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Cole, Coffee, Benge: Pelosi Health Care Bill Will Create Crippling Unfunded Mandate for State Governments

November 4, 2009

JOINT RELEASE

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. Tom Cole recently sent a letter to Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee and Oklahoma House Speaker Chris Benge asking them to assess the impact on the state of Oklahoma if Speaker Pelosi's health care bill, H.R. 3962, passes. The bill is expected to be considered late this week.

In a letter to President Pro Tempore Coffee and Speaker Benge, Cole posed the following four questions: 1. Can Oklahoma afford these unfunded mandates in the current fiscally constrained environment?; 2. Should the House version of health care reform pass, what are your plans for fully funding the unfunded mandate that will be transferred to Oklahoma?; 3. Would new taxes on citizens of Oklahoma be necessary to cover the increased cost of Medicaid?; 4. What do you believe the actual cost would be to Oklahoma?

"It's abundantly clear that Speaker Pelosi either hasn't asked or doesn't care how states are affected by her expensive health care plan," Congressman Cole said. "Every state in the nation is struggling with severe budget shortfalls and yet the liberals in Congress are prepared to shift $34 billion in unfunded mandates to state governments. And since most state governments are not allowed to spend money they don’t have, this will result in draconian cuts in vital state services and/or steep tax increases – neither of which is acceptable to me, Pro-Tem Coffee, or Speaker Benge.”

"This legislation will be a disaster for Oklahoma," President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee (R-Oklahoma City) added. "We’re plugging leaks in the dam already, and these unfunded mandates would cause it to burst. Our fiscal situation, while grim, is not nearly as dire as most other states. This is a bipartisan, multi-state issue. The results will be the same in states led by Republicans and Democrats alike. I urge my counterparts in other states to make their voices heard within their respective Congressional delegations."

“In Oklahoma, we have put in place market and consumer driven reforms that are working to move our state’s uninsured onto private insurance, all while improving access to affordable health care for all of our citizens,” said Speaker Benge (R-Tulsa). “I wish Washington would give states the maximum amount of flexibility possible to craft a health care plan that best meets individual state needs. A one-size-fits-all health care policy is not the answer for Oklahoma, or our country as a whole. Thankfully, Congressman Cole and the rest of our congressional delegation agrees with me, and I am confident they will fight this legislation not only on behalf of our country but our state as well.”

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Issues:Healthcare