[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 135 (Thursday, October 3, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H6218-H6222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1800
                          AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2013, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I always enjoy my friends on the other side 
of the aisle, some really terrific public speakers. I also enjoyed 
particularly the question from my friend across the aisle who said: 
``Why not let ObamaCare just go through?''
  That is something that has been debated and I have discussed with so 
many of my constituents. There are many people in the country that are 
so angry about ObamaCare being passed. It is just hard to call it 
``affordable care'' because I have heard from so many that it has just 
devastated, so many who have told me that it is anything but 
affordable. It is devastating them.
  Some have said if we just let ObamaCare go through, it is going to 
hurt so many people. It has already hurt so many people. If we just let 
it go through--stand by, just get out of the way, let it hit, let it 
get the full hurt and damage that will continue--that will just get 
worse as it hurts the economy as it continues to make most people's 
health care and health insurance both go up.
  If you are a purely political animal, that is the perfect question to 
ask: Why not just let ObamaCare go through and let it do its damage?
  But when you care deeply about people and see the damage it is doing, 
how can you stand by and let it keep hurting the way it is? People have 
already lost insurance, they've already gotten their notices, we 
continue to get emails, we continue to get calls, I continue to hear 
from people I know and trust back home, I hear from other people around 
the country.
  There has been an email where people could send us their stories and 
then we try to verify: [email protected]
.gov. So those stories continue to come in at ObamaC[email protected].
  So if you are purely a political animal, whether Republican or 
Democrat, then it is a good question to ask: Why not just let ObamaCare 
come through? Because if it is as bad as people are telling us it is--
you see the damage to the economy, you see the people that have lost 
full-time work and gone to part-time work because of it, having to take 
multiple jobs, losing the benefits they had, you see businesses that 
had cultivated and trained employees, who did not want to lose 
employees, who were building and building but got above the 50 
threshold and now they have had to cut below that or go to part time, 
you see the damage--then, yes, for purely political animals why not let 
it go through?
  As my friend noted, if it is all that bad you will win the next 
election, the majority in the Senate next time, you will win the 
Presidency next time.
  But there are some of us that don't think in purely political terms. 
We hear from people--our hearts break when their hearts break, we 
rejoice when they rejoice--and it is hard to feel good and stand by and 
let a train wreck or a nightmare, depending on which Democrat's 
description of ObamaCare you want, just let it go and continue to wreak 
havoc on America and real American people, on American lives.
  We've mentioned some of the stories before. As I say, they continue 
to come in to ObamaC[email protected].
  Here is one from Jeff:

       I run a business in Tyler. We have part-time associates 
     that work 35 hours per week on average. But this varies due 
     to the changing business levels. We provide transportation 
     services moving freight to and from Tyler. Since the 
     implementation of the Affordable Care Act, we have had to cut 
     down hours of these associates to get below the employer-
     mandated level of 30 hours. These associates are used to 
     working 35 hours on average per week. As most Americans, they 
     set their budget for their family around this many hours. Our 
     company needs to be able to compete in this market so we need 
     the flexibility of the part-time worker. However, we must now 
     cut hours of loyal, dedicated associates below 29 hours. This 
     is creating a problem, first for our associates, who are 
     simply trying to make ends meet, and for the organization 
     that I run to provide quality service to our customers. This 
     law is handcuffing the businesses and will ultimately drive 
     up costs of running a company. When costs rise they are 
     passed along to the customers and on to the end consumer. We 
     will continue to struggle economically under this law. Please 
     do whatever you can to reverse this law and restore liberty 
     to this country and our businesses.

  Here is one from Tammy:

       When ObamaCare first passed its law, I asked my ObGyn what 
     he thought of it. His words were that it ``sucks.'' I told my 
     husband that I bet when all this is said and done he would 
     retire. And guess what? He did. So the part about being able 
     to keep your doctor is definitely not true. Also, I own a 
     small business with less than 50 employees, and we will never 
     be able to grow our business any bigger than what it is right 
     now. Sad.

  From Tammy.
  Mary said:

       We had insurance through Moen in my retirement package, 
     which cost us $27 per month. It has been canceled effective 
     January 1 of 2014 and comparable coverage is going to cost us 
     $300 per month. We are on Social Security.

  That is from Walter and Mary in east Texas.
  Here is one from Harold:

       My granddaughter teaches elementary students in Mesquite. 
     She was shocked to find that the health insurance she carries 
     on herself and her son has doubled in cost since the school 
     year. She inquired as to why. And well, you already know what 
     the answer she was given: ObamaCare.

