House GOP'ers Say Gov't Health Care Not The Cure

By Laura Woodhead - Talk Radio News Service

A government run health care plan will increase cancer mortality rates, said a group of GOP congressmen on Tuesday.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), who survived bladder cancer after being diagnosed at age 19, said that the higher cancer mortality rates in the UK and Canada have shown him that a government run health care system will decrease cancer survival rates.

"We have a unique advantage as cancer survivors, that we can go through the bill and debate the bill knowing the personal consequences of what they are proposing would do to somebody just like us," he said. "We know for a fact that our survivability rates are going down."

Rogers warned Americans who have had cancer or are currently undergoing treatment to be wary of the current health care bill.

"85% of Americans have health insurance of some sort. What they are talking about doing is taking that away from you in order to fix 15% of the problem, and in order to do it we will have to ration health care for individuals," Rogers said. "There is no compassion in that, there is to extra treatment in that."

The congressmen spoke alongside a chart which depicted cancer survival rates in countries with government run health care plans versus the United States. Rep. Todd Atkin (R-Mo.) said that the statistics on prostate cancer speak for themselves.

"Among men between the UK and the US, we are talking about an 18% difference in survival rates. When its your life, 18% means an awful lot to you" Atkin said. "When the government takes over the health care system that's the kind of results you get."

Atkin added that he fully expects cancer patients to oppose the legislation.

Said Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a survivor of renal and prostate cancer, "If you want a system where your chances of surviving renal cancer are less that even....a government system, all throughout Europe, produces those lower survivor rates for cancer"

Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) said that better survival rates in the U.S. can be attributed to the speed at which diagnostic tests can be performed within the current system.

"Under a government health care plan like in the UK and Canada, I would not have had the advantage to get [diagnostic tests] done in such quick time. And it might have been too late."

"We need to focus on those good constructive policies that we all know are going to work, and continue to deliver the best health system in the world," Myrick said. "We don't need to create one that will limit people's choices and ability to go see their doctor."

Energy becoming new 'global race'

"It's nothing short of a disgrace for the Speaker to leave the Congress, not call us back and remain on a promotional book tour while 'everyday Americans' are suffering all over this country", said Rep. David Camp (R-Mich.) today at a press conference to discuss the ongoing speeches on the floor of the House of Representatives. The Republican members of the House are entering their second week of continuous discussion calling for the return of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to Washington, and that an emergency session of Congress be called to deal with America's rising energy costs.

"Many of us during the Cold War remember the days of the arms race. Well let me tell you, there is a global race going on for energy right now", said Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas). "And quite honestly, the United States of America is behind in this race." He went on to say that global oil issues are primarily a supply and demand problem, with the demand for oil continuing to increase and the supply remaining the same.

Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) pointed out that this oil crisis is not only affecting families, but small businesses, schools that rely on busing systems, and other organizations that depend on fuel. As such, she says the issue demands immediate attention from Speaker Pelosi.