| 00:00:00 | DEBATE. |
| 00:00:01 | AND THAT IS THAT DRAMATICALLY NOR EMPLOYERS MAY QUIT PROVIDING INSURANCE. |
| 00:00:08 | NEW COMPANIES THAT GET STARTED WON'T PROVIDE IT. |
| 00:00:11 | PEOPLE WILL BE ON THE EXCHANGES AND IT WILL COST FAR MORE THAN WHAT WAS EXPECTED. |
| 00:00:17 | THAT'S AN ENTIRELY NEW ISSUE, ASSUMING THE LOW NUMBER THAT THE C. |
| 00:00:24 | B.O. SAID WILL GO INTO THE EXCHANGES, JUST TAKING THE NUMBERS AS THEY ASSUME, LET ME POINT OUT WHAT SENATOR KYL SAID. |
| 00:00:34 | PRESIDENT OBAMA, AN EXACT QUOTE, TO THE JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS WHEN HE WAS PROMOTING THIS LEGISLATION, NOT SOME OFF-THE-CUFF FIGURE, SAID THIS: "NOW ADD IT ALL UP, AND THE PLAN THAT I'M PROPOSING WILL COST AROUND $900 BILLION OVER TEN YEARS. |
| 00:00:53 | " NOW THIS WAS A DELIVERED ATTEMPT, AS HAS BEEN SUGGESTED, TO MANIPULATE THE FIGURES BECAUSE THE TAXES STARTED RIGHT AWAY, BUT THE SPENDING WAS FOUR YEARS DELAYED ESSENTIALLY. |
| 00:01:07 | SO YOU ONLY HAVE SIX YEARS OF REALLY SPENDING UNDER THE PLAN. |
| 00:01:11 | AND IT ALSO EXCLUDED MANY OTHER PROVISIONS. |
| 00:01:14 | FOR EXAMPLE, THE BUREAUCRATIC IMPLEMENTATION COSTS WERE NOT COUNTED. |
| 00:01:19 | THE AMOUNT OF EFFORT, EVEN I. |
| 00:01:22 | R.S. PEOPLE THAT HAVE TO BE INVOLVED WAS NOT COUNTED. |
| 00:01:24 | NEW SPENDING TO CLOSE THE MEDICARE DOUGHNUT HOLE, WE DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY IN THE TWO OR 2003 WHEN WE PASSED THE -- THE MONEY IN 2002 OR 2003 TO FUND THAT MONEY. |
| 00:01:39 | NOW WE'VE NEVER BEEN IN WORSE SHAPE. |
| 00:01:41 | WE'RE BORROWING 40 CENTS OF EVERY DOLLAR WE SPEND, FAR WORSE THAN WE WERE. |
| 00:01:45 | NEXT YEAR WILL BE THE FIFTH CONSECUTIVE $1 TRILLION DEFICIT. |
| 00:01:51 | WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY. |
| 00:01:55 | NOW WE'RE SPENDING MORE ON THAT PROGRAM THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE. |
| 00:01:59 | A NEW EARLIER RETIREE PROGRAM. |
| 00:02:01 | ONCE YOU ADD UP ALL THE DIFFERENT PROVISIONS IN THE HEALTH CARE LAW, THE TOTAL GROSS SPENDING OVER THE ORIGINAL TEN YEARS, NOT WHEN ONLY SIX YEARS IS BEING PAID FOR, OVER TEN YEARS IS ACTUALLY $1. |
| 00:02:14 | 4 TRILLION. |
| 00:02:15 | THAT'S THE NUMBERS WE HAVE. |
| 00:02:17 | SO THIS WAS A MISREPRESENTATION. |
| 00:02:19 | THIS IS THROUGH, FROM 2009 THROUGH 2019, $1. |
| 00:02:24 | 4 TRILLION. |
| 00:02:25 | WHEN YOU ADD UP ALL THE COSTS OVER THE FIRST FULL TEN YEARS OF THIS HEALTH CARE BILL, IT WILL BE $2. |
| 00:02:33 | 6 TRILLION. |
| 00:02:34 | THE POINT IS THAT THE BILL IS NOT GOOD HEALTH POLICY. |
| 00:02:38 | THE AMERICAN PEOPLE OPPOSE IT OVERWHELMINGLY, AND ABSOLUTELY WE DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY. |
| 00:02:45 | WE'VE NEVER HAD A MORE SYSTEMIC DEBT THREAT TO AMERICA, AND IT'S JUST SO PAINFUL TO SEE THIS HAPPEN. |
| 00:02:52 | SO, SENATOR JOHNSON, THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENERGY, FOR THE COMMITMENT YOU BROUGHT TO THIS ISSUE. |
| 00:02:58 | YOU'VE SEEN IT FROM THE OTHER SIDE, THE REAL-WORLD SIDE, AND YOU'RE HELPING TO MOTIVATE US ALL TO EXPLAIN TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THE DANGERS OF THE BILL. |
| 00:03:08 | MR. JOHNSON: SENATOR SESSIONS, I WANT TO ASK YOU QUESTIONS. |
| 00:03:11 | WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS IN THE PAST. |
| 00:03:13 | PART OF MY GETTING HERE, I KNOW A |
Mr. SESSIONS. I think all of us need to be listening to this because it is something that was not sufficiently considered during the debate; that is, that dramatically more employers may quit providing insurance, new companies that get started will not provide it, people will be on the exchanges, and it will cost far more than was expected. That is an entirely new issue.
Assuming the low numbers the Congressional Budget Office said will go [Page: S1770] into the exchanges, just taking the numbers they assumed, let me point out what Senator Kyl said. President Obama, in an exact quote to the joint session of Congress when he was promoting this legislation, not some off-the-cuff figure, said this: Now, add it all up. And the plan I'm proposing will cost around $900 billion over 10 years-- This was a deliberate attempt, as has been suggested, to manipulate the figures because the taxes started right away, but the spending was 4 years delayed essentially, so we only have 6 years of spending under the plan. It also excluded many other provisions.
For example, the bureaucratic implementation costs were not counted. The amount of effort, even the IRS will have to hire people who have to be involved, and this was not counted. New spending to close the Medicare doughnut hole. We didn't have the money in 2002 or 2003 to fund that provision. We have never been in worse shape. We are borrowing 40 cents of every $1 we spend, far worse than we were. Next year will be the fifth consecutive $1 trillion deficit. We don't have the money. So now we are spending more on that program that we don't have, the new or early retiree program.
So once we add all the different provisions in the health care law, total gross spending over the original 10 years, when only 6 years is being paid for--over 10 years is actually 1.4 trillion. Those are the numbers we have. So this was a misrepresentation. This is from 2010 through 2019, 1.4 trillion. But when we add all the costs over the first full 10 years of this health care bill, it will be $2.6 trillion.
The point is, the bill is not good health policy. The American people oppose it overwhelmingly. Absolutely, we do not have the money. We have never had a more systemic death threat to America, and it is so painful to see this happen.
I thank Senator Johnson for his energy, for the commitment he has brought to this issue. He has seen it on the other side, the real-world side, and he is helping to motivate us all to explain to the American people the dangers of the bill.
