• By Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson
• Originally published December 23, 2009 at 1:38 p.m., updated December 23, 2009 at 1:41 p.m.

As the year comes to a close, the American people have seen this Administration and Congress go on a massive spending spree that has sent our national debt skyrocketing and caused our employment rate to plummet. Now they want to put government in charge of our health care. Is it any wonder that a growing chorus of patients and doctors, seniors and hospitals, taxpayers and small businesses are rejecting the Democrats’ health bill?

At the beginning of the debate, President Obama made several promises about the bill. He pledged that any legislation would cost less than $900 billion. We now know that is false. He vowed that it wouldn’t add a dime to the deficit. Also false. He insisted that no one who likes their insurance program today would lose it. Again, false. He claimed that no one making less than $250,000 would see higher taxes. False.

It is an outrage that this bill will raise taxes in three weeks and continue for four years before the rest of the programs are implemented. That is why I authored a motion to send this bill back to committee and require that everything in it start together. If the programs don’t start until 2014, then the taxes should start then, too. Unfortunately, the Hutchison motion was tabled by the majority in the Senate.

Let’s walk through the taxes that are set to start in just a few weeks: $22 billion in taxes on prescription drug manufacturers; $19 billion in taxes on medical device manufacturers; $60 billion in taxes on insurance companies. And what comes in 2011, 2012, 2013?? You guessed it, more taxes!

In 2013, the taxes on high benefit plans, ($149 billion); limits on what can be deducted from income for medical expenses ($15 billion); and the new Medicare payroll tax impacting individuals who earn more than $200,000 and couples who earn more than $250,000 ($54 billion) take effect.

After years of taxes and increases in health insurance premiums, increases in the cost of prescription drugs and medical equipment, finally, in 2014, Americans then see the rest of the bill become law. But wait! With the rest of the bill also come the mandates and penalties - $28 billion in taxes on employers and $8 billion in taxes on individuals.

When Americans asked for reform, they wanted relief from rising costs. Unfortunately, they won’t get it under this bill. And that is why my motion was so important. If our motion had been enacted, no taxes would begin unless the American people are able to see something in return.

The time has come to bring Republicans back to the table. I am a champion of legislation that would provide a tax credit worth $2,000 per individual and $5,000 per family for the purchase of health insurance every year. Allowing small businesses to pool together to purchase health insurance would increase the size of the risk pool, lower premiums, and give employers more affordable options for their employees. Medical malpractice reform that curbs lawsuit abuse would lower costs by over $50 billion annually. Using the private sector– not Washington bureaucrats – to reduce costs and increase access is what the American people want and deserve.

It’s not too late to give it to them. The key is putting the newest budget-busting bill aside and enacting a true bipartisan agreement that accomplishes our goals in a fair, fiscally accountable way.

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