Only eight days before Congress returns from its summer recess, a compromise between the political parties on health care reform remains elusive, said three top GOP senators during a visit Monday to Kansas City.
Sens. Kit Bond, Mitch McConnell and John McCain said deep, seemingly intractable gaps exist between the parties after a string of often contentious August health care forums around the country.
They blasted President Barack Obama's vision of health care reform, calling it outlandishly expensive, and predicted it could lead to rationing and outsized budget deficits for years to come.
"No country can continue to spend more than it takes in," said McCain after touring Children's Mercy Hospital.
McCain, Bond and McConnell took turns pounding the Democratic plan.
McCain criticized the federal government's spending binge and raised the specter of inflation exceeding even the double-digit jumps the country experienced in the 1970s.
Bond said Missourians "don't want a government bureaucrat standing between them and their provider."
McConnell, the Senate minority leader from Kentucky, said if government got into the insurance business, it would wipe out the private insurance industry.
To read the complete article, visit www.kansascity.com.
