[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 14 (Tuesday, February 1, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S372-S373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REPEAL

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, it is no secret that most Americans 
opposed the health care bill that Democrats jammed through Congress 
last March. It is also no secret that Democrats would like to move past 
it. But the fact is, the more Americans learn about this bill the less 
they like it, and the more urgent it becomes for those who pledged to 
repeal and replace it to follow through.
  Opposition to the bill continues to build. And when two Federal 
courts in a row rule that this bill is unconstitutional and we learn 
every day of some other way it is not only making health care worse but 
also hurting jobs and the economy, it is no wonder more Americans 
support repeal than oppose it, and that the percentage of those who say 
they support full repeal is higher now than ever. Americans are 
outraged that the promises they were made about this bill have turned 
out to be empty. And court rulings like the one out of Florida 
yesterday only add to the urgency of scrapping this bill and starting 
over.
  Leave aside for a moment all the broken promises. The first 
requirement of this law or any law is that it at least be 
constitutional. This bill fails to meet that basic test.
  And, as yesterday's ruling concluded, it can't be fixed.
  This entire bill hinges on its core requirement that every citizen 
purchase health insurance. If that is unconstitutional, and two Federal 
courts now say it is, then the whole thing needs to be scrapped.
  But of course we knew that already, based on all the other chaos this 
bill has wrought.
  Let's review.
  The President said as recently as last week that this law would slow 
rising health care costs--that it would bend the cost-curve down. Yet 
just 2 days later, his own actuary at the Centers for Medicare and 
Medicaid Services said that Federal health spending would rise by 
hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 10 years as a result of 
this bill.
  The President said again and again that Americans would be able to 
keep the plans they had. Yet since the bill's passage, business after 
business has announced that it would rather pay a fine to the 
government than cover the health insurance costs of employees that 
would grow under the new mandates and regulations, and millions of 
seniors are now expected to lose access to the Medicare Advantage plans 
they know and like.
  As recently as last week, the President said: ``This Law Will Lower 
Premiums.'' Yet since its passage we continually hear the opposite: 
insurers across the country are raising premiums to cover the cost of 
all the new mandates they will have to comply with. One insurer in 
California recently stunned policyholders by announcing it would be 
increasing rates by as much as 59 percent for tens of thousands of 
customers starting next month. Hikes are also expected in Iowa, 
Vermont, and Connecticut. In Washington State, one father of five was 
recently told his $532 monthly premium could nearly triple next year. 
He said that when he heard the news he just sat back and said: ``You've 
got to be kidding me.''
  It is a good way to sum up how many Americans have felt about this 
bill all along.
  And that is to say nothing of the effect this bill has had on the 
economy and jobs. Despite the empty promises we have heard from 
politicians about this bill being a job-creator, we continue to hear 
just the opposite from the businesses themselves. Job creators are 
telling us that all of the bill's new mandates and fees are stifling 
businesses and making it even harder for them to start hiring again.
  The National Federation of Independent Business says that if this 
bill stays intact it will ``stifle the ability [of businesses] to hire, 
grow and invest. . . .'' ``Simply put,'' the NFIB said in a recent 
letter, ``Congress must repeal [this bill] immediately.'' To take just 
one example, Abbott Laboratories said last week it plans to cut nearly 
2,000 jobs in response to changes in the health care industry, 
including this bill.
  As I said, yesterday's ruling out of Florida, only adds to the 
urgency of repeal. As if it weren't enough that this bill increases 
health care costs, increases insurance premiums, and is leading people 
to lose coverage they already have and like, it is also 
unconstitutional--something many opponents of the bill, including me, 
have been arguing all along. The state can no more compel Americans to 
buy health insurance under the Constitution than it can compel them to 
buy vitamins, even if it concluded they would be good for our health. 
While Congress may have the power to regulate commercial activity, no 
court in our nation's history has ever interpreted that to mean that 
Congress can regulate commercial inactivity as well, which is precisely 
what the health care bill would do.
  Most Americans have opposed this bill from the start because they 
were skeptical of all the claims that were being made about what it 
would do. The process that was used to jam it through made it even less 
popular. But the reality has been even worse than people feared. It 
violates the Constitution--which is reason enough to repeal it--it is 
driving up premiums, increasing costs, and driving people off the plans 
they have. And Americans are just as outraged by the special waivers 
the administration is giving out to select groups as it was by the 
special deals. The special deals are reminiscent of the deals it gave 
out to lawmakers who agreed to vote for it. In other words, the 
implementation of this bill is no better than the process used to pass 
it.
  At this point, it would be a dereliction of duty if Republicans 
didn't fight

[[Page S373]]

for repeal. We made a promise to our constituents that we would vote to 
repeal this bill on their behalf and that is just what we intend to do.
  The importance of a repeal vote becomes more evident every day. 
Americans view it as an important decision point--a marker that shows 
we are serious about a return to limited government. On that point, it 
should be clear where Republicans stand. Every one of us voted against 
the bill. Every one of us voted for repeal after that. And this week, 
every Republican reaffirmed his or her commitment to doing it again.
  Democrats made a lot of promises about this bill. Virtually every one 
has proved to be empty. Republicans have made one promise: that we 
would work to repeal it and replace it with common-sense reforms that 
lower costs, protect job creation and that people actually want. It is 
a promise we will keep.

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