Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley
House passage of Senate health care reform bill
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Congress had an opportunity, and still does, to enact something the American people can get behind. But congressional leaders and the White House seem so focused on making history they’ve stopped actually listening to the American people. All the backroom deals, budget gimmicks and broken promises made it clear they’re willing to go to any length to pass this bill. This legislation will raise taxes by half a trillion dollars, it will cut Medicare by more than half a trillion dollars and not to strengthen Medicare but to fund the creation of a new and unsustainable entitlement program, and it will cause health insurance premiums to go up even more than they already are increasing. Rather than bring the country together around some common-sense reforms, this bill has driven the country further apart, at the very time we need to come together, especially for economic recovery efforts. Health care reform legislation can and should be done with broad-based support.