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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><FONT color=#9a9a9a size=2 face=ArialMT><FONT
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<P align=left>REVIEW & OUTLOOK</P>
<P align=left>MARCH 4, 2010</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff size=7
face=Georgia><FONT color=#0000ff size=7 face=Georgia><FONT color=#0000ff size=7
face=Georgia>
<P align=left>Paul Ryan v. the President</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff
size=5 face=Georgia><FONT color=#0000ff size=5 face=Georgia><FONT color=#0000ff
size=5 face=Georgia>1</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><I><FONT color=#0000ff size=4
face=Georgia-Italic><FONT color=#0000ff size=4 face=Georgia-Italic><FONT
color=#0000ff size=4 face=Georgia-Italic>
<P align=left>The Republican dissects ObamaCare's real costs. Democrats stay
mute.</P></I></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#008140 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#008140 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#008140 size=4 face=ArialMT>
<P align=left>“Every argument has been made. Everything that there is to say
about health</P>
<P align=left>care has been said, and just about everybody has said it,"
</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4
size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>[President Obama</P>
<P align=left>yesterday urging Democrats to steamroll his plan through
Congress]. </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4
face=ArialMT>What</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><I><FONT color=#6666ff size=4
face=Arial-ItalicMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=Arial-ItalicMT><FONT
color=#6666ff size=4 face=Arial-ItalicMT>
<P align=left>hasn't </I></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4
face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4
face=ArialMT>been heard, however, is even a shred of White House honesty
about</P>
<P align=left>the true costs of ObamaCare, or its fiscal
consequences.</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4
face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4
face=ArialMT>
<P align=left>Nearby, we reprint </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4
face=ArialMT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4
face=ArialMT>Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan's remarks </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>at the health</P>
<P align=left>summit last week, which </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#6666ff
size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff
size=4 face=ArialMT>methodically dismantle the
falsehoods</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>—there
is no</P>
<P align=left>other way of putting it—</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#6666ff
size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff
size=4 face=ArialMT>that Mr. Obama has used to sell "reform" and</P>
<P align=left>repeated again yesterday. </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#666666
size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#666666 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#666666
size=4 face=ArialMT>No one in the political class has even tried to</P>
<P align=left>refute Mr. Ryan's arguments</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>, though he made them directly to the
President</P>
<P align=left>and his allies, no doubt </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#666666
size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#666666 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#666666
size=4 face=ArialMT>because they are irrefutable. </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>If Democrats are willing</P>
<P align=left>to ignore overwhelming public opposition to ObamaCare and pass it
anyway,</P>
<P align=left>then what's a trifling dispute over a couple of trillion
dollars?</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#ff6666 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4 face=ArialMT>
<P align=left>At his press conference yesterday</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>, Mr. </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#ff6666
size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#ff6666
size=4 face=ArialMT>Obama claimed that </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#6666ff
size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff
size=4 face=ArialMT>[1] </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4
face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4
face=ArialMT>"my</P>
<P align=left>proposal would bring down the cost of health care for
millions—families,</P>
<P align=left>businesses and the federal government." He said
</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff
size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT>[2]
</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4
size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>it is "fully paid
for" and</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT>
<P align=left>[3]</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4
face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4
face=ArialMT>"brings down our deficit by up to $1 trillion over the next two
decades."</P>
<P align=left>Never before has a vast new entitlement been sold on the basis of
fiscal</P>
<P align=left>responsibility, and </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#6666ff
size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff
size=4 face=ArialMT>one reason ObamaCare is so unpopular is that Americans</P>
<P align=left>understand the contradiction between untold new government
subsidies and</P>
<P align=left>claims of spending restraint. They know a Big Con when they hear
one.</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>
<P align=left>Mr. Obama's fiscal assertions are possible only because of
</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff
size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT>the fraudulent</P>
<P align=left>accounting and budget gimmicks that Democrats spent months
calibrating.</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4
face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4
face=ArialMT>
<P align=left>Readers can find the gory details in Mr. Ryan's pre-emptive
rebuttal nearby,</P>
<P align=left>though one of </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4
face=ArialMT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4
face=ArialMT>the most egregious deceptions is that the bill counts 10</P>
<P align=left>years of taxes but only six years of
spending.</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>
<P align=left>The real cost over a decade is about $2.3 trillion on paper, Mr.
