Boehner on Obama's Ohio Visit

Statement:

WASHINGTON, DC - House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement on President Obama’s visit to Ohio this afternoon:

“A top priority for families in Ohio and across the nation is lower health care costs. Despite what President Obama claims, the bill he is promoting today will make health care even more expensive. The House Democrats’ $1.6 trillion bill drives costs higher than ever, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, and adds nearly $240 billion more to our deficit. It raises costs for employers through a small business tax that will destroy jobs in Ohio and across the nation.

“Along with Speaker Pelosi’s national energy tax, it’s clear that Democrats are continuing to push policies that threaten job creation – exactly what families in Ohio can’t afford with 11.2 percent unemployment in our state. Ohio’s families and small businesses are asking ‘where are the jobs?’ after the Administration’s trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ spending bill did not create jobs immediately and hold unemployment below eight percent, as the Administration promised. Ohio families cannot afford for Congress to repeat the same mistake on health care that it made on the ‘stimulus.’

“The Democrats’ government takeover of health care also will diminish quality and reduce access to care. It puts government bureaucrats – not patients and doctors – in charge of personal medical decisions. It leads to the rationing and even denial of care. And it cuts Medicare, taking choices away from millions of seniors, including many in rural parts of our state.

“The Mayo Clinic put it best earlier this week, saying of the Democrats’ bill, ‘the proposed legislation misses the opportunity to help create higher quality, more affordable health care for patients.’ House Republicans have proposed a comprehensive plan to make health care more affordable and accessible for the American people, and we reached out to the President months ago to work on a bipartisan plan. President Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress should scrap their costly plan and start over with a bipartisan approach that reduces costs, increases access, and creates a climate for new jobs.”