Burr stops by to warn about ‘reconciliation'

Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr said that passage of health care legislation through the budget reconciliation process would be “ripping a piece of the fabric of America off,” while speaking to members of the Pamlico County Republican Party on Saturday.

The Winston-Salem-based senator spoke his views on health care, budget, and the economy as the highlighted speaker at the party’s annual Reagan Day Luncheon fundraiser in Oriental as well as at the Craven County Republican Party’s annual dinner in New Bern held later in the evening.

Burr, 54, said that in his campaign for re-election, jobs will be his top focus, but he said health care is the single most important issue he’s faced during his Washington career of five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and in his single Senate term.

He is running for a second term on the Senate, and will face three other Republicans in the May 4 primary. Six Democrats are also running for the seat.

“This is the single most important thing that will happen in my career in Washington,” he said of health care. “If this becomes law, this administration will then move on to the other things that America has found to be the wrong direction.”

Burr said the Senate may not play another part in the process if the reconciliation process is used, in which the House would pass a piece of Senate health care reform legislation as well as a “reconciliation” bill incorporating changes members want to be made.

“If the (House of Representatives) gets 216 members that say yes, then they’re going to pass the Senate bill, they’re going to take up the reconciliation bill and pass it, the reconciliation bill will go to the U.S. Senate, and the president will sign it into law,” he said.

Drawing on a statement he said was made during the president’s campaign, Burr said the health care legislation would be “ripping the fabric of America off.”

“If you care whether taxpayer money is used for abortion, you’ve got a stake in this bill,” he said. “If you believe that health care you’ve got is important, you’ve got a lot of stake in this bill. If you believe that the creation of a trust fund called Medicare is an important thing, you’ve got a lot of stake in this bill.”

Burr said in a later interview he does believe that health care reform is needed because the current system is “unsustainable.” He said senior and low-income populations are “high growth areas,” and they do not reimburse health care providers dollar-for-dollar for services.

“As those pools increase, either Medicare or Medicaid, it means that it puts more burden on the private sector, either out-of-pocket or private insurance, and the premiums will continue to escalate where nobody can afford it,” he said.

Laura Oleniacz can be reached at 252-635-5675 or at loleniacz@freedomenc.com.