WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement regarding passage of the health care bill in the U.S. House of Representatives: “This is an historic mistake. And unlike Social Security, Medicare and civil rights legislation, the only thing bipartisan about it is the opposition to it. “The mistake is to expand a health care delivery system that is already too expensive instead of reducing its cost so more Americans can afford health insurance. “This taxes job creators in the middle of a recession. It means Medicare cuts and premium increases for millions of Americans. When you include the cost of paying doctors who serve Medicare patients, it will increase the national debt. “It will force governors to cut higher education funding, and raise taxes and tuition to pay for new Medicaid costs. In Tennessee, the governor says the cost will be $1.1 billion or more over five years. “And the last-minute Washington takeover of the student loan program will add a half trillion more to the debt and overcharge 19 million student loans to help pay for health care.”