[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 127 (Tuesday, September 24, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6692-S6695]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              THE ECONOMY

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I rise to talk about the economy generally 
and the negative effect President Obama's policies are having on the 
economy and its health and particularly on middle-class families. I do 
not think we have to look very far to see that impact; in fact, this 
economy, which is growing at a very sluggish rate, the slowest recovery 
in 50 years. In other words, the economy, in terms of coming out of a 
recession that we had a few years ago, is recovering at a slower rate 
than in any recession in the past 50 years.
  The labor participation rate--in other words, the number of people in 
the workforce--is at a lower level, percentagewise, than it has been in 
35 years. We have to go back to the administration of Jimmy Carter to 
find a time when the labor participation rate was at a lower level than 
it is today.
  In fact, in the last year, of the jobs that have been created, 60 
percent of those jobs are part-time jobs. We are not creating full-time 
jobs, we are creating part-time jobs, meaning that American workers are 
having to work more than one job to make ends meet and are having lower 
take-home pay. In fact, the take-home pay, the average household 
income, is down by about $4,000 since the President took office. So we 
have lower take-home pay, fewer jobs, at least fewer full-time jobs, a 
slow, sluggish economy.
  Why is that the case? Frankly, it is because the policies the 
President is putting in place are making it more expensive and more 
difficult to create jobs. Obviously, one of those policies that is 
having a profound impact on the economy is the President's health care 
law, which we refer to as ObamaCare. Since that bill was debated, going 
way back many years ago in the committees in the House and the Senate, 
a number of my colleagues and I have been raising concerns about the 
impact it would have.
  For 4 years we have warned about the negative effects, such as 
increased premiums, which we are now saying is actually the case, 
reductions in jobs, fewer jobs. We have fewer jobs being created out 
there. More and more businesses are saying the reason they are not 
hiring people, the reason they are reducing their workforce is because 
of the mandates, the requirements, the uncertainty associated with 
ObamaCare.
  People are losing access to health care that they like and were 
promised they would be able to keep, but for 4 years this President and 
his administration have looked the other way. Today, it seems that even 
the organizations that strongly supported the health care changes are 
coming to terms with their impact.
  In fact, in 2009, the Cleveland Clinic hosted President Obama during 
the height of his sales pitch to the American people. That same 
Cleveland Clinic last week announced plans to cut some of its 44,000 
employees because of ObamaCare. The Cleveland Clinic is the largest 
employer in Cleveland and the second largest employer in Ohio. They are 
the premier hospital and medical research center that is now paying for 
the consequences of ObamaCare.
  The Cleveland Clinic is not the only company cutting jobs or wages in 
order to deal with increased costs due to ObamaCare. According to 
Investors Business Daily, more than 250 employers have cut jobs or 
slashed hours as a direct result of ObamaCare's high costs and job-
killing regulations.
  That should not come as any surprise, when a 2,700-page law has 
already yielded 20,000 pages of regulations. Democrats overpromised on 
ObamaCare. Now their signature piece of legislation is underdelivering. 
It turns out, if you like your health care plan, you do not necessarily 
get to keep it--just ask the employees at GE or at IBM or at UPS or at 
Walgreens or at Home Depot.
  Not only has ObamaCare failed to make health care more affordable, 
but family premiums have actually jumped by more than $2,500 since 
ObamaCare became law. According to the Chamber of Commerce, nearly 
three in four small businesses plan to fire workers or cut hours as a 
result of ObamaCare.
  All of these negative effects are shaping public opinion of this law. 
ObamaCare continues to be a gut punch to middle-class families who are 
already struggling and public opinion is at an alltime low.
  In a recent NBC-Wall Street Journal poll, 12 percent of Americans 
believe the Democrat's signature law will have a positive effect on 
their families. According to a recent CNN-ORC International poll, 
nearly 60 percent of Americans now say they oppose ObamaCare, which is 
up 17 percent since January.
  Americans are opposing this law for good reasons. There is a CMS 
Actuary report that says: Health care costs are going to rise by $621 
billion. Just yesterday, Forbes published an article. The title of the 
article was ``ObamaCare Will Increase Health Spending By $7,450 For A 
Typical Family of Four.''
  By taking information from the nonpartisan Medicare Actuary report 
which was published last week, Forbes concluded that ObamaCare will 
boost health care spending by roughly $621 billion above amounts that 
would been spent without the law.
  By spreading across all American families, the increase in health 
care spending between 2014 and 2022 will amount to $7,450 per family of 
four.
  Juxtapose that against President Obama's promise that premiums will 
go down by $2,500 per family.
  A critical component of the health care law is the exchanges, which 
are scheduled to open for enrollment a mere 7 days from today. Yet it 
appears the administration is unprepared, yet again.
  In fact, recently the Congressional Research Service reviewed the 
administration's missed deadlines during the first 3 years of the 
health care law's implementation. As of May 31, the administration has 
failed to meet a total of 41 out of 82, 50 percent--41 out of 82, 50 
percent--of the law's deadlines. So it should be no surprise these 
exchanges aren't ready, which I find particularly concerning given the 
amount of personal information Americans will be required to provide to 
the government in order to apply for ObamaCare coverage through the 
exchanges. Personal data such as Social Security numbers, household 
income, and other tax return information will be entered into a Federal 
data services hub.
  CMS recently signed a $1.2 billion contract with a British company to 
sort and evaluate exchange applications containing personal financial 
data. According to the New York Times, the company ``has little 
experience with the Department of Health and Human Services or the 
insurance marketplaces.'' Last year, congressional hearings uncovered 
that the company exposed more than 120,000 Federal Thrift Savings Plan 
enrollees to identity theft when personal financial data, including 
Social Security numbers, was stolen from a compromised computer. This 
is not exactly a track record that inspires confidence.

