Following is the text of Congressman Adam Putnam’s speech delivered July 28 on the Floor of the U.S. House of Representatives regarding the current health care reform proposal.

Here is a link to video of the speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTSNDpk_NZo.

Text of the speech:

“Mr. Speaker, with just one week left before we leave Washington, it is alarming that we do not have a final health care reform bill to review- despite the Speaker’s comments it may be on the floor this week.

“To get a head start, I decided to look through the incomplete version currently available to the public.

“No further along than page 16, there is a provision that essentially says an insurance provider cannot enroll new beneficiaries into a health care plan.  In other words, government approved health care will be the only option.

“Current nonpartisan estimates project that as many as 114 million people will lose their private health insurance, approximately 4.7 million jobs will be lost due to the new taxes and mandates, and a whopping $1.28 trillion will be added to federal spending over the next 10 years. 

“The bill creates 53 new commissions, councils, bureaus, advisory panels, and offices.  If the American people think it is difficult to navigate the current health care system, just wait until more government bureaucrats get involved. 

Why have the Authors of this bill declared war on small businesses only to grow the federal government?

“Mr. Speaker, Americans do not need more government- they need jobs and affordable, quality health care…this bill provides neither.”

Since 2001, Putnam has represented Florida’s 12^th Congressional District, which includes most of Polk County and portions of Hillsborough and Osceola counties.