Orrin's Blog

The following originally appeared as an op-ed in the Deseret News. -Staff

We, as a nation, are standing at historic crossroads. Despite growing opposition from the American people, the Democratic majority continues their brazen efforts to jam through a 2,074-page edict before Christmas day that will impact every American life and every American business. The most disturbing part of this exercise is that it is a bill that is yet to be seen in its entirety. Major sections of this bill are nothing more than amorphous policies that continuously shape-shift behind closed doors in the Capitol in an effort to buy 60 votes.

We have all heard a lot of speeches over the past few weeks. I want to take this opportunity to lay out some cold, hard numbers about this bill and the reality we are facing as a nation for all my fellow Utahns.

• 0 the number of government-run entitlement programs that are financially sound over the long-term.
• 10 percent our national unemployment rate, the highest in 26 years.
• 1,697 times the Secretary of Health and Human Services is given authority to determine or define provisions in this bill.
• 2010 the year Americans start paying higher taxes to pay for this bill.
• 2014 the year when most of the major provisions of this bill actually start.
• 2,074 total pages in this bill.
• $8 billion the total amount of new taxes levied on Americans who do not buy Washington-defined health care, which I strongly believe to be unconstitutional.
• $234 billion the total increase in national health care over-spending from this bill according to the administration's own actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
• $465 billion total cuts from a bankrupt Medicare program to finance more government spending.
• $494 billion total amount of new taxes in this bill.
• $2.5 trillion the real 10-year cost of the bill over and beyond the present $2.2 trillion a year.
• $12.1 trillion our total national debt.
• $38 trillion total long-term unfunded liabilities faced by the insolvent Medicare program.

As I have said all year long, ensuring access to affordable and quality care for Americans is not a Republican or Democrat issue, it is an American issue. Unfortunately, the majority's arrogance has forced us down a path where ideology has triumphed policy and big government has trumped American families.

Town hall after town hall and poll after poll are telling us that Americans want us to step back, start over and do it step-by-step in a fiscally responsible manner. This is a moment for courage and leadership. All we need is one Democrat to listen to a growing chorus of concerns from Americans across the nation and stand up against this bill. I am going to do everything possible to make sure that the voices of Utahns and Americans everywhere are heard loud and clear in the Senate chamber.

A vote to move this bill forward will be one of the most important votes this body has ever taken or will take. It is a vote that is bigger than our parties or our ideologies, a vote that will fundamentally change the American landscape for generations to come and restructure one-sixth of our economy, and a vote that will determine if we will give our future generations the same opportunities and the same sense of pride that has been our privilege. History and our future generations will judge us on this.

Despite the harsh realities of skyrocketing deficits and an exploding national debt, the majority's insatiable appetite to spend has not changed. This past weekend, at a time when we are already debating a $2.5 trillion tax-and-spend Washington takeover of our health care system, the Democrats jammed through a $1.1 trillion appropriations bill with a 12 percent year-over-year increase. The Democrats also want to raise our nation's debt limit by almost $2 trillion to accommodate their out-of-control spending habits.

Enough is enough. The time for courage is now.