John Kline

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Kansas (Ms. Jenkins).

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, let me just say that what we have before us here is a true loss for American families seeking quality health care and American workers seeking quality jobs. It is remarkable that our colleagues believe 2,000-plus pages of more red tape, more power in the hands of the super bureaucrat, more taxes will do anything other than make health care more costly and more complicated and kill more jobs in this country. Why, when we have a 10.2 percent unemployment rate, the highest in a quarter century, would we ever want to pass legislation that will destroy millions of jobs? It defies logic. Why would we want to strip Medicare from the seniors who depend upon it? Why would we want to pile debt on our children and grandchildren? Why would we want to raise health care costs? Why would we want to raise taxes? I have yet to hear an answer to these questions. This bill is not health care reform. The American people deserve better than this. We can do better than this. Let's make the right decision. Stop this Big Government takeover of health care and return to the table for real reform. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Inglis).

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole).

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to another physician, the gentleman from Louisiana (Dr. Fleming).

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased at this time to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran).

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, can I inquire as to exactly the time remaining for each side.

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, at this time I'm very pleased to yield 1 minute to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Jordan).

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis).

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent). (Mr. DENT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished Republican leader, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner).

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, now I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt).

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith), the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to my colleague, the gentlewoman from my home State of Minnesota (Mrs. Bachmann).

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers), a member of the committee.

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this time I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson), a member of the committee.

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining on each side?

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 2 minutes to another physician, a member of the committee who is not only a doctor, but a small businessman, the gentleman from Tennessee (Dr. Roe). (Mr. ROE of Tennessee asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield 1 minute to a member of the committee, a practicing physician himself, the gentleman from Louisiana (Dr. Cassidy).

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, before I recognize the gentleman from California, I yield myself such time as I may consume. There has been quite a bit of discussion here about how this bill is going to help small businesses and reduce their taxes. I think it is no accident that business group after business group, small business after small business, large business after large business across this country is opposing this legislation. It is the businesses who are going to bear the first brunt of the taxes, bear the costs, and that is going to be relayed to lost jobs. For example, I have a whole list of organizations: the Associated Builders and Contractors; the Associated General Contractors; the International Franchise Association; the National Association of Manufacturers; the National Federation of Independent Businesses; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and on and on, oppose this bill because it does not help business. It puts a burden on them. Now I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my concern about the consequences and costs of the majority party's proposed government takeover of health care. Despite the lack of bipartisanship and the absence of the transparency promised by Speaker Pelosi, the House is poised to vote this week on a bill that will give control of one-sixth of our economy to the Federal Government. Sadly, the $1.3 trillion price tag is not the only cost of this risky proposal. The bill also saddles Americans with 111 new boards, offices, commissions and programs, all of which will be required to implement Speaker Pelosi's takeover. Further, this bill imposes hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes on small businesses, individuals who cannot afford health coverage, and employers who cannot afford to provide coverage that meets Federal bureaucrats' standards. Mr. Speaker, these costs are far too much to ask the American people to bear. It is time to press the reset button and come together to create a health care proposal that meets the needs of every American and saves our economy from additional burdens we cannot afford.

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my concern about the consequences of the majority party's proposed health reform to the members of our Greatest Generation. As my colleagues have stated over and over today, the bill under consideration in the House would pose a major threat to our senior citizens. I'm especially troubled by the legislation's consequences for the more than 10 million Americans who rely on Medicare Advantage for their health care coverage. In my home State of Minnesota, more than 230,000 senior citizens rely on Medicare Advantage. More than 17,000 of these men and women live in my district. And as their Representative, I simply cannot abide limiting their choices, let alone stripping them of their coverage completely. These are Minnesotans who, if they like their insurance, can't keep it. Mr. Speaker, we can do better. Let's push the reset button and start over in a bipartisan way to write legislation, not behind closed doors, but out in the open.

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my concern about the majority party's proposed government takeover of health care and its devastating consequences for small businesses across the Nation. Despite continued calls from me and my Republican colleagues for a bipartisan approach that expands access to affordable health care to all Americans, the majority party insists on engaging in closed door meetings that ignore the input of a significant proportion of Congress and the millions of constituents they represent. Among the most damaging elements of their proposal is a punitive new tax on small businesses that cannot afford to provide the coverage the Federal Government decides is acceptable. My Republican colleagues on the Education and Labor Committee offered numerous amendments to protect the small businesses that drive our economy from these and other burdensome mandates that threaten their viability, but our attempts were rejected. Madam Speaker, it is time to push the reset button on this flawed proposal. Members of all political persuasions need to start fresh and work in good faith to bring meaningful health care reform to our constituents and keep our small businesses thriving.

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota

Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. I yield myself such time as I may consume. This is a very worthy goal, and I applaud the gentleman's efforts in putting this amendment together. We should be doing things in all of our legislation that will strengthen the support that we provide for our men and women in uniform while they are in uniform, while they are overseas, when they come back, and when they take the uniform off. I applaud the gentleman and support the amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.