WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) today made the following remarks on the House floor during debate of H.R. 6079, which fully repeals the president’s health care law:
Transcript:
“House Republicans promised the American people that if granted the majority, we would vote to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
“Let’s face it: Obamacare is nothing like what was promised. Former Speaker Pelosi said we would have to pass the bill to find out what was in it, and be assured, we have found out. Rather than reform health care, this law epitomizes Washington at its very worst: intrusive mandates, higher costs, red tape, unaffordable spending, taxes on employers and families, and control of personal health care decisions by boards, bureaus, and agencies in Washington.
“Let’s just consider the many broken promises.
“President Obama promised that his reforms would lower family premiums by $2,500 by the end of his first term. Yet the cost of an employer-sponsored family plan has increased to $15,000 in 2011. And CBO projects that if we allow the rest of Obamacare’s mandates to kick in, premiums rise further.
“The president told us over and over that if you liked your health care plan, you could keep it. Yet the law pushes employers to drop coverage. CBO estimates that up to 20 million American workers will lose their plan under Obamacare.
“The president said his law would cost a mere $900 billion - as if spending nearly a $1 trillion on a new program was thrifty. Yet when it’s fully implemented, Obamacare is estimated to cost taxpayers $2.6 trillion over a decade.
“The president promised to make Medicare stronger. Instead, Obamacare raided $575 billion from Medicare to pay for new programs and entitlement expansions.
“The president pledged that he would not raise taxes for households with incomes under $250,000. Yet Obamacare includes 21 new tax increases that will cost taxpayers roughly $800 billion over the next decade. The IRS will impose new taxes on medical devices, prescription drugs, health coverage, and high-premium health plans. The agency will place new restrictions on health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts. Employers will face a tax for failing to provide health plans approved by HHS and a new surtax on investment.
“The president promised American taxpayers they would not be forced to fund abortions and our conscience rights would be protected, yet HHS is moving forward with a mandate that requires religious institutions to violate their principles or pay a steep fine.
“Or is the fine on faith going to be considered a tax as well, just like the individual mandate? The Supreme Court made clear that the mandate is a massive new tax - one that will primarily be levied on middle-class households.
“Repeal is also the only way to honor and restore the promises the president wisely made but foolishly broke. The Supreme Court rendered its diagnosis, but the American people will be offering a second opinion. For now, we promised the American people that we would work to repeal this terrible law, and that is a promise we are keeping."
