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President Obama's only concern is the people who sent him to Washington, the families feeling the pain of this recession; the folks he's met across this country who have lost jobs and savings and health insurance but haven't lost hope; the citizens who defied the cynics and the skeptics, who went to the polls to demand real and lasting change. Change was the cause of his campaign; it is the cause of his presidency.
When his administration came into office, we were facing the worst economy since the Great Depression. We were losing an average of 700,000 jobs per month. Our financial system was on the verge of collapse, meaning families and small businesses couldn't get the credit they need, and experts were warning that there was a serious chance that our economy could slip into a depression. But because of the action he took in those first weeks, he's been able to pull our economy back from the brink.
Now that the most immediate danger has passed, there are some who question those steps. So let me report to you exactly what he's done.
Congress passed a two-year Recovery Act that meant an immediate tax cut for 95 percent of Americans and small businesses, 95 percent.
It extended unemployment insurance and health coverage for those who lost their jobs in this recession.
It provided emergency assistance to states to prevent even deeper layoffs of police officers and firefighters and teachers and other essential personnel.
At the same time, he took needed steps to keep the banking system from collapsing, to get credit flowing again, and to help responsible homeowners hurt by falling home prices to stay in their homes.
In the second phase, we're now investing in projects to repair and upgrade roads and bridges, ports and water systems, and in schools and clean energy initiatives all across the country. These are projects that are creating good jobs and bring lasting improvements to our communities and our country.
There's no doubt that the steps he's taken have helped stave off a much deeper disaster and even greater job loss. They've saved and helped create jobs and have begun to put the brakes on this devastating recession. But he knows that for the millions of Americans who are looking for work, and for those who are struggling in this economy, full recovery can't come soon enough.
He hears from you at town hall meetings. He reads your letters. The stories he hears are the first thing that he thinks about in the morning; they're the last thing he thinks about at night. They're the focus of his attention every waking minute of every day. The simple truth is that it took years to get into this mess, and it will take more than a few months to dig our way out of it.
But he wants to promise you this, we will get there, and he is doing everything in his power to get our people back to work.
We also have to do more than just rescue this economy from recession; we need to address the fundamental problems that allowed this crisis to happen in the first place.
Otherwise, we'd be guilty of the same short-term thinking that got us into this mess. That's what Washington has done for decades. We put things off, and that's what we have to change.
Now is the time to rebuild this economy stronger than before, strong enough to compete in the 21st century. Strong enough to avoid the waves of boom and bust that have time and time again unleashed a torrent of misfortune on middle-class families across the country.
That's why we're building a new energy economy that will unleash the innovative potential of America's entrepreneurs, and create millions of new jobs, helping to end our dependence on foreign oil.
We are transforming our education system, from cradle to college, so that this nation once again has the best-educated workforce on the planet.
We are pursuing health insurance reform so that every American has access to quality, affordable health coverage.
I want to talk about health care just for a second. I want to be clear: Reform isn't just about the nearly 46 million Americans without health insurance. I realize that with all the charges and the criticism being thrown out there in Washington, many Americans may be wondering, "Well, how does my family, or my business, stand to benefit from health insurance reform? What's in this for me?" Folks are asking that, so I want to answer those questions briefly.
If you have health insurance, the reform we're proposing will give you more security.
Reform will keep the government out of your health care decisions, giving you the option to keep your coverage if you're happy with it.
So, don't let folks say that somehow we're going to be forcing government-run health care. It's just not true, and it will keep the insurance companies out of your health care decisions, too, by stopping insurers from cherry-picking who they cover, and holding insurers to a higher standard for what they cover.
You won't have to worry about receiving a surprise bill in the mail, because we'll limit the amount your insurance company can force you to pay out of your own pocket.
You won't have to worry about pre-existing conditions, because never again will anyone in America be denied coverage because of a previous illness or injury.
You won't have to worry about losing coverage if you lose or leave your job, because every American who needs insurance will have access to affordable plans through a health insurance exchange, a marketplace where insurance companies will compete to cover you, not to deny you coverage.
And if you run a small business and you're looking to provide insurance for your employees, you'll be able to choose a plan through this exchange, as well.
President Obama has heard from small business owners across America trying to do the right thing, but year after year premiums rise higher and choices grow more limited.
Now, if you're a taxpayer concerned about deficits, he wants you to understand he's concerned about deficits, too.
Because in the eight years before he came into office, Washington enacted two large tax cuts, primarily for the wealthiest Americans, added a prescription drug benefit to Medicare, funded two wars, all without paying for it.
