Washington, D.C. —
Senator John Thune today released the following statement in anticipation of the 8:00 PM ET cloture vote tonight on the motion to proceed to the health care reform proposal unveiled by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday:
"The American people have asked for health care reform that will lower their health insurance premiums and make coverage available to people who are currently not covered. They did not ask for tax increases, insurance premium increases, cuts to Medicare, or a huge new entitlement program that will unquestionably add to our national debt, but that is what this legislation would do. This proposal is filled with budget gimmicks that hide the true cost of the bill, which would be $2.5 trillion when fully implemented over 10 years. South Dakotans and a growing number of Americans cannot afford this version of health care reform, and therefore I cannot support cloture on a measure that was crafted behind closed doors by the Democrat leader."
Senator Thune also spoke on the Senate floor earlier today. Video of his speech can be viewed below.
"The American people have asked for health care reform that will lower their health insurance premiums and make coverage available to people who are currently not covered. They did not ask for tax increases, insurance premium increases, cuts to Medicare, or a huge new entitlement program that will unquestionably add to our national debt, but that is what this legislation would do. This proposal is filled with budget gimmicks that hide the true cost of the bill, which would be $2.5 trillion when fully implemented over 10 years. South Dakotans and a growing number of Americans cannot afford this version of health care reform, and therefore I cannot support cloture on a measure that was crafted behind closed doors by the Democrat leader."
Senator Thune also spoke on the Senate floor earlier today. Video of his speech can be viewed below.
