WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama "can and will" keep his pledge to not raise taxes on the middle class to pay for healthcare reforms, a Democratic lawmaker says.
Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Nation" that cost savings from reforming the wasteful current health delivery system coupled with a tax surcharge on the wealthiest Americans will cover the costs to institute the reforms.
Asked if Obama can accomplish reforms without raising taxes on people making less than $250,000 per year, Rangel said "Yes, he can and he will," stressing that rooting out costly inefficiencies in current healthcare system will save hundreds of billions of dollars and bring down costs for all healthcare consumers.
But, he said, such discussions are being drowned out by the focus put on shouted protests at town hall meetings on healthcare.
"People are trying to use hatreds as a substitute for discussion," Rangel said. "When people are paid to work up our town hall meetings, it's clear they're not looking for a solution, they're looking for a political 'out' of this serious question."