The national debt doubled. He was handed a $1.3 trillion deficit when he walked in the door, one we necessarily had to add to in the short term to deal with this financial crisis.
Now, I have to tell you, I have to say, that folks have a lot of nerve who helped get us into this fiscal hole and then start going around trying to talk about fiscal responsibility. I'm always a little surprised that people don't have a little more shame about having created a mess and then try to point fingers, but that's another topic.
Because the truth is that he is now President and he is responsible, and together we have to restore a sense of responsibility in Washington.
We have to do what businesses and families do, we've got to cut out the things we don't need to pay for the things we do.
That's why President Obama pledged that he will not sign health insurance reform, as badly as he thinks it's necessary, if that reform adds even one dime to our deficit over the next decade, and he means what he says.
Now, we have estimated that two-thirds of the cost of reform to bring health care security to every American can actually be paid for by reallocating money that's already in the system but is being wasted in federal health care programs.
So, let me repeat what I just said: About two-thirds of health care reform can be paid for not with new revenues, not with tax hikes, just with taking money that's not being spent wisely and moving it into things that will actually make people healthy.
Right now we spend more than $100 billion in unwarranted subsidies that go to insurance companies as part of Medicare, subsidies that do nothing to improve care for our seniors.
We ought to take that money and use it to actually treat people and cover people, not to line pockets of insurers, and Congress has already embraced these proposals. While they're currently working through proposals to finance the remaining costs, the President continues to insist that health care reform not be paid for on the backs of middle-class families.
Now, in addition to making sure that this plan doesn't add to the deficit in the short term, the bill President Obama signs must also slow the growth of health care costs, while improving care, in the long run.
The interesting thing about our health care system is that often, better care produces lower, not higher, expenses, because better care leads to fewer errors that cost money and lives.
You, or your doctor, don't have to fill out the same form a dozen times. Medical professionals are free to treat people, not just illnesses and patients are provided preventive care earlier, like mammograms and physicals, to avert more expensive and invasive treatment later.
That's why the President's proposals include a variety of reforms that would save both money and improve care, and why the nation's largest organizations representing doctors and nurses have embraced our plan.
His proposals would change incentives so that doctors and nurses finally are free to give patients the best care, not just the most expensive care, and he also wants to create an independent group of doctors and medical experts who are empowered to eliminate waste and inefficiency in Medicare, a proposal that could save even more money.
So overall, President Obama's proposals will improve the quality of care for our seniors, save them thousands of dollars on prescription drugs, and that, by the way, is why AARP has endorsed his reform efforts.
The fact is, lowering costs is essential for families and businesses all across the country. Over the past few years premiums have risen nearly nine times faster than wages.
We're seeing double-digit rate increases on insurance premiums all over America. There are reports of insurers raising rates by 28 percent in California; seeking a 23 percent increase in Connecticut; proposing as much as a 56 percent increase in Michigan.
If we don't act, these premium hikes will just be a preview of coming attractions, and that's a future you can't afford. That is a future that America can't afford.
We spend one of every six of our dollars on health care in America, and that's on track to double in the next three decades.
The biggest driving force behind our federal deficit is the skyrocketing cost of Medicare and Medicaid.
Small businesses struggle to cover workers while competing with large businesses.
Large businesses struggle to cover workers while competing in the global economy, and we'll never know the full cost of the dreams put on hold, the entrepreneurial ideas that are allowed to languish, the small businesses never founded, because of the fear of being without insurance, or having to pay for a policy on your own.
So, that's why President Obama seeks reform and in pursuit of this reform he's forged a consensus that has never before been reached in the history of this country.
Senators and representatives in five committees are working on legislation; three have already produced a bill.
Health care providers have agreed to do their part to reduce the rate of growth in health care spending.
Hospitals have agreed to bring down costs.
The drug companies have agreed to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors.
The American Nurses Association, the American Medical Association, representing millions of nurses and doctors who know our health care system best, they've announced their support for reform. (Applause.)
So we have never been closer to achieving quality, affordable health care for all Americans, but at the same time, there are those who would seek to delay and defeat reform.
We had one Republican strategist who told his party that even though they may want to compromise, it's better politics to "go for the kill."
Another Republican senator said that defeating health reform is about "breaking" the President, when it's really the American people who are being broken by rising health care costs and declining coverage.
You know, the Republican Party chair, seeking to stall President Obama's efforts, recently went so far as to say that health insurance reform was happening "too soon."
We just heard today that, well, we may not be able to get the bill out of the Senate by the end of August. That's okay.
