WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Roberts today said House approval of the partisan and costly Reid Health Care bill and accompanying reconciliation package was hardly a ringing endorsement of a measure that would remake one-sixth of the U.S. economy and affect every American for generations to come. Senator Roberts released the following statement:

“Although the majority of Americans and Kansans oppose this bill,” Roberts said, “Democrat leadership is set on ramming it through the Congress despite its critical faults including leaving millions still uninsured, costing the nation $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years, raising taxes in a tough economy, cutting Medicare, and rationing care.

“The fight now returns to the Senate where I will make every effort to amend the bill to achieve real reform and not compound the deficit with programs that won’t even begin for four more years. We can and should do better in a bipartisan and incremental manner for meaningful, reasonable reform that lowers health care costs for families across the country.”

The reconciliation package now goes to the Senate where it will need 51 votes to be approved and then heads to the President to be signed into law. Should the Senate amend the language, it must be returned to the House for a debate and vote.

Senator Roberts also predicted the bill would end up in the courts, drawing challenges and actions by state governments opposing this approach.

Roberts voted against the Senate health care bill, which was largely drafted behind closed doors, on Christmas Eve of last year.

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