February 10, 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), a doctor and senior member of the Ways and Means Committee, issued the following statement as prepared for delivery at a hearing today on the Affordable Care Act and Medicare:“Thank you Mr. Chairman. I’d
like to note that today is February 10th. It was 100 days ago
today that Republicans regained the majority in the House, after campaigning
tirelessly that they alone, not the Democrats, had the right solutions to get
the economy back on track and create jobs.
“Since the election,
Republicans have had plenty of time to write their jobs plan. However, to date,
the number of attempts that my Republican colleagues have made at passing any
meaningful jobs creation initiatives has been zero, zilch, nothing, nada.
“House committees have been
part and parcel to the political theater that Republicans have orchestrated
since the start of this Congress. Today’s hearing is unfortunately not about
jobs or moving our economy forward.
“Unlike past hearings of
political theater, though, there is a real, underlying objective to this
hearing – to get the ball rolling on dismantling and ultimately destroying
Medicare.
“Republicans have always
hated Medicare.
“Harry Truman was the first
to propose a health care system for Americans and their families. It shouldn’t
be a surprise to anyone that Republicans labeled Truman’s proposal ‘socialized
medicine,’ taking advantage of the public’s fear of Russian communism.
“The Republican fear and
misinformation tactics worked back then. Truman’s proposal was ultimately
defeated.
“When Medicare finally passed
in 1965, more than half of the Republicans in Congress voted against the bill.
“While today’s hearings is
supposed to be about the new health care law’s impact on Medicare, it is really
about taking the first step towards advancing Rep. Paul Ryan’s ‘Roadmap for
America’s Future,’ which would transform the Medicare system into a voucher
program.
“It would kill Medicare as we
know it and force seniors to go out and shop around for health insurance with a
voucher.
“Do Republicans really think
that insurance companies are going to be jumping up and down to provide senior
citizens with health insurance?
“Let’s be serious. The
Republican Roadmap to dismantle and privatize Medicare is not the answer to
providing seniors with affordable, quality health care. The Republicans want to
force seniors to put more of their skin in the game when it comes to their
health care.
“To be clear, seniors are already spending a third of their income on health care – they can’t afford to put more skin in the game.
“So Dr. Berwick, I appreciate
you taking the time to come before this committee, but I apologize that your
testimony probably won’t matter to the Republican members of this Committee.
“They are intent on dumping
the Medicare system that millions of seniors rely on and forcing seniors to
fight for coverage from private insurance companies.”
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