CNN’s John King asks Boehner: ‘Where is the Republican proposal’ on health?

By Stephen C. Webster
Sunday, November 1st, 2009 -- 8:31 pm
Share on Facebook Stumble This!

Republican minority leader's response: Coming soon

boehnerlecture CNNs John King asks Boehner: Where is the Republican proposal on health?A leading Republican Congressman said Sunday that his party would present by the end of the week its own plan for health care reform, one of President Barack Obama's top domestic priorities.

House Minority leader John Boehner spoke after Obama's top allies on Thursday unveiled sweeping compromise legislation, including a government-backed insurance plan to compete with private firms.

His comments were made during an interview with CNN host John King on Sunday. King asked the Republican minority leader: "Where is the Republican proposal, where you can say to the American people, we'll spend this much over 10 years; it will do this to the deficit; and when we'll be done, x-percent of the American people will have health insurance?"

"By the end of this week, people will be able to look at one proposal" that provides transparent cost figures and clearly states the number of people to be covered, Boehner told CNN.

Story continues below...

He said the proposal will clearly delineate that "what the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) says it will cost and ... what the CBO says will end up the percent of Americans who will have health insurance."

Boehner declined to give specific details on the Republican proposal, but said it would not increase taxes, cut existing government programs for the poor and elderly, or have "mandates on individuals or businesses."

He added that the GOP wants to allow insurance to be purchased across state lines, and proposed to "give grants to states that have innovative programs to bring down the costs of health insurance."

House Democrats unveiled their draft text after Democrats in the US Senate have crafted their own version, and if the two chambers approve rival measures they must forge compromise legislation to send to Obama to sign into law, a process that could easily run into 2010.

Democratic House lawmakers have estimated their measure would cost 894 billion over 10 years and expand health insurance to 36 million Americans, helping to extend coverage to 96 percent of the population of the world's richest nation.

This video is from CNN, broadcast Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009.

With AFP.

Share this article:
  • Print this article!
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Story comments are below...
  • dennycrane
    Their plan is to make life as miserable as they possibly can for the working poor. They have infected every nook and cranny, from health care,banking, mortgages, making us so damn poor,we have to "pimp" our kids off to the wars that are impossible to "win" and just remember, they came THAT close to wiping out our social security insurance. Crazy sonsa bitches.
  • CosimodiRondo
    Their plan is to *create* the working poor from the middle class, while getting each to fight against the other.
  • Their original plan was for Health Savings Accounts, (HSA's) so people could gamble their health away on the stock market. Could the new plan include frequent flier miles to Canada, Cuba and Mexico for the poor, Norway, Sweden and France for the rich?
  • The question was, ‘Where is the Republican proposal’ on health care?" The answer should have simply been, we don't have one.
  • kiboshki
    We've been talking about healthcare reform for how many months now, and the Republicans are only just now trying to contribute to the discussion?

    Gee, and I thought the Dems had messed it up badly enough already!
  • DFW
    The Party of "NO" is forced into a corner, and becomes the Party of "Uhhhh....."

    It's still "no," they'll just come up with another soundbyte and claim it's a program. Bush Lite did not have a monopoly on fuzzy math in his party.
  • Mooftown
    whoa boner is a fucking faggot... why do republicans stress how many pages are in the bill... who the fuck cares, it is an important thing, read the thing talk about what you read, not abotu how many pages are in it, our leaders are fucking dumb as hell
  • I find your use of the term "faggot" very offensive. Do you verbally bash gay people for fun or out of a sense of duty? You're a bigot.
  • Mooftown
    I'm sowwy, did i hurt your feewings, would u wike some chiken noodle soop and a ice pak till u feel better wittle guy?
  • conwaym
    Mooftown - Not cool to slur Gay people. Everyone is upset with Boener but labeling him with a Gay bashing slur in just not right.
  • Mooftown
    Yeah youre probably right my bust
  • moorlock2003
    Boner is a blockhead.
  • fukum
    "CNN host Grills Boner"...Hope it was tasty.
  • DougI
    Great idea, I don't have to buy an expensive plan in my state, I can buy an expensive plan from a different state. Yeah, great solution. And, if the doctor fouls up then I can't sue so I get more medical costs to pay. Brilliant. Can the Republicans find any other way to do absolutely nothing?
  • darin29
    GOP plan: Be a straight, white, tea-bagging, confederate, angry male without any Gay relatives or mexican friends and turn your TV to FOXNEWS all day long. Don't worry- Vote Sarah Palin?!!
  • missskeptic
    The Columbus Dispatch reported today that health insurance premiums in Ohio are going up an average of 12% next year.

    How many of you got a 12% raise to cover this? I know our family didn't!
  • mrtinez666
    The republitatrds won't have a plan. Maggot boner will simply avoid the press so as not to have to answer any question/ He will be in conference all next week. There will be some useless late Friday blurb that is supposed to get forgotten over the weekend. Jerk off!
  • CarolAll
    What a joke! Let me predict what will happen next: After months of beating the drum for numbskull nonsense and nothing but No, Republicans will claim that they have come up with"a better plan." Boehner, Cantor, Kyl, and McConnell will insist that Congress scrap every one of the five healthcare reform bills and "start over." The GOP mantra is "Slow down, Obama is doing too much, too soon, too expensive, generational debt!" unless it means more troops in Afghanistan, more opportunities for abuse by military contractors, more money to feed the war machine, that is. Boehner will cry and moan that the Obama administration refuses with work with Republicans toward bipartisanship on healthcare reform. In spite of his spray-on bronzing, it's real easy to see right through Boehner and his Republican obstructionist and opposition cronies.
  • WJM51
    A republican health care plan by the end of the week? Two things come to mind about this.

    1) We were told about 3 MONTHS ago that the republicans would be unveiling their great plan. Where is it? NOWHERE, just like finding a BRAIN in the republican party. AIN'T going to happen.

    2) W are NOW living with the republican party's health care plan, and it's EXACTLY what Grayson said it is: Die, and do so quickly. A GREAT plan.

    Boehner needs to be kicked out of his freaking job, everything he owns taken away from him, and then made to live in the street, begging for money from people who aren't any better off than he is. Maybe THEN he will get it. But I doubt it, he will just complain about the terrible left wing conspiracy that hurt him BECAUSE he is a "conservative". The truth is, he is NOT a conservative, they actually want to CONSERVE something. Boehner and his minions just want to destroy everything they can get their greedy GD hands on.

    The republican party needs to get the hell out of the way and let us FIX what they have destroyed over the last 30 years. Or they can get run over by us as we do it. It's one or the other, and if it costs the republicans like their rule has cost the rest of us, I can't think of anything more appropriate. BASTARDS!
  • lefty247
    So funny when gopers complain about a 2000 page bill- to me that shows how smart and tight the Democrats have their shit together-- Democrats don't mess around-

    Goopers are totally jealous and incompetent.
  • chabuka
    They got nothing.... opposition and Corporate protectionism is all they have (and the phony numbers they squeeze out (along with the "wind") in their butt-holes)
blog comments powered by Disqus