GOP response to Obama speech to Congress

This in via email:

GOP Talking Points on Health Care Address by Dr. Charles Boustany (R-LA)

· The American people have spoken. They oppose government-run health care. Republicans are on the side of the American people.

· Tonight, Dr. Charles Boustany (R-LA) will deliver the Republican address following President Obama's speech to a Joint Session of Congress. Dr. Boustany is a heart surgeon with 20 years of experience, who knows first-hand about the need for lower health care costs and the harmful effect government-run care would have on cost and quality.

· What Americans want are common-sense, responsible solutions that address the rising cost of health care and other major problems in a manner our nation can afford. To date, they haven't gotten that from Democratic leaders in Washington, who've proposed a costly government takeover that will replace many Americans' current health care with government-run care, add hundreds of billions to the national debt, ration care, and destroy millions of American jobs.

· What Americans want is for President Obama to take government-run health care off the table and start over on a common-sense, bipartisan health care reform plan our nation can afford.

· Reports indicate the president may mention medical liability reform, which Republicans have championed for years to help curb rising health care costs for patients and their families. But will he propose and support real medical liability reform solutions, or simply offer more Washington rhetoric that does nothing to end junk lawsuits and lower costs? We hope he does the former – and if he does, we’ll welcome his support.

· Republicans believe the president must address the harmful impact Democrats' proposed health care plans will have on American jobs. House Democrats' health care bill would raise taxes on job creators by $600 billion and destroy millions of American jobs in the midst of what is already, at best, a jobless recovery.

· The Obama Administration promised that its "stimulus" spending bill would keep the unemployment rate from going above 8 percent; instead, last week, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the national unemployment rate has reached 9.7 percent, the highest level in a generation, and more than 2.4 million private-sector jobs have been destroyed since the "stimulus" became law.

· Americans don’t want a government takeover of their health care. They don't want a new speech. They want a new plan. Republicans hope the president uses tonight's speech to hit the "reset" button and start over, this time working with Republicans to craft a bipartisan, responsible health care reform plan our nation can afford.