[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 69 (Thursday, May 16, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3556-S3557]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               OBAMACARE

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, we have been informed that the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services has become a private fundraiser to raise 
funds from the very industry she regulates in order to implement 
ObamaCare. This raises all sorts of troubling concerns. There is an 
appearance of impropriety and a conflict of interest. There is an 
appearance that there is basically a shakedown going on--extracting 
money from companies she regulates in order to implement the 
President's health care law. This is certainly unethical--representing 
a conflict of interest--and possibly illegal. However, it has provided 
us a useful reminder about ObamaCare: that it represents one of the 
worst examples of crony capitalism that exist today. Unfortunately, 
that is true of a number of the administration's policies, but let me 
just explain what I mean.
  When the private enterprise and the government become so intertwined 
as to become mutually dependent, usually what that means is the people 
who can hire the most lobbyists, the best lawyers, and others, compete 
unfairly for government benefits.
  The concern is that since Secretary Sebelius is going to be the one 
who doles out grants and other benefits under ObamaCare, there is the 
all-too-human temptation to favor those who have gotten you out of a 
crack and done you a favor.
  Let's review how ObamaCare is supposed to work in the first place. 
The Federal Government is supposed to come up with its own definition 
of health insurance. What we own right now may not be good enough for 
the government and its standard for health insurance. It is demanding 
that private businesses offer their employees this Washington-approved 
insurance or they get penalized.
  It is also demanding that some Americans--many Americans--pay for 
coverage they don't want, don't need, and may not be able to afford. 
The best example of that is young adults--sometimes called the young 
and invincible--who may not think they need comprehensive health care 
insurance. They may think, well, perhaps I need more of a catastrophic 
policy or something else that will take care of me if things really 
turn bad. As a result of ObamaCare, these young people will be forced 
to buy coverage they don't need. Many of them don't want it and can't 
afford it.
  They will literally see their insurance premiums skyrocket because of 
a phenomenon known as age-banding. Age-banding is where older Americans 
cannot be charged more than three times what younger people can be 
charged. We all know that as we age, we utilize more health care 
services. Here again, younger Americans are being asked to subsidize 
their elders in ObamaCare.
  One way to look at it is the Obama administration has decided that 
the purchase of an expensive government-approved product sold by 
certain private companies is a condition of American citizenship. For 
those who are American citizens and live here, they have to buy it. If 
they don't, they pay the penalty. That is one example of crony 
capitalism.
  Private companies are turning into de facto public utilities, and 
Americans are forced to buy their products but only those products 
approved by the regulators here in Washington. It is the ultimate 
marriage of big business and big government, and it is bad for the 
American taxpayer.
  Now Secretary Sebelius has gone a step further. She is using her 
leverage and power as a regulator over private companies to force them 
to fund ObamaCare. We all see what is going on. Secretary Sebelius is 
making the health care industry an offer they cannot refuse. After all, 
her agency regulates those companies and has enormous influence over 
their business operations.
  Indeed, ObamaCare has expanded Health and Human Services' regulatory 
power so much, we could say it essentially amounts to a government 
takeover of one-sixth of the national economy. Anytime there is a 
dramatic increase in Federal regulation of bureaucratic authority, 
there will also be a dramatic increase in crony capitalism.
  Health and Human Services granted a series of waivers from 
ObamaCare's annual limit requirements, which fostered the impression 
that certain companies, labor unions, and other institutions were 
getting preferential treatment. Why not treat all Americans the same 
rather than have the government pick winners and losers, with the 
temptation to pick their friends and political supporters and give them 
special favors?
  We saw this also in the government-run bailout of the Chrysler 
Corporation when the company's secured bondholders received less for 
their loans than the United Auto Workers pension fund.
  For that matter, we also saw it in the notorious Solyndra project. 
President Obama's entire green agenda energy policy is based on the 
idea that the Federal Government should be playing venture capitalist 
with taxpayer dollars. We all know that when Solyndra went bankrupt, 
the administration favored private lenders over taxpayers, which was a 
violation of the law.
  But there are many other private companies that have received 
taxpayer funding for political or ideological reasons, and that is why 
we say that crony capitalism undermines public trust in government 
because not everybody is treated the same. The government--those in 
power--picks winners and losers, political favorites, friends, and 
family.

  I have one final point. We learned about the Sebelius shakedown on 
the same day we learned that the IRS has been deliberately targeting 
and harassing some organizations based on their political views.
  As we all know, the IRS has a very important and key role in 
administering some of the biggest parts of ObamaCare and thus will be 
collecting massive amounts of new information about individual 
Americans. That was always a bad idea, but now, after we have learned 
about the abuses at the IRS, it sounds even more dangerous than ever. 
After what we have learned so far, how can Americans feel confident 
that the IRS won't abuse these new powers after having abused its 
current powers? Why should the American people believe what they have 
been told when they have been lied to time and time again about the 
IRS's activities?
  Back in March 2012, the former IRS Commissioner categorically denied 
that his agency was targeting certain political organizations. Now we 
know that he was not only wrong, we also know they intentionally lied. 
We also know that senior IRS officials--many

[[Page S3557]]

who still have their jobs--learned of these abuses 2 years ago and 
never corrected the record.
  In short, if we ever needed another reason to get rid of ObamaCare 
and replace it with market-driven, patient-centered reform, the IRS has 
provided us with one.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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