Eric Cantor

Mr. CANTOR

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, is it true that the Democrats' bill will add $210 billion to the deficit?

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, my prior inquiry asked: Would the Democrats' bill add $210 billion to the deficit, and I would say even the Blue Dogs know that the Democrat bill adds $210 billion to the deficit.

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CANTOR. Further parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. CANTOR. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, we have tried to do everything possible to pay for this doctor fix, and it seems that the majority just refuses to do the fiscally responsible thing. We just offered a proposal that was a fully paid doctor fix that provided our doctors with 2 percent updates for 4 years. The majority blocked this House from even voting on that proposal because they object to paying for the costs of the doctor fix. It seems that the rules that the majority is using prevent us from paying for this bill simply because, Mr. Speaker, the majority doesn't pay for this bill. Seeing that that is the case, one has to ask how perverse is that? Because the majority is okay with adding $250 billion to our debt, the Republicans are prevented under the rules from trying to be responsible and pay for those costs. Is this what passes for fiscal responsibility in the majority party, I ask? So now we are offering a second motion to recommit that attempts to address the deficit costs while living under the rules imposed on us by the majority. What does this motion do? Very simply, it recognizes that there is a fund already in existing law that has $22.3 billion in it that can be used to pay for the doctor fix. It further limits spending under this bill to that same amount, $22.3 billion. That is enough to provide the doctor payment updates for all of 2010 and most, if not all, of 2011 envisioned under the Democratic bill. So we've identified, Mr. Speaker, an amount of money that is available to pay for 2 years' worth of a doctor fix and limited this bill to 2 years. A vote for this motion to recommit is a vote to recognize that we ought to help our doctors, but we ought to do it in a fiscally responsible manner, and this motion shows us how to do it. I wish we could do more, but the rules imposed on us by the majority simply won't permit it. So now is the time to choose: Do we want to plan for a fiscally responsible doctor fix or $250 billion in new debt? Mr. Speaker, I ask this House to vote for fiscal responsibility. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia, Dr. Price.

Mr. CANTOR. In its current form, I am.

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. CANTOR

Mr. CANTOR. Madam Speaker, I respectfully request the attention of the House to pay recognition to an important day in the lives of Mr. and Mrs. A. Norman Bantz. On November 16, 2009, Norman and Gloria Bantz celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary. Norman was born on July 17, 1921, and his wife, Gloria, was born on November 16, 1922. The couple married on November 16, 1946 at Annunciation Church in Crestwood, New York. Over the years, Norman and Gloria have been blessed with 6 children, Alexandra Louise, Rita Marie, Ralph Fredrick, Margaret Elizabeth, Katherine Mary, and Peter James; 13 grandchildren, and 7 great grandchildren. On November 16, the couple along with their family and friends celebrated their anniversary at the home of their daughter. I would like to congratulate, Norman and Gloria, for reaching this important milestone in their lives. They are shining examples of love and dedication for us all, and I wish them and their family all the best at this important occasion.

Mr. CANTOR

Mr. CANTOR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 175th anniversary of St. Joseph's Villa in Richmond, Virginia. St. Joseph's Villa has been serving the Richmond community since 1834 when it was established by the Daughters of Charity as an orphanage. It is now a nonsectarian organization and is the oldest and largest operating children's nonprofit in metropolitan Richmond. Currently, the Villa works with more than 600 children and families on a daily basis. The mission of St. Joseph's Villa is to provide children with special needs, as well as their families, the opportunity to succeed through innovative and effective programs. To accomplish this mission, St. Joseph's Villa works with local school systems and parents to provide a variety of educational, residential and day programs to children and families dealing with autism, homelessness or physical and mental disabilities or other behaviors that classify the child as being ``at risk.'' These programs include, to name just a few, the Dooley School at St. Joseph's Villa, for middle- and high-school students with learning disabilities and behavioral issues, the Dooley Center for Alternative Education, for students who have been suspended or expelled from their local high school, and the Dooley School at Cherokee Road, an elementary-school program for students with a variety of learning disabilities. Each program contains both academic and behavioral components and their goal is to prepare the child for returning to his or her local school. St. Joseph's Villa employs more than 300 full and part-time employees who are integral in making this organization a success. The Villa is committed to staff-development, involvement, and effective teamwork that respect the individuals they serve. I commend them on the services they have rendered to the Richmond community over the years. Madam Speaker, I ask you to join me in recognizing St. Joseph's Villa as it celebrates its anniversary and wishing the students and staff the best in their future endeavors.