Ryan</P>
<P align=left>estimates, and even that is a lowball estimate considering how
many</P>
<P align=left>people will flood to "free" health care and how many businesses
will be</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT size=1 face=Helvetica><FONT size=1
face=Helvetica>
<P align=left>1 </FONT></FONT><FONT color=#00009a size=2 face=Helvetica><FONT
color=#00009a size=2 face=Helvetica><FONT color=#00009a size=2
face=Helvetica>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704548604575097602436388116.html</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>
<P align=left>induced to drop coverage. Mr. Obama claimed yesterday that the
plan will</P>
<P align=left>cost "about $100 billion per year," but in fact the costs ramp up
each year</P>
<P align=left>the program exists. The far more likely deficits are $460 billion
over the first</P>
<P align=left>10 years, and $1.4 trillion over the next 10.</P>
<P align=left>What Mr. </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4
face=ArialMT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4
face=ArialMT>Ryan calls "probably the most cynical gimmick"
</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4
size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>deserves special</P>
<P align=left>attention, which is known in Washington as
</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#ff6666
size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4 face=ArialMT>the "doc fix."
</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff
size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT>Next month</P>
<P align=left>Medicare physician payments are scheduled to be cut by 22%
</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4
size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>and deeper</P>
<P align=left>thereafter, though Congress is sure to postpone the reductions as
it always</P>
<P align=left>does. </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4
face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4
face=ArialMT>Failing to account for this inevitability takes nearly a
quarter-trillion</P>
<P align=left>dollars off the ObamaCare books and by itself wipes out the
"savings" that</P>
<P align=left>the White House continues to take credit
for.</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>
<P align=left>Some in </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4
face=ArialMT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4
face=ArialMT>the liberal cheering section </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT
color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT>now claim that this Medicare ruse isn't</P>
<P align=left>Mr. Obama's problem because it was first promised by Republicans
and Bill</P>
<P align=left>Clinton in 1997</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4
face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4
face=ArialMT>. </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#666666 size=4
face=ArialMT><FONT color=#666666 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#666666 size=4
face=ArialMT>But then why did Democrats include the "doc fix" in all</P>
<P align=left>early versions of the bill to buy the support of the American
Medical</P>
<P align=left>Association, only to dump this pricey item later when hiding it
would make it</P>
<P align=left>easier to fake-reduce the deficit?</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT
color=#ff6666 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#ff6666 size=4 face=ArialMT>
<P align=left>The President was (miraculously) struck dumb by Mr. Ryan's
critique</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>, and
in</P>
<P align=left>his response drifted off into an irrelevant tangent about Medicare
Advantage,</P>
<P align=left>while California </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4
face=ArialMT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#ff6666 size=4
face=ArialMT>Democrat Xavier Becerra claimed "you essentially said you</P>
<P align=left>can't trust the Congressional Budget Office."
</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4
size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>But Mr. Ryan was
careful to</P>
<P align=left>note that he didn't doubt the professionalism of CBO, only the
truthfulness of</P>
<P align=left>the Democratic gimmicks that the budget gnomes are asked to
score.</P>
<P align=left>Yesterday Mr. Obama again invoked the "nonpartisan,
independent"</P>
<P align=left>authority of </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4
face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#6666ff size=4
face=ArialMT>CBO, which misses the reality that if you feed the agency</P>
<P align=left>phony premises, you are going to get phony results at the other
end.</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>
<P align=left>The President also claimed the reason his plan is in trouble, and
the reason</P>
<P align=left>Democrats must abuse the Senate's rules to ram this plan into law,
is that</P>
<P align=left>"many Republicans in Congress just have a fundamental
disagreement</P>
<P align=left>over whether we should have more or less oversight of
insurance</P>
<P align=left>companies." So most of Mr. Obama's first year in office has been
paralyzed</P>
<P align=left>over nothing more than minor regulatory hair-splitting. This is