[[Page S6693]]

  Only last week the Wall Street Journal reported a pricing glitch is 
affecting rollout of the exchange. This pricing glitch is producing 
wrong pricing information. To me, this is further evidence ObamaCare is 
not ready for prime time. Unfortunately for the American people, when 
it comes to ObamaCare, the worst is yet to come.
  I would argue that it is time to give the economy--the American 
economy, middle-class families, middle-class workers--a break by 
permanently delaying the law for all Americans, not just a select few 
such as some of the waivers the President gives to his favorite 
constituencies but for all Americans so they are not subject to the 
harmful impact and harmful effects of this law.
  ObamaCare is not the only one of President Obama's policies that is 
hurting the middle class. President Obama's war on affordable energy is 
also driving up energy costs and destroying jobs. During his first 
Presidential campaign, the President promised that under his energy 
policies, ``electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.'' Maybe 
people remember that statement, but he said ``electricity rates would 
necessarily skyrocket'' if he were elected President. Unlike his 
campaign promises to lower health care premiums and allow families to 
keep their health care plans, this is one promise the President has 
kept.
  Last week the administration rolled out a new energy tax that will 
slash jobs, restrict access to abundant domestic energy, and make 
electricity rates skyrocket. When combined with other EPA regulations, 
the President's policies will destroy more than 500,000 jobs, cause a 
family to lose more than $1,000 in annual income, and increase 
electricity prices by 20 percent.
  These burdens hit lower and middle-income families the hardest. These 
families pay a much higher percentage of their income on energy costs. 
Forcing these families to pay an additional $1,000 in energy costs each 
year reduces what they have available to buy a home, pay for their 
children's education, or simply make ends meet each month.
  Even union laborers have expressed concern that the new energy tax is 
going to have a harmful impact on them and on their families. The head 
of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers said the tax 
will ``threaten economic growth and America's energy future.''
  I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the IBEW 
article.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

 [From the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Sept. 23, 
                                 2013]

