Repeal of Obamacare Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HECK. I thank the chair.

Mr. Speaker, just because a law is constitutional, it doesn't mean it's a good law. Just because a law is well intentioned, it doesn't mean that it fulfills its promises.

As a physician, I've heard firsthand from patients who have serious concerns about the so-called Affordable Care Act, that it would actually reduce access to affordable high quality health care by enacting substantial new taxes, creating thousands of pages of new regulations, and most alarmingly, putting unelected, unaccountable government bureaucrats in between patients and their doctors.

Millions of Americans were assured that if they liked their health plan, they could keep it. Yet, our committee has heard testimony from businesses large and small that the increased costs of providing health coverage for employees is simply unsustainable. I've talked with business owners in my own district that want to continue to provide coverage for their employees, but the health care law is making that harder. These so-called ``small business tax credits'' phase out so quickly after you get above 10 employees or you start to increase wages that it's a disincentive to grow a business.

Further, the Supreme Court's ruling highlights an uncomfortable truth for the law's supporters. This law stands only because the individual mandate is considered a tax, even though proponents repeatedly insisted it was not.

Mr. Speaker, we were told Congress had to pass the bill to find out what was in it. What we found was a bait and switch of unprecedented proportions.
strongly believe that we should ensure that patients with preexisting conditions have affordable insurance options, that annual or lifetime limits don't prevent Americans from receiving the care and treatment they need, and that young adults have access to insurance, especially in difficult economic times. That's why I've introduced replacement legislation to do exactly that, without a government takeover of the system.

We need to repeal this law and move forward with reasonable, bipartisan, patient-centered reforms that restore the government to its proper role in our health care system and ensure that our patients, their families, and their doctors have the ability to decide what care is most appropriate. It's for those reasons that I strongly urge support of H.R. 6079.

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