| Congressman Parker Griffith (Blue Dog, AL-05) released this statement regarding the health care bill just introduced in the House, emphasis mine: “I remain against this bill and plan to vote against it on the House floor. The 1,990-page, updated House version of health care reform was delivered to my office at 10:30 eastern time Thursday morning. As I began to read the bill, it became clear that a government-run public option would remain the foundation of the legislation’s aim. I was hopeful that we would see a new bill that aggressively tackled tort reform, addressed the growing problem of physician shortages in our nation hospitals, and did not include a public option. This did not happen, and I cannot support this bill. “Improving the best health care system in the world to include the 23 million Americans without access to affordable care is a worthy goal, but we cannot do it by adding trillions of dollars in debt to an already overburdened treasury. I am hopeful that a health care reform bill will come out of the House and Senate conference committee that both Democrats and Republicans can support.”
Republican talking points, as per usual from Griffith. The bill won't add a dime to the deficit. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the bill would cut the deficit by about $30 million in the first 10 years. [Emphasis added]
As for "government-run" programs, will Griffith be opposing Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' health care programs in the future? I hate to say it, but with rhetoric like this, I rather hope we don't get a bill Griffith can support -- it would probably be a giveaway to health insurers, providers and Big Pharma. |
