McCarthy: we are mortgaging the future of our children

 The weekly update from Bakersfield Rep. Kevin McCarthy after a momentous week in Washington.

 "Being stuck in Washington for two straight weeks only fuels the realization that this place needs some adult supervision. Last Sunday, Speaker Pelosi finally rammed through Congress her health care bill, and on Tuesday the President signed this bill into law. This new legislation could increase health care premiums by 10 to 13 percent – or as much as $2,100 – for millions of Americans. This comes at a time when our federal FY10 deficit is 10.3 percent of the gross domestic product – a post World War II record when measured as a percentage of the economy.

 "This kind of spending is unsustainable, and a recent statement that this health care bill “represents the largest middle-class tax cut for health care in history” reveals just how out-of-touch Washington has become. The last time I checked, a trillion dollar government takeover of heath care is not a tax cut, instead it is more like generational theft mortgaged on the backs of our children and grandchildren.

 "These new health care hypothetical “tax-cuts” will begin by imposing an estimated $569 billion in job-killing tax hikes on Americans and business. Additionally, this new system will be financed by cutting almost $500 billion from Medicare and diverting those funds to expand other government programs – like Medicaid – by hundreds of billions of dollars.   These estimated gains will come from enrolling more people
on CHIP and Medicaid at a time when both programs are already underfunded in many states.

 "As of today our national debt is $8.2 trillion, and as of Tuesday, with the addition of this new entitlement spending heath care takeover, our debt will increase by a minimum of $2 trillion over the next 10 years. On Wednesday, I traveled to see America’s debt first hand at the U.S. Treasury. I witnessed more than $31 billion in U.S. debt auctioned off to banks and foreign governments. This experience coupled with the news that in February, private companies sold two-year bonds with an interest rate lower that that on two year treasuries – which means that right now the market is telling us that private investment is a better credit risk than the United States government - was sobering and served as a vivid reminder of the extreme cost Washington’s out-of-touch policies create.  The saddest part about this is the consequences because by continuing to borrow and spend at this record pace, Washington is placing the future of our nation in the hands of the foreign governments.

" It doesn’t have to be this way. Just like you, I imagine a stronger America that gives our children more opportunity than we had. But to get there, we can’t continue to mortgage their future in an increasingly competitive world. Even in the short-term, this health care bill creates an enormous hurdle for our struggling economy to jump over to grow.  This bill will hurt job growth and increase our debt.  It is time to listen to the people, and I will work to replace the harmful provisions of this bill with the commonsense solutions that Americans agree on.

 "I will continue to take this message to our communities during the Easter District work period to continue a conversation with our local residents.  On a personal note, my son Connor and nephew Zac are living the five D's of dodgeball as they are competing in the Boys and Girls Club Dodgeball Tournament this weekend, which is always a good time.