Mr. CANTOR

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, today brings the culmination of an extensive and spirited debate over health care reform. Both parties agree that the status quo is unacceptable. Obviously, we disagree on how to fix what is broken. And as the gentleman from New York just said, there are times in this body when we really can tell the difference between us Republicans and you Democrats, and this is certainly one of them. Mr. Speaker, the Democrat solution is a 1,990-page, trillion-dollar overhaul of the health care system we know, a sweeping new entitlement that raises taxes, cuts benefits to seniors and, Mr. Speaker, it spends over a trillion dollars that we don't have. Republicans believe there is a better way. We have proposed an alternative approach that offers a stark contrast to the majority's plan. It is a fiscally responsible and reasoned approach. The majority's proposal overturns the whole system. We keep what works and then try to fix what is wrong. Their bill puts the government between families and their doctors. Ours doesn't. Their plan cuts Medicare benefits to seniors. Ours retains them. Their proposal blows a hole in the deficit. Ours actually saves money. Their bill imposes penalties and mandates on our small businesses that cost jobs. Ours does not. Specifically, Mr. Speaker, our bill will help you access health care if you lose or change your job. And it will ensure that you have access to medical care if you have a preexisting condition. And we also, Mr. Speaker, deliver on something that the majority refuses to even talk about, and that's real, meaningful medical liability reform. And most importantly, Mr. Speaker, we produce cost savings for workers, families, and small businesses. The Congressional Budget Office says that the Democrats' new government-run system won't reduce costs. CBO says our legislation lowers health care costs. In fact, CBO says that the Republican plan cuts premiums by up to 10 percent for employees covered by small businesses, up to 8 percent for those not covered by employers, and up to 3 percent for employees covered by large businesses. Mr. Speaker, in the face of 10.2 percent unemployment, Americans want jobs. They want less government spending and more economic security. The majority's bill shows they have not listened. Ours shows we have. Interestingly, Mr. Speaker, the only bipartisanship on Capitol Hill today will be in opposition to Speaker Pelosi's trillion-dollar-plus government overhaul of America's health care system. With that, Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this substitute.

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Reichert).

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, any physician in America will tell you that the simplest way to reduce health care costs is to enact real medical liability reform. The fear of being sued by opportunistic trial lawyers is pervasive in the practice of medicine. Our system wastes billions on defensive medicine that should be going to patient care. That's why real medical liability reform is needed. In fact, CBO estimates that as much as $54 billion can be saved by the Federal Government alone. It is totally unacceptable that this money is being spent in the courtroom instead of the operating room. At the same time, the majority has promised the American people that their health care bill will lower costs, yet the bill before us today, Mr. Speaker, contains no medical liability reforms. And why not? The truth comes from one of the Democrats' own, no less than former DNC Chair and physician Howard Dean, who said last August, The reason that tort reform is not in the bill is because the people that wrote it did not want to take on the trial lawyers in addition to everybody else they were taking on, and that is the plain and simple truth. Mr. Speaker, the Republican motion to recommit adds real meaningful medical liability and reform and uses its $54 billion in savings to create a fund that will protect seniors, especially those in rural areas, from the steep cuts to Medicare in the Democrats' reform package. It gives Members the chance to prioritize the health of our Nation's seniors instead of lining the bank accounts of trial lawyers. It's time to get trial lawyers out of the clinics and the operating rooms and leave patient care to the people trained to handle it best-- our doctors. Mr. Speaker, to talk about this further, I now yield to the gentlewoman from Florida, Congresswoman Brown-Waite.

Mr. CANTOR. Yes, Mr. Speaker, in its current form.

Mr. CANTOR

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman.

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman. I would just like to ask the gentleman for a point of clarification, our Members can count on a vote on final passage on the health care bill on Saturday and, upon having done that, can anticipate being able to leave sometime Saturday night or Sunday? I yield.

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the majority leader, the gentleman from Maryland, so that he may inform the House on what to expect about this weekend's schedule.

Mr. CANTOR

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady from Florida. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of this resolution. More importantly, I stand to support the right of democracies to defend their citizens against terrorism. For years, without provocation, Hamas and other terrorists in Gaza launched thousands of deadly rockets at Israeli civilians. The attacks laid siege to entire swaths of Israelis. By last December, Israel said enough was enough. When it entered Gaza, Israel found a ruthless enemy hiding in civilian areas. Hamas committed blatant war crimes by using the Palestinian people as human shields. But the one-sided and biased Goldstone Commission isn't concerned with any of this. Its report equates a democracy's defensive strikes on armed targets with a terror group's deliberate efforts to kill and sacrifice innocent people. The Goldstone Report does not contribute to the ongoing peace process. The cases of Gaza and Lebanon show that every time Israel makes concessions of peace, it results in increased terrorism. Why would Israel agree to deal if it knows the international community will demonize it should it have to respond to terror?

Mr. CANTOR

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about the majority's move to overhaul our health care system this week. From what I can see, Mr. Speaker, the version of health care reform that this majority is bringing forward is a horrible, horrible step. The bill is something unseen before; it's a trillion-dollar attempt to overhaul the system we know with one that we don't. Mr. Speaker, the Republicans will stand united against this bill. Mr. Speaker, we will do so because, one, the American people have spoken out, and they see that this is an extreme attempt to try to address what's really wrong with our system, and it doesn't match what the mainstream commonsense American wants. Number two, Mr. Speaker, contrary to the suggestions on the other side, we do have a better way. We will be offering our Republican plan. That plan will reduce health care costs. It is well documented. The majority is unconcerned about reducing costs for the people who have insurance in this country.

Mr. CANTOR

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman. I would just point out, I'm sure as he knows, the law that perhaps he's referring to is riders on appropriations bills, and, as well, I think he is well aware that courts have indicated if there is silence on the issue of life and government funding of abortion, that necessarily goes against those who want to see the prohibition of the government funding of abortion, which is why it is so important that this House take up that issue. I would ask the gentleman, though, if the issues that I raised surrounding the government funding of abortion will be addressed, will those issues be addressed in the manager's amendment or will we expect to be able to address those in an amendment? I yield.

Mr. CANTOR

Mr. CANTOR. Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. CANTOR. In its current form, I am.