Rep. La Tourette's remarks on tonight's passage of the health reform bill

U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette of Bainbridge Township, R-14th, tonight issued this statement after the vote on H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. The measure passed 220-215; LaTourette opposed the bill. His seven-county district includes all of Geauga, Ashtabula and Lake counties, and portions of Trumbull, Summit, Portage and Cuyahoga counties.

“Most, including myself, truly wanted transformational health care reform that reduced costs, took care of folks without insurance, made sure people with pre-existing conditions can get coverage and all have access to world class care. That's why I introduced my own bill, written by the doctors of this country, and am saddened that the Majority Party pushed through a bill that missed this opportunity to enact a political statement.

This massive, bloated bill is a job killer that’s paid for on the backs of seniors, small businesses and the middle class and will saddle our country and future generations with obscene debt. If you like the insurance you have, don't get too attached to it. If you like your current benefits and premiums, enjoy them while they last.

This bill is supposed to reform health care and help the uninsured, but it does so much more, and not in a good way. This bill is a grab bag of dozens of bills and pet proposals that have lingered unpassed. If you’re worried about the nutritional content of the bacon bits at the salad bar, this bill’s for you. The bill will require nutritional information to be displayed in chain restaurants, and on salad bars. If you’re losing sleep because you don’t know how many calories are in the Doritos in the vending machine, this bill’s for you. Labeling in vending machines is on its way.

If you’re an animal lover and you’re worried that your veterinarian can’t afford his student loans, this bill’s for you. It actually contains a provision that provides student loan forgiveness for, yes, veterinarians. The bill includes $283 million a year for this, and $100 million a year for combating Medicare fraud. The bill won’t let you buy insurance across state lines and does nothing to crack down on lawsuits, but it looks after those who will never treat a single sick human being, insured or not. The bill also has a provision to roll back tax breaks on biofuels, which have no place in a health care debate. Americans who will foot the bill for this budgetary train wreck deserve better. A staggering 5.5 million jobs could be lost if this becomes law.

This bill must be very close to perfection. A total of 216 amendments were offered to improve this bill, and only two were allowed. This bill has its priorities all wrong. It is filled with hollow, false promises, like you can keep your health care if you like it, and seniors will not be harmed. If the bill is such a winner, why are members of Congress not required to get their insurance through this plan? Health care reform is needed, but this is not the way to achieve it.”