so</P>
<P align=left>preposterous that the President can't possibly believe it.</P>
<P align=left>Congress's spring break begins on March 29, and Democratic leaders
plan</P>
<P align=left>on jamming this monster through Congress before then. Americans
have to</P>
<P align=left>hope that enough rank-and-file Democrats aren't as deaf to fiscal
honesty</P>
<P align=left>as this President.</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#9a9a9a
size=2 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#9a9a9a size=2 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#9a9a9a
size=2 face=ArialMT>
<P align=left>OPINION</P>
<P align=left>MARCH 4, 2010</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff size=7
face=Georgia><FONT color=#0000ff size=7 face=Georgia><FONT color=#0000ff size=7
face=Georgia>
<P align=left>Dissecting the Real Cost of ObamaCare</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT
color=#0000ff size=5 face=Georgia><FONT color=#0000ff size=5 face=Georgia><FONT
color=#0000ff size=5 face=Georgia>2</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><I><FONT
color=#0000ff size=4 face=Georgia-Italic><FONT color=#0000ff size=4
face=Georgia-Italic><FONT color=#0000ff size=4 face=Georgia-Italic>
<P align=left>The President's own chief Medicare actuary says the Senate and
House bills are</P>
<P align=left>bending the cost curve up.</P></I></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT
color=#9a9a9a face=ArialMT><FONT color=#9a9a9a face=ArialMT>
<P align=left>By PAUL D. RYAN</P></FONT></FONT><I><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4
face=Arial-ItalicMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=Arial-ItalicMT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=Arial-ItalicMT>
<P align=left>The following are remarks made by Congressman Paul Ryan of
Wisconsin,</P>
<P align=left>the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, about the
cost of</P>
<P align=left>the House and Senate health-care bills at President Obama's Blair
House</P>
<P align=left>summit on health care, Feb. 25:</P></I></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>
<P align=left>Look, we agree on the problem here. And the problem is health
inflation is</P>
<P align=left>driving us off of a fiscal cliff.</P>
<P align=left>Mr. President, you said health-care reform is budget reform.
You're right. We</P>
<P align=left>agree with that. Medicare, right now, has a $38 trillion unfunded
liability. That's</P>
<P align=left>$38 trillion in empty promises to my parents' generation, our
generation, our kids'</P>
<P align=left>generation. Medicaid's growing at 21 percent each year. It's
suffocating states'</P>
<P align=left>budgets. It's adding trillions in obligations that we have no
means to pay for...</P>
<P align=left>Now, you're right to frame the debate on cost and health
inflation. And in</P>
<P align=left>September, when you spoke to us in the well of the House, you
basically</P>
<P align=left>said—and I totally agree with this—I will not sign a plan that
adds one dime</P>
<P align=left>to our deficits either now or in the future.</P>
<P align=left>Since the Congressional Budget Office can't score your bill,
because it</P>
<P align=left>doesn't have sufficient detail, but it tracks very similar to the
Senate bill, I</P>
<P align=left>want to unpack the Senate score a little bit.</P>
<P align=left>And if you take a look at the CBO analysis—analysis from your
chief actuary</P>
<P align=left>—I think it's very revealing. This bill does not control costs.
This bill does not</P>
<P align=left>reduce deficits. Instead, this bill adds a new health-care
entitlement at a time</P>
<P align=left>when we have no idea how to pay for the entitlements we already
have.</P>
<P align=left>Now let me go through why I say that. The majority leader said the
bill</P>
<P align=left>scores as reducing the deficit $131 billion over the next 10
years. First, a</P>
<P align=left>little bit about CBO. I work with them every single day—very good
people,</P>
<P align=left>great professionals. They do their jobs well. But their job is to
score what is</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT size=1 face=Helvetica><FONT size=1
face=Helvetica>
<P align=left>2 </FONT></FONT><FONT color=#00009a size=2 face=Helvetica><FONT
color=#00009a size=2 face=Helvetica><FONT color=#00009a size=2
face=Helvetica>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703807904575097394068626652.html?</P>
<P align=left>mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion</P></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT><FONT
color=#b4b4b4 size=4 face=ArialMT>
<P align=left>placed in front of them. And what has been placed in front of them
is a bill</P>
<P align=left>that is full of gimmicks and smoke-and-mirrors.</P>
<P align=left>Now, what do I mean when I say that? Well, first off, the bill has
10 years of</P>
<P align=left>tax increases, about half a trillion dollars, with 10 years of
Medicare cuts,</P>
<P align=left>about half a trillion dollars, to pay for six years of
spending.</P>
<P align=left>Now, what's the true 10-year cost of this bill in 10 years? That's
$2.3 trillion.</P>
<P align=left>[The Senate bill] does [a] couple of other things. It takes $52
billion in</P>
<P align=left>higher Social Security tax revenues and counts them as offsets.
