JANESVILLE – Wisconsin’s 1st District Congressman Paul Ryan issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate’s vote this morning to advance the Majority’s 2,700-page health care legislation:

“The House passed its health care overhaul at 11:15 p.m. on a Saturday night in November. The Senate cut off debate on its version at 1:19 a.m. earlier today – clearing the path for passage on Christmas Eve. There is something deeply disturbing about Congress sweeping through their increasingly unpopular government takeover of health care – one-sixth of our economy – in the dark of night.

“There are countless poison pills in the thousands of pages of legislative text. I was most troubled to learn that over the weekend Senator Ben Nelson, a pro-life Democrat from Nebraska, backed off his efforts to extend the current law protections against the federal funding of abortions. In exchange for his support of the bill, all of Nebraska’s new Medicaid costs will be picked up by the federal government – forever. Wisconsinites not only face serious Medicaid shortfalls here at home, but we’re now on the hook for untold billions more to bailout states like Nebraska.

“When Congress reconvenes in January to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions, I will continue my efforts to promote better solutions for real reform – fiscally responsible, patient-centered alternatives. The shame of Washington’s one-sided ‘debate’ is that we can fix what’s broken in health care without breaking what’s working in health care. We can achieve universal access to quality, affordable health care without the government taking it over, without cutting benefits for seniors and increasing premiums for working Wisconsinites, and without trillions in new taxes, new spending, and new debt. Wisconsinites simply cannot afford what the increasingly out-of-touch Washington is recklessly advancing.”