         EPA Coal Rule Threatens Energy Independence, Says IBEW

       International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers President 
     Edwin D. Hill issued the following statement today:
       ``The draft regulations issued by the Environmental 
     Protection Agency regarding emissions from newly-constructed 
     power plants threaten economic growth and America's energy 
     future.
       ``The new rules would in effect stop the construction of 
     new coal-fired power plants in the United States by enforcing 
     emission-reduction goals that just aren't realistic using 
     today's technology for carbon capture and sequestration.
       ``The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 
     remains strong supporters of clean coal technology and 
     federal and industry investment to make it a realistic option 
     for the energy industry. But in mandating new coal plants use 
     technology that is not even commercially available or 
     affordable, the EPA is unfairly singling out the coal 
     industry and setting back efforts to grow the economy and 
     promote energy independence.
       ``This means higher electricity bills for consumers and 
     layoffs and economic slowdown for tens of thousands of 
     working families that rely on the coal industry for 
     employment.
       ``The EPA itself has estimated that mandating carbon 
     capture and storage technology that still has not been deemed 
     commercially viable would raise the cost of electricity by 80 
     percent.
       ``President Obama has always said he supports an `all-of-
     the-above' energy policy that values a diverse energy 
     portfolio, including coal. But by effectively banning the 
     construction of new coal-fired plants, the EPA is forcing 
     America into heavy reliance on the volatile natural gas 
     market, abandoning our nation's largest fossil fuel base and 
     large parts of coal-producing America along with it.
       ``Strong job growth and energy independence cannot be 
     achieved without coal, a key part of our energy mix.''

  Mr. THUNE. The middle class has been hit hard by the Obama economy. 
Unemployment remains above 7 percent. Middle-class incomes have fallen, 
as I said, by over $3,000 since the President took office. 
Unfortunately, the President's health care and energy policies not only 
destroy jobs but hit the middle class with higher health care and 
higher energy costs. It is time for Congress to act as a check to the 
President's agenda and to stop these policies before more hard-working 
families are further harmed.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican whip.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, until ObamaCare was passed in 2010, 
virtually every major piece of legislation involving domestic reforms 
in this country has passed with solid bipartisan support, from Social 
Security to welfare reform. From Medicare to tax reform, from civil 
rights to No Child Left Behind, Presidents as different across the 
ideological spectrum as Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, George W. 
Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton all understood there is more to 
making sure that legislation succeeds than just jamming it through on a 
partisan-line vote. Indeed, after the bill passes and it needs to be 
implemented, aren't you going to need that same kind of bipartisan 
support to see that the legislation is actually implemented and 
actually works for the benefit of the American people?
  By contrast, during the health care debate in 2009 and 2010, 
President Obama did not seek any kind of genuine compromise with 
Republicans. Instead, he chose to ram it through on a controversial 
party-line vote which has generated nothing but division and bitterness 
since this legislation was first passed.
  Four and a half years later, ObamaCare is more unpopular than ever. 
One recent poll showed that 68 percent of American voters, including a 
majority of Democrats, are concerned about how the law will affect 
their health care coverage. Medicare recipients are worried about 
losing access to their current doctors. Middle-class families are 
worried about losing their existing insurance coverage. Young people 
are worried about seeing their premiums skyrocket. People on Medicaid 
are worried that America's health care safety net is going to become 
even less effective at protecting the neediest and most vulnerable 
members of our society.
  Day after day, not a day passes that we don't read stories about 
doctors who are dropping patients because of ObamaCare or employers who 
are ending the existing health care coverage their employees have 
because of ObamaCare or businesses that are slashing full-time work 
into part-time work because of ObamaCare. States are projecting a spike 
in the insurance premiums their people will pay, because of ObamaCare, 
in the individual market.
  Even the New York Times is now acknowledging that because of 
ObamaCare ``many insurers are significantly limiting the choice of 
doctors and hospitals available to consumers.'' Rather than expanded 
access to coverage, consumers are finding their choices are even more 
limited under ObamaCare.
  The President's own Department of Health and Human Services has 
estimated that America already has a massive shortage of primary care 
doctors. Indeed, just to meet current needs, we will have to add more 
than 15,000. As a senior official at the American Academy of Family 
Physicians recently told Bloomberg News, ``The shortfall of primary-
care access is not an insignificant problem, and it is going to get 
worse.''
  That is bad news for all Americans, and it is especially bad news for 
Medicaid beneficiaries who already have a hard time finding providers 
who will accept their insurance. In my home State, 62 percent of 
primary care physicians aren't in a position to take any new Medicaid 
patients. This is because Medicaid pays them at a fraction of what 
private health insurance or even Medicare pays. So many doctors simply 
can't afford to see new Medicaid patients. Here you have the irony, the 
terrible irony, of a promise of coverage but no real access to a 
doctor.
  Most physicians in Texas believe Medicaid is broken and should not be