But that's</P>
<P align=left>really reserved for Social Security. So either we're
double-counting them or</P>
<P align=left>we don't intend on paying those Social Security benefits.</P>
<P align=left>It takes $72 billion and claims money from the CLASS Act. That's
the longterm</P>
<P align=left>care insurance program. It takes the money from premiums that
are</P>
<P align=left>designed for that benefit and instead counts them as offsets.</P>
<P align=left>The Senate Budget Committee chairman [Kent Conrad] said that this
is a</P>
<P align=left>Ponzi scheme that would make Bernie Madoff proud.</P>
<P align=left>Now, when you take a look at the Medicare cuts, what this bill
essentially</P>
<P align=left>does [is treat] Medicare like a piggy bank. It raids a half a
trillion dollars out</P>
<P align=left>of Medicare, not to shore up Medicare solvency, but to spend on
this new</P>
<P align=left>government program.</P>
<P align=left>...[A]ccording to the chief actuary of Medicare... as much as 20
percent of</P>
<P align=left>Medicare's providers will either go out of business or will have
to stop</P>
<P align=left>seeing Medicare beneficiaries. Millions of seniors... who have
chosen</P>
<P align=left>Medicare Advantage will lose the coverage that they now enjoy.</P>
<P align=left>You can't say that you're using this money to either extend
Medicare solvency</P>
<P align=left>and also offset the cost of this new program. That's double
counting.</P>
<P align=left>And so when you take a look at all of this; when you strip out the
double-counting</P>
<P align=left>and what I would call these gimmicks, the full 10-year cost of the
bill has a $460</P>
<P align=left>billion deficit. The second 10-year cost of this bill has a $1.4
trillion deficit.</P>
<P align=left>...[P]robably the most cynical gimmick in this bill is something
that we all</P>
<P align=left>probably agree on. We don't think we should cut doctors [annual
federal</P>
<P align=left>reimbursements] 21 percent next year. We've stopped those cuts
from</P>
<P align=left>occurring every year for the last seven years.</P>
<P align=left>We all call this, here in Washington, the doc fix. Well, the doc
fix, according</P>
<P align=left>to your numbers, costs $371 billion. It was in the first iteration
of all of these</P>
<P align=left>bills, but because it was a big price tag and it made the score
look bad,</P>
<P align=left>made it look like a deficit... that provision was taken out, and
it's been going</P>
<P align=left>on in stand-alone legislation. But ignoring these costs does not
remove</P>
<P align=left>them from the backs of taxpayers. Hiding spending does not
reduce</P>
<P align=left>spending. And so when you take a look at all of this, it just
doesn't add up.</P>
<P align=left>...I'll finish with the cost curve. Are we bending the cost curve
down or are</P>
<P align=left>we bending the cost curve up?</P>
<P align=left>Well, if you look at your own chief actuary at Medicare, we're
bending it up.</P>
<P align=left>He's claiming that we're going up $222 billion, adding more to
the</P>
<P align=left>unsustainable fiscal situation we have.</P>
<P align=left>And so, when you take a look at this, it's really deeper than the
deficits or</P>
<P align=left>the budget gimmicks or the actuarial analysis. There really is a
difference</P>
<P align=left>between us.</P>
<P align=left>...[W]e've been talking about how much we agree on different
issues, but</P>
<P align=left>there really is a difference between us. And it's basically this.
We don't think</P>
<P align=left>the government should be in control of all of this. We want people
to be in</P>
<P align=left>control. And that, at the end of the day, is the big
difference.</P>
<P align=left>Now, we've offered lots of ideas all last year, all this year.
Because we</P>
<P align=left>agree the status quo is unsustainable. It's got to get fixed.</P>
<P align=left>It's bankrupting families. It's bankrupting our government. It's
hurting</P>
<P align=left>families with pre-existing conditions. We all want to fix
this.</P>
<P align=left>But we don't think that this is the... the solution. And all of
the analysis we</P>
<P align=left>get proves that point.</P>
<P align=left>Now, I'll just simply say this.... [W]e are all representatives of
the American</P>
<P align=left>people. We all do town hall meetings. We all talk to our
constituents. And</P>
<P align=left>I've got to tell you, the American people are engaged. And if you
think they</P>
<P align=left>want a government takeover of health care, I would respectfully
submit</P>
<P align=left>you're not listening to them.</P>
<P align=left>So what we simply want to do is start over, work on a
clean-sheeted paper,</P>
<P align=left>move through these issues, step by step, and fix them, and bring
down</P>
<P>health-care costs and not raise them. And that's basically the
point.</P></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>