $250,000 per year, the bill imposes new taxes on individuals without health insurance. The bill also includes new taxes and mandates on employers that CBO says will cause higher unemployment and lower wages.

“If you like your job, you should be able to keep it. It’s hard for me to believe that with unemployment nearing double digits, Democrats on the HELP Committee would even consider putting more jobs on the chopping block,” Enzi said.

The bill lays the groundwork for a government takeover of health care, creating a government-run health plan that many Americans would be forced onto, and giving Washington bureaucrats the power to ration health care.

“No Washington bureaucrat should be able to deny or delay your care,” Enzi said. “That’s not the kind of coverage Americans want for their families.

“If we can somehow stay on track in the Finance Committee, and not rush to meet an arbitrary deadline, I think there’s still a chance we can have a good, bipartisan bill. The American people won’t have confidence in a starkly partisan plan like the HELP Committee bill, and it will likely fail.”

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Prepared Closing Remarks of Senator Michael B. Enzi HELP Committee Health Care Reform