The President just wants people to keep on working. He wants the bill to get out of the committees; and then he wants that bill to go to the floor; and then he wants that bill to be reconciled between the House and the Senate; and then he wants to sign a bill, and he wants it done by the end of this year.
When his administration came into office, we were facing the worst economy since the Great Depression. We were losing an average of 700,000 jobs per month. Our financial system was on the verge of collapse, meaning families and small businesses couldn't get the credit they need, and experts were warning that there was a serious chance that our economy could slip into a depression. But because of the action he took in those first weeks, he's been able to pull our economy back from the brink.
Now that the most immediate danger has passed, there are some who question those steps. So let me report to you exactly what he's done.
Congress passed a two-year Recovery Act that meant an immediate tax cut for 95 percent of Americans and small businesses, 95 percent.
It extended unemployment insurance and health coverage for those who lost their jobs in this recession.
It provided emergency assistance to states to prevent even deeper layoffs of police officers and firefighters and teachers and other essential personnel.
At the same time, he took needed steps to keep the banking system from collapsing, to get credit flowing again, and to help responsible homeowners hurt by falling home prices to stay in their homes.
In the second phase, we're now investing in projects to repair and upgrade roads and bridges, ports and water systems, and in schools and clean energy initiatives all across the country. These are projects that are creating good jobs and bring lasting improvements to our communities and our country.
There's no doubt that the steps he's taken have helped stave off a much deeper disaster and even greater job loss. They've saved and helped create jobs and have begun to put the brakes on this devastating recession. But he knows that for the millions of Americans who are looking for work, and for those who are struggling in this economy, full recovery can't come soon enough.
He hears from you at town hall meetings. He reads your letters. The stories he hears are the first thing that he thinks about in the morning; they're the last thing he thinks about at night. They're the focus of his attention every waking minute of every day. The simple truth is that it took years to get into this mess, and it will take more than a few months to dig our way out of it.
But he wants to promise you this, we will get there, and he is doing everything in his power to get our people back to work.
We also have to do more than just rescue this economy from recession; we need to address the fundamental problems that allowed this crisis to happen in the first place.
Otherwise, we'd be guilty of the same short-term thinking that got us into this mess. That's what Washington has done for decades. We put things off, and that's what we have to change.
Now is the time to rebuild this economy stronger than before, strong enough to compete in the 21st century. Strong enough to avoid the waves of boom and bust that have time and time again unleashed a torrent of misfortune on middle-class families across the country.
That's why we're building a new energy economy that will unleash the innovative potential of America's entrepreneurs, and create millions of new jobs, helping to end our dependence on foreign oil.
We are transforming our education system, from cradle to college, so that this nation once again has the best-educated workforce on the planet.
We are pursuing health insurance reform so that every American has access to quality, affordable health coverage.
I want to talk about health care just for a second. I want to be clear: Reform isn't just about the nearly 46 million Americans without health insurance. I realize that with all the charges and the criticism being thrown out there in Washington, many Americans may be wondering, "Well, how does my family, or my business, stand to benefit from health insurance reform? What's in this for me?" Folks are asking that, so I want to answer those questions briefly.
If you have health insurance, the reform we're proposing will give you more security.
Reform will keep the government out of your health care decisions, giving you the option to keep your coverage if you're happy with it.
So, don't let folks say that somehow we're going to be forcing government-run health care. It's just not true, and it will keep the insurance companies out of your health care decisions, too, by stopping insurers from cherry-picking who they cover, and holding insurers to a higher standard for what they cover.
You won't have to worry about receiving a surprise bill in the mail, because we'll limit the amount your insurance company can force you to pay out of your own pocket.
You won't have to worry about pre-existing conditions, because never again will anyone in America be denied coverage because of a previous illness or injury.
You won't have to worry about losing coverage if you lose or leave your job, because every American who needs insurance will have access to affordable plans through a health insurance exchange, a marketplace where insurance companies will compete to cover you, not to deny you coverage.
And if you run a small business and you're looking to provide insurance for your employees, you'll be able to choose a plan through this exchange, as well.
President Obama has heard from small business owners across America trying to do the right thing, but year after year premiums rise higher and choices grow more limited.
Now, if you're a taxpayer concerned about deficits, he wants you to understand he's concerned about deficits, too.
Because in the eight years before he came into office, Washington enacted two large tax cuts, primarily for the wealthiest Americans, added a prescription drug benefit to Medicare, funded two wars, all without paying for it.
The national debt doubled. He was handed a $1.3 trillion deficit when he walked in the door, one we necessarily had to add to in the short term to deal with this financial crisis.
