U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., commented today on President Obama’s proposed path forward for health care reform legislation, which will likely involve a legislative procedure known as reconciliation.
This procedure would allow the majority party to side-step minority rights in the Senate and pass legislation with a simple majority vote.
“Health care reform is far too important an issue to address without bipartisan support in Congress and the broad support of the American people,” Moran said. “It is wrong to pass an overhaul of our health system by using an arcane budget procedure created to balance the federal budget. Even Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who helped create the reconciliation process, has stated that this procedure was not intended for a policy change of this magnitude.
“Employing this ‘nuclear option’ for health care reform would undermine the system of checks and balances established by our Constitution. The Senate is set up as ‘America’s great deliberative body’ where minority rights temper the power of the Executive branch and bipartisan agreement is fostered.
“The President said today that he wants to give Americans more control over their health care decisions – but his plan would do just the opposite. It would take control out of their hands and give it to government bureaucrats, while increasing taxes and deficit spending. The majority of Americans oppose this plan, but the President and Democratic Congressional leaders appear determined to circumvent the normal legislative process by pushing their plan through Congress.”
Moran is Chairman of the House Rural Health Care Coalition and co-founder of the Congressional Community Pharmacy Coalition.
