Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) delivered the following remarks during debate on the Democrats’ government takeover of health care.

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Health care decisions that we make for ourselves and for our families are some of the most important and personal in our lives. As a physician, early in my career of caring for tens of thousands of patients, I recognized that there were more folks in Washington who affected what I could do for and with my patients than anybody I ever met in residency or in medical school, and that was wrong.

“Health care – taking care of people – is a moral endeavor and should be grounded in principle. And if the principles that we hold dear for health care are applied to this debate and to this bill, the picture is not pretty.

“Accessibility, being able to receive care. Affordability, being able to afford care. Quality, receiving the best care available. Responsiveness, having a system that works for patients. And innovation, being certain that we have the newest and the best treatments. And choices, patients being able to choose their physicians and how and where they're treated. All of these are harmed by this bill. All of these principles are violated. None of these principles are improved by the further intervention of the federal government. “So you see, Mr. Speaker, mostly this is bad for patients, for all Americans. The trust that is necessary between caregiver and care receiver, between patients and their doctors, to believe that your health is not being undermined by the system will be permanently eroded, permanently damaged. And it is that trust that is the foundation of the morality of health care.

“So this is a sad day, yes, because there are so many wonderful and positive and patient-centered solutions that could be enacted. You see, we trust patients and families. They trust government.

“As a physician, I know when patients and their families and their doctors are not allowed to decide what care they receive, we lose more than our health care system. We lose our morality. We lose our freedom.

“The positive vote, the patient-centered vote, the bipartisan vote on this bill is a ‘No.’”