NRSC Calls On Carnahan To Explain: Would You Vote For $2.5 Trillion Health Care Takeover?

Friday, 20 November 2009 14:31

As the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on a $2.5 trillion government-run health care plan Saturday, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) called on Democrat Senate candidate Robin Carnahan (D-MO) to tell Missourians whether or not she would vote to move this bill forward if she were elected to the United States Senate.

According to a recent report from the Associated Press, Carnhan said she "is both excited and concerned about House-passed legislation that would overhaul the nation's health care system. But Carnahan, who is Missouri's secretary of state, declined to specifically say Tuesday whether she supports the bill."

To watch Carnahan’s comments, visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcMH_70Tf9g

Late Wednesday evening, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) finally unveiled the massive, government-run health care bill that he and just two other Senators spent the last few weeks writing behind closed doors. The Senate is scheduled to vote on whether or not to move the legislation forward Saturday night at 8:00 p.m.

"As Robin Carnahan attempts to convince voters that she deserves a promotion to the U.S. Senate, her would-be constituents in Missouri deserve to know specifically where she stands on her fellow Democrats’ plan to radically overhaul one-sixth of our nation’s economy," said NRSC spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson Marchand.

"Carnahan needs to tell Missourians: If she were in the Senate today, would she stand with Democrats in Washington and support this costly and controversial government take-over of America’s health care system, or would she represent Missouri with an independent voice and oppose moving this bill forward?" Wilkerson Marchand concluded.

Key Facts About Harry Reid’s Government-Run Health Care Bill:

Total Number of Pages: 2,074

Spending: The actual cost of the bill is $2.5 trillion over 10 years of full implementation (2014 - 2023). The $894 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score disguises its true cost due to the fact that many of the major programs do not take effect until 2014.

Taxes Increases: Taxes will go up $493.6 billion - nearly half a trillion dollars.

Medicare Cuts: Medicare will be cut $464.6 billion - another half a trillion dollars.

Abortion: Reid’s bill permits the use of accounting gimmicks that will, for the first time, allow federal dollars to go to plans covering abortion. The bill does not include the House legislation’s Stupak amendment language, and as a result, the National Right to Life called Reid’s bill "completely unacceptable" and said it would "result in coverage of abortion on demand in two big new federal government programs."

Government Plan: The bill includes a government-run plan and provides states with the possibility of opting out of participating in that plan. According to CBO, the government run plan "would typically have premiums that were somewhat higher than the average premiums for the private plans in the exchanges."

Employer Mandate: The bill will impose $28 billion in new taxes on employers that do not provide government approved health plans. These new taxes will ultimately be paid by American workers in the form of reduced wages and lost jobs.