[[Page S6694]]

used as a mechanism to expand coverage but, rather, as a last-resort 
safety net program. Unfortunately, by dumping millions of additional 
Americans into Medicaid without fixing it, ObamaCare will make our 
health care safety net even more fragile and even weaker.
  Meanwhile, the President's health care law continues to discourage 
job creation and hamper our economic recovery. If there is one thing we 
need more than anything else in this country, it is a stronger economy, 
because greater economic growth means more jobs and more opportunity. 
Then the people who have simply given up looking for work because the 
economy is growing too slowly will begin to find work again.
  As of last week more than 300 different employers had, according to 
Investor's Business Daily, ``cut work hours or jobs, or otherwise 
shifted away from full-time to part-time staff because of ObamaCare.''
  The administration seems to realize this.
  Particularly, the employer mandate is discouraging job creation and 
prompting many businesses to turn full-time jobs into part-time jobs. 
It is just common sense. ObamaCare gives businesses a powerful 
financial incentive to not hire more than 49 workers. What else did we 
think would happen? If you hire more than 49 workers, you have to pay a 
penalty, but if you are underneath that cap you don't.
  In early July the administration unilaterally delayed enforcement of 
the employer mandate, recognizing this phenomenon of full-time work 
shifting to part-time work.
  On the very same day it also announced it would not be verifying 
taxpayer eligibility for ObamaCare premium subsidies until 2015, even 
though the subsidies will begin flowing in 2014. What this means is 
people will qualify for taxpayer subsidies for their health care even 
though the Federal Government will not be verifying that information 
for a year. What do we expect to happen? I think one reasonable 
prediction is there will be massive fraud in the program.
  Of course, we know the President again tried to go it alone and do 
this unilaterally without congressional action and, of course, without 
constitutional authority. If there is one question my constituents ask 
me back in Texas, it is how can the President keep ignoring the law? 
How can he keep issuing waivers or delaying the implementation of laws 
Congress has passed? My only answer to them is Congress could pass the 
laws, but the Constitution gives the President the authority--the sole 
authority in the executive branch--the sole authority to enforce them.
  When the Attorney General and the executive branch refuse to enforce 
the laws, their only remedy is at the ballot box and possibly lawsuits 
filed by outside groups that may take many years to be resolved. It is 
enormously frustrating to them, and they worry that our whole 
constitutional framework is being undermined by the administration and 
this White House selectively deciding which laws it is going to enforce 
and which it is not.
  The President is basically saying ObamaCare means whatever I want it 
to be. He is showing contempt for the rule of law, contempt for the 
separation of powers, and our constitutional framework.
  Look at the IRS. America's tax collection agency is in shambles due 
to the scandals that we all know way too much about. Unfortunately, 
this same organization is going to be the one that actually helps to 
implement ObamaCare. It will issue tax subsidies through the Federal 
exchanges, even though the law makes clear that only State exchanges 
qualify for these subsidies.
  Americans are concerned also about how ObamaCare will affect their 
privacy rights. After all, the health care exchanges are scheduled to 
open exactly 1 week from today, but there hasn't been adequate time to 
even test the data security system.
  Meanwhile, according to the Wall Street Journal, the government's 
software can't reliably determine how much people need to pay for 
coverage--not quite ready for prime time.
  Finally, there is the issue of fraud. I mentioned that a moment ago. 
The ObamaCare subsidies start next year, but the government won't 
actually be verifying it until 2015. In other words, the President is 
effectively inviting people to game the system without fear of 
consequences.
  Mr. President, the only way to effectively stop ObamaCare is to 
dismantle it entirely. That is why I strongly support the House bill 
that would defund ObamaCare and save the American people from this 
public policy train wreck. My colleagues stand ready to work with the 
President on smart patient-centered health care reforms that will 
actually reduce costs and improve access, but we refuse to help him 
salvage a law that has proven to be so unaffordable, unworkable, and so 
completely at odds with what the American people were told the law 
would do when this bill was passed.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, this morning, upon coming in, I found 
this morning's copy of Politico with the front-page headline: 
``ObamaCare: One Blow After Another,'' with a picture of a pill bottle 
that says: ``Promises vs. Reality.''
  I am going to read a little bit of the way this article begins.

