WASHINGTON – As the national debt today reached an all-time high of $12 trillion, U.S. Senator Roger Wicker released the following statement on health care spending and reform proposals being considered in Congress:

“Today, our nation reached an alarming milestone, with the U.S. debt hitting a staggering $12 trillion. When American families come to a point where they are carrying an unsustainable debt burden, they are forced to make tough decisions and rein in their spending,” said Wicker. “But that isn’t how the federal government is responding to our massive debt.  Rather than showing fiscal restraint, Congressional Democrats are trying to push through a 2,000-page plan that would spend trillions more, implement job-killing tax increases, and cut Medicare by $500 billion. 

“Even more troubling, the Obama administration’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has found that the only proposal made public so far by Congressional Democrats would increase health care spending, not lower it.  That is not the kind of reform Americans deserve.  As our nation faces a record unemployment rate of over 10 percent and a sobering $12 trillion debt, American families cannot afford the Democrats’ health care reform proposals.”

Total debt now exceeds $12 trillion for the first time in history. A link to the current debt total is here: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

The debt has increased by $1.4 trillion since January.

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