Mr. WICKER. I yield 3
minutes at this time to the distinguished gentleman
from Texas (Mr. PAUL).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Gentleman from Texas is recognized for 3 minutes.
1998 Ron Paul 40:1
Mr. PAUL.
Thank you for yielding. I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks.
1998 Ron Paul 40:3
Mr. PAUL.
I rise in support
of this legislation. It makes no
sense to pay somebody, pay for free
needles to do something that is currently
illegal. It’s very questionable
whether it will do any good.
1998 Ron Paul 40:4
As a physician, I would have to agree
with the opposition that a clean needle
certainly is better than a dirty needle.
1998 Ron Paul 40:5
I don’t think there is a question about
that. But I do believe that there is a
message sent that if we provide free
needles to do something that we are
condoning or encouraging it. But there
is also a strong moral as well as an economic
argument against this.
1998 Ron Paul 40:6
What we are talking about here is
lowering costs of risky behavior. We’re saying that we will pay for the needles
to perform this risky behavior. But there is another much larger element
that has not been discussed so
far, and that has to do with the concept
that all risky behavior be socialized;
that is, through the medical system, it
is assumed that those who do not participate
in risky behavior must pay for
the costs of the risky behavior, whether
it has to do with cigarettes or
whether it has to do with drugs or
whether it has to do with any kind of
safety.
1998 Ron Paul 40:7
So, therefore, the argument is that
we have to save money in medical care
costs by providing free needles. But
there is another position, and that is
that we might suggest that we don’t
pay for free needles and we might even
challenge the concept that we shouldn’t be paying people and taking care of
them for risky behavior, whether it is
risky sexual behavior or risky behavior
with drugs.
1998 Ron Paul 40:8
I think this is very clearly the problem,
and I do not believe we should be
socializing this behavior because, if we
do, you actually increase it. If you lower
the cost of anything, you increase the
incidence of its use. So if the responsibility
does not fall on the individual
performing dangerous behavior, they
are more likely to, and this is just part
of it, the idea that we would give them
a free needle.
1998 Ron Paul 40:9
But there’s a moral argument
against this as well. Why should people
who don’t use drugs or don’t participate
in dangerous sexual procedures
and activities have to pay for those
who do? And this is really the question,
and there is no correct moral argument
for this. And the economic argument is
very powerful. It says that if you lower
the cost, you will increase this behavior.
1998 Ron Paul 40:10
But this is not only true when we’re
dealing with drugs. It has to do with
cigarettes. I mean, the whole tobacco
argument is dealing with the same
issue, that we have to pay for the costs
of people who get sick from dangerous
behavior with cigarettes and, therefore,
we have to come in and regulate
the tobacco companies and nobody can
assume responsibility for themselves.
1998 Ron Paul 40:11
Same thing with alcohol and safety. This is the reason we have so much
government regulation dealing with
helmet laws and seat belts and buzzers
and beepers and air bags. So this concept
has to be dealt with if we’re ever
to get to the bottom of this.
