U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) says he is “extremely disappointed” with President Barack Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress. Price says the speech was more of the same. Price also says he is disappointed that the President does not appear to be taking any real action on lawsuit abuse. (:31)
By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service
House Republicans gathered on Tuesday to denounce the inclusion of publicly funded abortions in the proposed health care reform.
“If the President is serious about passing true health care reform… [he] needs to step up, clarify his position about whether he wants abortion to be included in his health care reform,” said Rep. Mary Fallin (R-Ok.)
The proposed health care reform legislation requires every American to have the right to benefit from a minimum health care coverage, which may include abortion unless Congress makes abortion a statutory exception.
Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Penn.) warned that “The issue here is clear – abortion is not explicitly excluded, it is implicitly included. The stakes are high and the implications incredibly far reaching.”
GOP leaders claim that allowing abortion to be funded by taxpayers may legitimize the procedure, which in turn could lead to an increase in abortion rates.
Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) noted the disrespect shown to pro-life Americans who, through this legislation, would indirectly fund abortion through taxation.
“Millions and millions of American women have profound moral qualms about the killing of unborn children by abortion, putting these American women in a position that violates their deeply held beliefs on abortion… [The legislation] will trespass their rights to refrain from funding an industry that they find to be destructive to our nation’s social and moral fabric,” Foxx said.
“Abortion, except in rare circumstances, is not heath care,” noted Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.)
By Joseph Russell- Talk Radio News Service
Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), who holds a medical degree, and Donald Palmisano of the Coalition to Protect Patients’ Rights warned that providing the American people with a federally funded health care option can ultimately prove risky.
“Solutions used by the government over the decades of Medicare and Medicaid increased the uninsured, escalate medical care costs, and drive the public government programs into insolvency,” said Palmisano during a discussion at the American Enterprise Institute Friday. “You can’t force a bad treatment using intimidation and ad hominem attacks against the only persons qualified to give medical care.”
Price said there are “three death nails for quality medicine: government option/public option, any mandate, and seceding the definition of quality to Washington.”
Price added that “affordability, access, quality, responsiveness, innovation, and choice,” are the six main principles of health care. According to Price, a government take-over will hurt these principles since the government will focus on costs and access to insurance but neglect the other significant concerns.
Price stated that the available data clearly shows this, but accused the Democrats and President Barack Obama of “refusing to face facts.”
U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) says that the health care reforms proposed by the House Democrats will undermine the U.S. health care system and the personal relationship between patients and their doctors. (0:21)
By Aaron Richardson-Talk Radio News Service
The Republican Study Committee (RSC) introduced the formation of the Sunset Caucus today. Rep Tom Price (R-Ga.), the Chairman of the Republican Study Committee described the Sunset Caucus as “A new inititive that will continue to bring sensibility to Washington spending.” The Sunset Caucus is made up of Republican House Representatives from across the U.S. including Kevin Brady (R-Texas) who is the co-chairman, and Bob Goodlatte (R-Va).
The members of the Sunset Caucus plan to review certain federal programs and end those deemed wasteful, inefficient, or dangerous. Goodlatte named one program he was anxious to cut.
“The visa lottery program was established in 1990 and awards approximately fifty-thousand permanent resident visas to foreign nationals each year. The State Department’s Inspector General has testified that this program poses a serious national security threat to the U.S,” said Goodlatte.
Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) spoke about against funds going towards the island nation of Palau.
“Our government pledged $200 million in development assistance to Palau. That comes to $12 million per individual detainee. That’s $200 million equals the annual college tuition for over 2,000 students,” Posey stated. “The new slogan for Palau will be: Come tan with the terrorists and pay low.”
For information about the RSC or the Sunset Caucus visit www.rsc.price.house.gov
By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service
The House Republicans announced their official, common-ground position on the health care reform debate today, rejecting bureaucratic participation in their decision-making process.
House Minority Leader John Boehner said the GOP wants “A system (where) everyone has access to coverage, and a system that people can afford, and a system that focuses on quality.”
In order to achieve this, Republicans believe that there should be no third party involvement, Boehner announced.
“We want to make sure that health care decisions remain between a patient and a physician, not a bureaucrat,” said Boehner.
The debate over health care reform has intensified since the election of President Barack Obama. Health care reform has been one of the primary concerns of his campaign.
Tom Price, Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, said that market forces and the competition were a better alternative than the public plan.
“If the government’s defining what qualifies as health insurance, that means that the bureaucrats are deciding what individuals are going to receive in their health package,” said Price.
Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz) said that “This idea of having choice for individuals actually helps bring down the costs because they know that in a year they might choice another plan”, referring to the advantages of Medicare’s Plan D.
Rep. Ginni Brown-Waite (R-Fla) said: “The health care insurance as we know it would cease to exist because the government would price its product less.”
Boehner called for the Democrats’ attention on cooperating for the reform, saying “ We continue to be here, we continue to reach out to you we want this to be a bipartisan effort but in order for it to be a bipartisan effort, you need to talk to us, but that isn’t happening”
Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) says that the Republicans demand that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) allow the US Congress to have a vote on comprehensive energy reform when they get back in session. He says the energy problem is not a Republican or Democrat issue, but an American issue (:29).