       The ObamaCare that consumers will finally be able to sign 
     up for next week is a long way from the health plan President 
     Obama first pitched to the Nation. Millions of low-income 
     Americans won't receive coverage. Many workers at small 
     businesses won't get a choice of insurance plans right away. 
     Large employers won't need to provide insurance for another 
     year. Far more States than expected won't run their own 
     insurance marketplaces. And a growing number of workers won't 
     get to keep their employer-provided coverage.

  What is the President going to do about it? He made all the pitches, 
he made all the promises, and the American people have found out it is 
not true. So today President Obama is going to turn one more time to 
his so-called ``secretary of explaining stuff'' to sell his health care 
law. The President and former President Bill Clinton will be holding a 
pep rally attempting to convince people to sign up for health insurance 
in the new exchanges that open 1 week from today.
  This health care law was supposed to be the signature achievement of 
the Obama Presidency. Why does the President need to call for backup to 
explain it? It was supposed to be overwhelmingly popular by now. Why 
does the Obama administration need reinforcements to sell it? Maybe 
because there are new polls out every day showing the new law is more 
unpopular than ever. In an NBC poll, only 31 percent of people said the 
President's health care law was a good idea. CNN found 57 percent 
opposed most or all of the proposals in the law.
  Washington Democrats have been spinning their hardest but the 
American people know the health care law is unaffordable, it is 
unworkable, and it is very unpopular.
  The last time Bill Clinton took to the stage to sell the health care 
law was about 3 weeks ago. This was the Washington Post headline on 
that speech. It said: ``Clinton on Stump for Health Care Law: Obama has 
dispatched ex-president to drum up support as crucial stage nears.''
  Bill Clinton spoke for 50 minutes. He repeated a lot of the same old 
broken promises about what the law will do. He also gave the same old 
tired excuses for why it will fall short. He said there might be some 
glitches, there might be some unanticipated issues, but he said there 
were simple fixes to all of these. In 50 minutes--nearly an hour of 
talking--what Bill Clinton didn't do was honestly and seriously talk 
about the real problems with the Obama health care law. He never spoke 
directly to the American people who will be hurt by the law.
  So when Bill Clinton takes to the stage again today I hope he will 
finally talk to some of those folks. For starters, he should speak to 
the workers who have had their work hours cut because of the law. It is 
a direct hit to their paychecks. It is happening all across the 
country. Many towns, counties, and school districts have had to cut 
back the hours of their workers. They need to keep more employees at a 
part-time status to reduce the burdens and the expenses of the health 
care law. They are limiting the hours they can pay bus drivers, 
librarians, coaches, substitute teachers, and other middle-class 
workers.

[[Page S6695]]

  More than 250 different employers across the country have had to take 
steps to reduce the burden of the President's health care law. 
President Obama owes part-time workers an explanation and he owes them 
an apology. And if he won't do it, Bill Clinton should.
  The last time he spoke, President Clinton failed to mention the 
serious economic consequences of the law. The Obama administration did 
the same thing. They said there was only anecdotal evidence. Well, the 
heads of three major labor unions happen to disagree with the 
President. They sent out a letter recently to Democrats in Congress 
warning about the damage the health care law is doing to their care and 
to their paychecks. They wrote this, saying the health care law--

       . . . will shatter not only our hard-earned health 
     benefits, but destroy the foundation of the 40-hour workweek 
     that is the backbone of the American middle class.

