Congressman Mike Pence Opposes $200B Increase in Defecit

Dick Armey, Chris Dickson, Congressman Mike Pence

MIKE PENCE
RECLAIMING THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
AND
THE AMERICAN DREAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Daniel Son dson@mail.house.gov>  | 202-226-4379 (press)

Pence Opposes $200B Increase in Deficit

Calls on Congress to Reject Unfunded Health Care Spending

Washington, DC - U.S. Congressman Mike Pence gave the following speech
on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives today concerning H.R.
3961, the Pelosi "doc fix":

"Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 3961, which, rightly
understood, is just the latest deficit spending bill championed by my
Democrat colleagues here on Capitol Hill. It is, in a very real sense,
an addendum to the government takeover of healthcare that was just
rammed through this House just two short weeks ago with a price tag in
excess of $1.3 trillion.



"The President of the United States just said in China, 'If we keep
adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, people could
lose confidence in the U.S. economy.' Maybe it'd help if the President
said that in America, instead of China. Then, maybe his party would get
the message.



"Two days ago we learned the national debt just pushed past $12
trillion. That means every man, woman and child in this country bears
the burden of more than $38,000 in federal government debt. In October
alone, the deficit reached $176.4 billion dollars, and now comes one
more deficit spending bill to facilitate passage of a government
takeover of healthcare. Under the guise of helping doctors and seniors,
this one will cost taxpayers in future generations $200 billion. And it
all goes straight to deficits and debt. One analysis by the Heritage
Foundation estimates the cost of this bill over 75 years nearly $2
trillion, and Medicare premiums are estimated to increase by some $50
billion.



"It seems there's no level of spending and debt that Washington
Democrats aren't willing to pile on struggling families and future
generations. We are here today considering this latest deficit spending
bill because Democrat leaders refuse to address healthcare reform in a
fiscally responsible way. It is worth noting that this so-called 'doctor
fix' was a part of earlier versions of healthcare reform, but to
perpetrate the fiction that their government takeover of healthcare was
passed in a fiscally responsible way, we are doing this addendum to the
Pelosi healthcare bill.



"Truth is, the spending policies of this Congress and this
Administration are a fiscal time bomb being placed on the doorstep of
our children's future. We have a responsibility to put our fiscal house
in order, but sadly, there are those who would rather pursue an
ambitious liberal agenda, no matter what the cost, at the possible
expense of our children's posterity and prosperity.



"There is a Republican plan which we support; it'll fix the problem
we're trying to address over the next four years, it'll pay for the
bill, it'll lay the groundwork for meaningful healthcare reform, thereby
ending an era of defensive medicine.



"This is, I just hasten to repeat, this is just one more deficit
spending bill in an era when the American people are bone-weary of
runaway federal spending. Frankly, when Republicans were in control, we
did our share of deficit spending and the American people showed us the
door. What we have here in Washington, D.C., as evidenced today, is
runaway federal spending on steroids.



"You know, there's a rule back in Indiana, where I grew up, when you're
in a hole, stop digging. Today, we're going to dig the hole of the
deficit even deeper, and the American people deserve better. I urge my
colleagues to oppose this measure and support the Republican plan."