Senate Proceeding on Nov 6th, 2009 :: 0:56:15 to 1:04:05
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0:56:11 to 0:56:31( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: very, very soon, hopefully we can get it done before veterans day. with that, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. a senator: mr. president, i rise to business. the presiding officer: without

0:56:15 to 1:04:05( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Bob Corker

0:56:32 to 0:56:52( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: objection. mr. corker: thank you, mr. president. i want to be very brief. i know there are very few senators still here in the capitol. most people, as they should, have gone home to meet wit constituents. something i'm going to do a little bit later this afternoon. i realize there may be a very few staff members who may be listening. i realize the other body is

0:56:53 to 0:57:14( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: session and may likely -- may possibly take up the health care bill that all of us have been talking about for some time here on the floor. mr. president, i -- i want to make a point that i made a few days ago one mr time. -- one more time. earlier this week i woke up and early in the morning was thinking about the health care

0:57:15 to 0:57:35( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: legislation that is before this body or will be before this body very soon. it's been the focus of the country, if you will,ver the last several months. and i thought about the provisions that are the base building blocks that are in this piece of legislation. you've got a piece of

0:57:36 to 0:57:56( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: legislation that is taking medicare savings, $400 billion to $500 billion and using those -- quote -- "savings" to leverage a whole new time. not using those savings to take medicare and make it more solvent or to deal with the s.g.r. issue that so many physicians around this country

0:57:57 to 0:58:17( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: are concerned about. and, mr. president, i thought about the fact that -- that not long ago just a couple of years ago, and probably, mr. president, even when with you were doing the same thing that i was doing, and that is seeking this office, so many people were concerned about the unfunded liabilities that we had in medicare and social security there seemed to be a bipartisan

0:58:18 to 0:58:38( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: move to want to solve that problem for the long haul so that we knew that those particular entities would be dealt with in an appropriate way. so here we have a bill that is taking $400 billion to $500 billion in savings, depending on which draft, whether it's the house senate, and instead of making

0:58:39 to 0:58:59( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: medicare more solvent, something that has $38 trillion in unfunded liabilities, we in this body are using those savings to leverage -- to leverage a whole new program. secondly, we are using medicaid and basically creating huge unfunded mandates for our states

0:59:00 to 0:59:20( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: and i think all of us know that. in my own state we have a democratic governor who wants to see health care reform occur, as i do, mr. president. but he's very concerned in a state that he expects revenues to be at 2008 levels in 2013 and all of a sudden he has this unfunded mandate.

0:59:21 to 0:59:41( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: and then, thirdly, this bill, as we know, is going to raise insurance rates because of some of the provisions that we have in there wherensurance companies have to take all comers, but everyone doesn't really have to buy health insurance. in my own state -- in my own state it's a 60% increase projected over the next five years by an independent group.

0:59:42 to 1:00:04( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: this is not something that the insurance companies directly put together. an audit was put together to look at this. so, mr. president, i woke up the other day and i the thought, you know, if -- if i had drafted this bill, bob corker from tennessee, a republican, if any of the people on this

1:00:05 to 1:00:25( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: the aisle had drafted this bill, there wouldn't be one single democratic vote for this bill. i mean, if you look at those components, which are the basic building blocks of this bill -- this week as i've come up here to vote, i talk to a number of my friends, like you, mr. president, you're not one of the specific ones, i don't want to

1:00:26 to 1:00:47( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: throw you in this category, but you are one of my friends and i have a number of friends on the otherside of -- side of the aisle and we work together to co-sponsor legislation. as i rode the elevator last night, i talked to numbers of my friends on the other side of the aisle both on the

1:00:48 to 1:01:08( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: elevator walking here but on this floor, and i said, "you know, guys, if i had offered this bill or any republican had offered this bill that we're getting ready to debate on the floor, there wouldn't be a single democt vote for it." and that's not because of partisanship, by the way. it's because of what's in the bill itself.

1:01:09 to 1:01:29( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: almost to a person -- there were a few that said they agree. they said, you're right. if republicans offered a bill that took $400 billion to $500 billion in medicare savings and didn't apply ito making medicare more solvent but took that to leverage a whole new program, there would not be a single democratic sproet for

1:01:30 to 1:01:51( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: that bill. so -- democratic vote for that bill. so, mr. president, i understand we had a president of our party during the first two years that i was here. and i understand what happens when you're going to do one for the gipper, if you will. or you're going to do one for the president who needs this. but, mr. president, this is a

1:01:52 to 1:02:13( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: very important piece of legislation. i do not understand, i really don't, on something that is going to be really hard to undo, why so many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are supporting a piece of legislation that if they were left to their own accord and in

1:02:14 to 1:02:34( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: a vacuum didn't have the president, didn't have the i don't recall, didn't have the speaker of the house pushing this legislation, if it was just presend to you -- if you were at a town hall meeting and you never heard of this legislation before, and somebody said, "mr. president, would you support a bill that does this," i don't think there would be a

1:02:35 to 1:02:55( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: person on the other side of the aisle that would support this leslation. so, mr. president, as we move into this weekend -- and i know body isn't going to take it u i know the house is, and i hope there are a few house members listening, i hope that people will think about this and step back away from it.

1:02:56 to 1:03:18( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: i'm one of those republicans that wants to see responsible health care reform. i want to see us lower the cost of the delivery system which this bill, candidly, does not do. i want to see more americans have access, if not all, to affordable quality health care. this bill, we all know, takes us in a direction, there's no

1:03:19 to 1:03:41( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: question, but it's not the right direction. and i hope that we will together figure out a way to address health care reform in a way that will stand the test of time. this bill will not do that. and i know that i've already talked to many of the people i mentioned yesterday said we realize that we're going to

1:03:42 to 1:04:02( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: create lots of problems that are going to have to be dealt with down the road. but we just can' vote, we cannot v of legislation today. mr. president, i hope that this body will rise to the occasion, and i hope this body will put aside a piece of legislation that i don't think anybody feels great about. and i hope we'll come together and do something that's in the

1:04:03 to 1:04:05( Edit History Discussion )

Bob Corker: best interest of our country. i thank you for listening.