Tiahrt: Democrat’s vote to nationalize health care and send 5.5 million Americans to unemployment office

U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt issued the following statement after the Democrat majority in the House of Representatives voted 220-215 to pass H.R. 3962, Speaker Pelosi’s plan for a $1.2 trillion government takeover of the nation’s health-care system. The House-passed bill creates 118 new government bureaucracies and is estimated to eliminate an additional 5.5 million American jobs. The historic House vote comes one day after the Department of Labor announced more than 10 percent of the nation’s workforce is now out of a job.

“Speaker Pelosi just delivered an early Christmas gift to President Obama tonight at a cost of $1.2 trillion to taxpayers,” Tiahrt said. “The Democrat’s vote to nationalize our health-care system and send 5.5 million more Americans to the unemployment office comes during a time when more than 10 percent of workers are looking for jobs. Tonight Republicans again gave Democrats yet another opportunity to reject the nationalization of our health-care system envisioned by the president and instead choose a market-based plan that lowers health-care costs, allows Americans who like their health-care coverage to keep it, and puts patients first by ensuring medical decisions are made by patients and their doctors instead of a government worker in the Obama administration. It’s unfortunate but no longer surprising Speaker Pelosi and President Obama have again broken their word to give Republicans a place at the table on an issue of such importance.

“This is a historic moment — a moment where those who hold power in Washington showed just how callous they are to the pain and suffering of the American people. But Speaker Pelosi’s health-care proposals have never been about lowering the cost of healthcare or providing more access — they have always been about swelling the size of the federal government and controlling more of our decisions through a centralized health-care system.

“Should Speaker Pelosi’s bill become law, I will fight to repeal or defund it. We must instead work for conservative, market-driven reforms as outlined in our alternative bill. Only then will we do what is best for the future of our country.”