HEALTH-CARE BILL SIGNED INTO LAW: President Obama signed historic health-care legislation shortly before noon on Tuesday, March 23, 2010.

More than Health Care is at Stake

In the final hours of debate on health-care reform legislation on Sunday, March 21, 2010, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn) gave a stirring one-minute pronouncement from the House floor. Below is an excerpt from Congresswoman Blackburn’s statements:

My colleagues are overjoyed that soon their goal of having Americans dependent on the federal government for mortgages, student loans, retirement, and health care will be realized. That is a chilling goal.

My colleagues cheer that this bill is paid for. They ignore the fact that it is our children who will pay for their greed.

My colleagues shame us for scaring the American people about the contents of this bill. We know the consequences of this bill will be frightening and horrible.

Freedom dies a little bit today. Unfortunately, some are celebrating….

Let’s review below just some of how — with the President’s signing of the Democrats’ health-care bill — “Freedom dies a little bit today.”

The Process

• Budgetary gimmicks were employed in order to give the appearance of a health-care bill that would be “deficit neutral.” Three major gimmicks: 1) Double-counting revenues; 2) Not including the “doctor fix“ by moving nearly a quarter-trillion dollars off the books; and 3) Perhaps the craftiest budgetary method employed — in order to keep the CBO’s preliminary cost estimate below $1 trillion — is in requiring Americans to begin paying taxes on health-care reform at least four years before it will be fully implemented. That is, taxes will begin in 2010 — full “benefits” will not take effect before 2014.
• Backroom deals were standard operating procedure: i.e., the “Cornhusker Kickback,” the “Louisiana Purchase” and the “Bismarck Bank Job” — to name just a few.
• House and Senate procedures were blatantly abused in order to pass the health-care bill. Through the misuse of the reconciliation procedure, the Senate arrogantly overruled the message sent by the people of Massachusetts who voted Scott Brown into Ted Kennedy’s seat as the forty-first vote, arguably to stop the passage of the disastrous health-care bill. Will the Senate’s reconciliation procedure now be their shameful and arrogant tactic for every piece of legislation the Democrats want to force upon the American people?
  

The Products

• In essence, your doctor will become a federal government employee.
• 30+ million new patients will be brought into the health-care system. A doctor shortage cannot be avoided. Longer lines and rationed care are inevitable. In addition, many doctors have expressed their intent to leave the health-care system in the face of unprecedented governmental regulations.
• 16 million people will be added to Medicaid, which already has low doctor participation due to inadequate doctor reimbursements. Additionally, states will incrementally bear the cost of the expanded Medicaid program.
• More than $500 billion will be cut from Medicare. All senior citizens should be concerned about the inevitable restrictions that will be placed on their care.
• Committees will be formed under the auspices of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish yet-to-be-determined regulations outlining how medical coverage will be applied — and denied.
• According to the Democrats’ health-care plan, insurance premiums will increase 10-13 percent. New taxes will also be imposed on insurance policies and products.
• Federally mandated taxes will increase by $500 billion over 10 years in order to pay for health-care entitlement. Get ready for taxes on almost everything imaginable. (Is a national European-style VAT — “value added tax” — or a national sales tax next?) Moreover, the new federal mandates to states will result in yet more taxation initiated by state governments, who — unlike the federal government — cannot print money to cover costs and must balance their budgets. Trickle-down taxation is the new unwanted prescription for the American people.

The Encroachments

• Student loans will be taken over by the federal government. Yes, the new “health-care” legislation takes over student loans! There will no longer be competition in the student-loan market. The government alone will set the interest rate and will use the student-loan program to fund health care. In addition, an estimated 30,000 jobs will be lost in the private student-loan industry.
• 12,000–16,000 IRS agents will be hired to enforce the federally mandated health-care program, much as the IRS was employed during Prohibition. More power granted to the IRS.

The Omissions

• There is no tort reform — changes in laws imposing civil liability — in this health-care legislation.
• Competition will not be implemented by allowing the purchase of insurance across state lines.
• Unions are conveniently exempted from a tax on “Cadillac” health plans until 2018 — if ever.

The Deceit

• Abortion: Taxpayers will fund abortions, based on the Senate’s version of the health-care bill. A presidential executive order restricting the federal funding of abortions is not law and cannot withstand legal challenge. Planned Parenthood, a leading abortion provider, will be one of the groups receiving millions of tax dollars as “community health centers.” Sadly and reprehensibly, our nation will continue to sanction — and eventually fund from taxpayer dollars — the murder of the innocent unborn.
• Despite being publicly blackballed by the Democrats and the President, pharmaceutical and health insurance companies reap near-term benefits as a result of this health-care legislation: 30+ million new customers. No wonder their stocks are rising.
• Mixing the good with the bad: The good components of this health-care legislation — such as eliminating pre-existing conditions, closing the Medicare Part D “doughnut hole” and allowing children to remain on their parents’ insurance policy till age 26 — do not negate the oppressive, overreaching and fiscally irresponsible mandates of this legislation. Apparently, true bipartisan health-care reform was never really what the Democrats had in mind. Their quest instead is for complete control over the American people’s lives.
  

The Question

In summary, the health-care bill signed into law on March 23, 2010 has forced a new government entitlement upon the American people — at a time when the existing entitlements (Medicare and Social Security) are themselves unfunded by over $100 trillion (see the U.S. Debt Clock).

Indeed, “Freedom dies a little bit today,” and the real question is:

Which is more important to the American people:“Free” handouts — or freedom?

Visit the Photo Gallery

The edited collection of 145 images is available for online viewing in the 03/20/10 Washington, DC Tea Party photo gallery. Just CLICK on the “Slideshow” link on the gallery’s menu bar, and then sit back and enjoy a view of the Tea Party movement that’s been denied by the mainstream media.

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