WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI), incoming Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, made the following statement today regarding legislation he and other House Republicans are proposing to repeal the Democrats’ job-killing health law:

“Our new majority is committed to fostering a renewed era of job growth and economic opportunity - and an important first step is to repeal the job-killing health law. For two years, those in power have turned a blind eye to soaring unemployment, relentlessly working to grow the government rather than the private sector. We can do better.

“Nancy Pelosi famously stated that we had to pass the bill to find out what was in it. Well, the more the American public learns about this law, the more they demand it be repealed. Despite the President’s repeated claims that if you like your care, you can keep it, millions of families and seniors stand to lose their current coverage because of the law’s burdensome mandates, penalties on small businesses, and failure to curb costly, frivolous lawsuits. Our new majority pledges to take better care of our seniors than the nation’s trial lawyers.

“We are committed to health reforms that American families and small businesses can embrace, improving access to quality care while keeping costs down.

“We pledged to work to create jobs, roll back the size of government, and conduct our business in full view of the American public. Repealing the job-killing government takeover of health care is a critical first step."