Now, I have to tell you, I have to say, that folks have a lot of nerve who helped get us into this fiscal hole and then start going around trying to talk about fiscal responsibility. I'm always a little surprised that people don't have a little more shame about having created a mess and then try to point fingers, but that's another topic.
Because the truth is that he is now President and he is responsible, and together we have to restore a sense of responsibility in Washington.
We have to do what businesses and families do, we've got to cut out the things we don't need to pay for the things we do.
That's why President Obama pledged that he will not sign health insurance reform, as badly as he thinks it's necessary, if that reform adds even one dime to our deficit over the next decade, and he means what he says.
Now, we have estimated that two-thirds of the cost of reform to bring health care security to every American can actually be paid for by reallocating money that's already in the system but is being wasted in federal health care programs.
So, let me repeat what I just said: About two-thirds of health care reform can be paid for not with new revenues, not with tax hikes, just with taking money that's not being spent wisely and moving it into things that will actually make people healthy.
Right now we spend more than $100 billion in unwarranted subsidies that go to insurance companies as part of Medicare, subsidies that do nothing to improve care for our seniors.
We ought to take that money and use it to actually treat people and cover people, not to line pockets of insurers, and Congress has already embraced these proposals. While they're currently working through proposals to finance the remaining costs, the President continues to insist that health care reform not be paid for on the backs of middle-class families.
Now, in addition to making sure that this plan doesn't add to the deficit in the short term, the bill President Obama signs must also slow the growth of health care costs, while improving care, in the long run.
The interesting thing about our health care system is that often, better care produces lower, not higher, expenses, because better care leads to fewer errors that cost money and lives.
You, or your doctor, don't have to fill out the same form a dozen times. Medical professionals are free to treat people, not just illnesses and patients are provided preventive care earlier, like mammograms and physicals, to avert more expensive and invasive treatment later.
That's why the President's proposals include a variety of reforms that would save both money and improve care, and why the nation's largest organizations representing doctors and nurses have embraced our plan.
His proposals would change incentives so that doctors and nurses finally are free to give patients the best care, not just the most expensive care, and he also wants to create an independent group of doctors and medical experts who are empowered to eliminate waste and inefficiency in Medicare, a proposal that could save even more money.
So overall, President Obama's proposals will improve the quality of care for our seniors, save them thousands of dollars on prescription drugs, and that, by the way, is why AARP has endorsed his reform efforts.
The fact is, lowering costs is essential for families and businesses all across the country. Over the past few years premiums have risen nearly nine times faster than wages.
We're seeing double-digit rate increases on insurance premiums all over America. There are reports of insurers raising rates by 28 percent in California; seeking a 23 percent increase in Connecticut; proposing as much as a 56 percent increase in Michigan.
If we don't act, these premium hikes will just be a preview of coming attractions, and that's a future you can't afford. That is a future that America can't afford.
We spend one of every six of our dollars on health care in America, and that's on track to double in the next three decades.
The biggest driving force behind our federal deficit is the skyrocketing cost of Medicare and Medicaid.
Small businesses struggle to cover workers while competing with large businesses.
Large businesses struggle to cover workers while competing in the global economy, and we'll never know the full cost of the dreams put on hold, the entrepreneurial ideas that are allowed to languish, the small businesses never founded, because of the fear of being without insurance, or having to pay for a policy on your own.
So, that's why President Obama seeks reform and in pursuit of this reform he's forged a consensus that has never before been reached in the history of this country.
Senators and representatives in five committees are working on legislation; three have already produced a bill.
Health care providers have agreed to do their part to reduce the rate of growth in health care spending.
Hospitals have agreed to bring down costs.
The drug companies have agreed to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors.
The American Nurses Association, the American Medical Association, representing millions of nurses and doctors who know our health care system best, they've announced their support for reform. (Applause.)
So we have never been closer to achieving quality, affordable health care for all Americans, but at the same time, there are those who would seek to delay and defeat reform.
We had one Republican strategist who told his party that even though they may want to compromise, it's better politics to "go for the kill."
Another Republican senator said that defeating health reform is about "breaking" the President, when it's really the American people who are being broken by rising health care costs and declining coverage.
You know, the Republican Party chair, seeking to stall President Obama's efforts, recently went so far as to say that health insurance reform was happening "too soon."
We just heard today that, well, we may not be able to get the bill out of the Senate by the end of August. That's okay.
The President just wants people to keep on working. He wants the bill to get out of the committees; and then he wants that bill to go to the floor; and then he wants that bill to be reconciled between the House and the Senate; and then he wants to sign a bill, and he wants it done by the end of this year.
