WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding the importance of getting it right on health care reform:

“The longer the debate over health care goes on, the clearer it becomes that the problem Democrats are having isn’t with some of the provisions we keep hearing about on the news. Their problem is the fundamental opposition of the American people to the core components of this bill.

“Americans oppose the Democrat plan because they know the final product is a colossal legislative mistake. Not only does this bill fail to achieve its primary goal of lowering the cost of health care. It makes matters worse by driving up premiums, raising taxes, and wrecking Medicare for seniors.

“This bill is fundamentally flawed. And the American people know it can’t be fixed. That’s why they’re asking us to stop and start over with the kind of common-sense, step-by-step reforms that will really address the cost problem.

“Fortunately, a growing number of Democrats are beginning to listen to the voices of the American people. And now they face a choice: they can either side with those who are making a call to history, or they can side with their constituents, who say that a vote for this bill would be a historic mistake.

“That’s what’s unfolding behind the scenes: As a handful of Democrat leaders press ahead in a blind rush of frantic deal-making to find 60 votes by Christmas, a handful of other Democrats are wondering which side they really want to be standing on when the dust settles: with those who are pushing them to support a bill they don’t really like. Or with the American people, who are imploring them not to do it.

“This is an important moment in the life of our nation. This is one of those moments when the free decisions of a handful of elected leaders are the only difference between America going down one road or another. History will be made either way. But in this case, as in many others from our history, Americans want history to show that a determined few took their side and triumphed over a powerful majority — a majority that clearly misread its mandate.”

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