Voinovich on Lee Fisher's Politicizing Health Care

Statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-OH) has issued the following statement in response to Lee Fisher’s attempt to play political games when it comes to our nation’s health care debate:

“I am extremely disappointed that Lee Fisher is politicizing our nation’s health care debate.

“I believe we need a bipartisan solution to our nation’s health care crisis and am hopeful that a bipartisan solution can be reached in the Senate Finance Committee. Nancy Pelosi and other members of the Democratic leadership are attempting to steamroll a trillion dollar health care bill through Congress – a bill with which many in the Democratic Party have significant concerns. According to Douglas Elmendorf, Director of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the bills being debated will make our current budget situation worse – adding to our deficit and national debt. Our deficit is expected to be more than $2 trillion by the close of 2009, money that our children and grandchildren will have to pay off, and debt that is increasingly owned by foreign nations that do not have our country’s best interests at heart.

“Additionally, in some of the proposals, government health care is expanded through increasing the size of Medicaid. This has raised significant concerns with a number of governors. Lee should know that Ohio is having trouble just meeting the state match for Medicaid as it is.

“Lee ought to be encouraging the Democrats to find a solution to the long-term fiscal calamity we face. He should be joining President Obama’s call for the creation of a commission where “…everything is going to have to be on (the) table” when it comes to examining our tax and entitlement systems. My Securing America’s Future Economy (SAFE) Commission Act, which I have been pushing since 2006, will do exactly that. It is not too late to de-politicize the process, find long-term solutions, and put our nation on sound fiscal footing.”