  Even the President's strongest supporters are being hurt by his 
health care law. They are getting hit in their paychecks and they are 
getting hit hard. I believe President Obama owes union members an 
explanation. And if he won't do it, Bill Clinton should.
  Those union leaders are also upset that a lot of the generous health 
care plans they have had will have to be cut because of the law. They 
said the unintended consequences of the health care law are severe, and 
``perverse incentives are already creating nightmare scenarios.'' That 
is from the unions.
  But it is not just the unions. Walgreen's, Home Depot, IBM, Sears, 
Darden Restaurants--one company after another has had to make changes 
to their insurance plans under the Obama health care law. President 
Obama owes those middle-class workers an explanation and he owes them 
an apology. And if he won't do it, today Bill Clinton should.
  The next group President Clinton should talk to are the spouses who 
are losing their insurance coverage. The University of Virginia 
recently announced plans to drop spousal coverage for some of its 
employees. The school said it was the President's health care law, and 
that it would add $7.3 million to the cost of its health plan in 2014.
  In a recent memo to employees, the shipping company UPS said it also 
plans to exclude 15,000 spouses from its insurance plan. The company, 
of course, cited the health care law as the top reason for this switch. 
It said the increased expenses and the government mandates have made it 
too difficult to keep offering the benefit. So just as the University 
of Virginia, if a worker's husband or wife can get insurance from their 
other employer, then UPS won't be covering them.

  President Obama owes those spouses an explanation. And if he won't do 
it, Bill Clinton should.
  Finally, I hope President Clinton will be honest and speak directly 
to the young people who are going to see their insurance premiums 
skyrocket. The health care law needs healthy young people to sign up 
for these exchanges in record numbers or the whole thing will collapse. 
That is what is at stake for the Obama administration. So they are 
spending millions of dollars in advertising to convince young healthy 
people to buy expensive Washington-approved insurance.
  The Los Angeles Times ran a headline over the weekend: ``Hollywood 
plays key role for health law: White House counts on the entertainment 
industry to promote its plan, especially to young people.''
  Hollywood celebrities and Bill Clinton are trying to convince young 
people to sign up. Many of those young people will be paying more, they 
will be buying coverage they may not need, and that might not be right 
for them. But they have to do it. They have to do it to help subsidize 
insurance for older individuals.
  This is happening at the same time these young people can't find a 
job--can't get full-time work. Why? Well, a lot of that is due to the 
perverse incentives of the health care law. President Obama owes those 
young people an explanation and an apology. And if he won't do it, Bill 
Clinton should.
  The American people deserve more than sound bites and talking points 
and excuses. They deserve better than what they have gotten under this 
terrible health care law. A few months ago the White House saw its 
employer mandate was a bad idea, so they delayed the mandate for 1 
year. Republicans think all Americans deserve a delay.
  There are real problems with this health care law and there are a lot 
of unanswered questions, a lot of unintended consequences, and a lot of 
ways the new health care law can do more harm than good for middle-
class Americans. We should delay the law permanently and work out a 
better replacement that actually reforms health care the right way. The 
American people wanted health care reform. They wanted the care they 
need from a doctor they choose at a lower cost. But as the polls are 
showing, the American people know the Obama health care law didn't give 
them what they asked for.
  President Obama failed to keep his promises and he has failed at 
changing the public's opinion. So now he is going to be Bill Clinton's 
warmup act in a last-ditch sales job. Well, what former President 
Clinton should do is talk to the American people, whom President Obama 
has ignored.
  You only have to look at yesterday's New York Times front page: 
``Lower Premiums To Come At Cost Of Fewer Choices. Impact Of Health 
Care Law. In New Plans, Insurers Often Leave Out Many Providers.''
  The President said: If you like what you have, you can keep it. If 
you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.
  Even the California plan the President touts, when we look at what is 
offered there in the insurance exchanges, the new network for thousands 
and thousands of people, tens of thousands of doctors across the State, 
it does not include the five medical centers of the University of 
California or the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center near Beverly Hills.
  There is a furor in New Hampshire regarding the exclusion of 10 of 
the State's 26 hospitals from health plans that it will sell through 
the insurance exchange.
  I think it is time for the President to admit the health care law is 
terribly flawed. Promise after promise has been broken, and it is time 
for Democrats and Republicans to work together to give the American 
public the care they need and deserve.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Vermont.

                          ____________________