  A single mom and her son.
  Here is another from a business owner:

       I have been told that my company offers what is known as a 
     Cadillac health plan, although it has been years since anyone 
     in my

[[Page H6219]]

     company could afford a Cadillac automobile. As a small 
     business, I use the ability to offer health care that was 
     superior to others to attract and retain quality, longtime 
     employees. Now faced with being taxed for providing too 
     much of a good thing I will reduce the benefits to my 
     employees. We call that a ``left-handed handshake'' in 
     Texas. It doesn't sit well with me. I am sure not well 
     with my employees. I am considering early retirement and 
     closing or selling my business all together. It just 
     doesn't seem to matter to anyone anymore that hard work 
     and doing the right thing all these years ever counted for 
     anything. Here is hoping some folks will pull their heads 
     out of--before it is too late.
       I was part of Tenet's reduction in force on June 21, 2013. 
     With low hospital census and poor CMS reimbursement my 
     position was eliminated. I lost the family health care. I was 
     paying $2,062 annually with a family deductible of $2,400 for 
     our medical, dental, prescription, and eye insurance. For 
     COBRA or Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance we will now have to 
     pay $1,000 per month or $12,000 annually. My employment will 
     not cover the cost of my insurance.

  That's from Claudia.

       I am a firefighter with the city of Whitehouse, Texas. We 
     have been able until October 1, 2013, to work up to 39 hours 
     a week because the city cannot afford to give us benefits. 
     The city asked us if we could get on our spouse's group 
     insurance I could still work up to 39 hours a week with the 
     new health care law. I joined my wife's group policy and went 
     from paying $189 a month to $600 per month. We have been told 
     as of October 1, 2013, that Texas Municipal insurance has 
     interpreted the new health care law as anyone working over 30 
     hours a week has to be provided health benefits. We are now 
     going to be cut back to working 24 hours a week and not get 
     health care. I have left my wife's plan and went back to my 
     own insurance policy, but with the cuts in hours I cannot 
     afford to stay on her plan and will have a hard time paying 
     for my own.
       I cannot understand, if the new health plan is going to get 
     health insurance for everyone and I already have insurance, 
     why can't I be left alone to work the 39 hours a week? At $13 
     an hour, 24 hours a week doesn't bring in much for the job we 
     are expected to do, and at 61 years of age jobs are kind of 
     scarce. I can't understand why my country is trying to put me 
     on welfare. We have too many on it already. All I want to do 
     is work.

  From John.
  Here is one from Kerri:

       I've been in law enforcement since I was 21, and what is 
     happening to our officers, dispatchers, and deputies today is 
     disgusting. Many rural counties, like mine where I'm from, 
     have voted in County Commissioners Court and actually passed 
     that because of ObamaCare, the deputies will have to pay for 
     their own medical insurance. These officers are already being 
     paid below what surrounding counties are being paid. Now they 
     are going to have to spend over half of their income on their 
     own insurance because the county cannot afford to pay it. Let 
     me break this down for you. A good friend of mine is employed 
     as a deputy by the same county sheriff's office and makes 
     about $900 every 2 weeks and $400 to $450 of that will now go 
     towards medical insurance. This deputy was almost killed in 
     the line of duty 2 years ago, resulting in a lot of surgeries 
     and a year of hospitalization and rehabilitation as well. 
     Because of all of those line-of-duty injuries he may not be 
     able to get private coverage now. How could you ask a man or 
     woman to lay their life on the line every day, to serve the 
     public and enforce laws, but then tell them that they'll go 
     from spending about $150 a month on insurance premiums to 
     about $450 per month.

                              {time}  1815

  It's true that you should be able to go to the exchanges, and if they 
can ever get through and someday get it, it's not going to have the 
coverage that they had before. They've lost their insurance. They won't 
have insurance like that again. It won't be the coverage that they'd 
wanted, that they'd selected, that they'd agreed on. Why? Because, if 
you like your insurance, ObamaCare makes sure you're not likely to keep 
it. That's the bottom line.
  Here is one from Ima:

       Due to ObamaCare, I received a letter from my doctor 2 
     weeks ago, telling me she would no longer take care of anyone 
     on Medicare. There is a big shortage of doctors that will 
     accept Medicare patients in such a small town as Lufkin. I 
     haven't been able to get another doctor to accept me as of 
     this date. I never thought I would live to experience my own 
     government treating us like we were a Communist nation. Our 
     Congress has truly let the American people down.

  I'm sure Ima remembers being told repeatedly by everyone--from the 
President and by so many of our Democratic colleagues here--that if you 
like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. Well, Ima lost her doctor 
like so many across America.
  Here is one from Jay in east Texas:

       My son returned from a tour in Iraq to an economy that 
     hindered his job search for over a year. He finally got a job 
     with Fastenal as a part-time warehouse worker. As a part-
     timer, he was able to work 39 hours every week, which paid 
     his bills and allowed him to put aside some savings for pilot 
     training. Thanks to ObamaCare, his hours have been cut to 29. 
     He has had to move out of his apartment and into a communal 
     house so he can afford to live. Thankfully, he has VA health 
     benefits. Otherwise, he would have to pay for health benefits 
     or a fine out of his greatly reduced income.

  This is from Jim:

       My son has a learning disability. Yet he has worked 
     faithfully for a nationwide paint company for over 3 years. 
     He is married. He and his wife work hard and refuse to go on 
     welfare. They have their dignity, a life vision and a 
     committed work ethic. Yet the best position he had attained 
     was part time at the paint company. He was working 32 hours 
     per week, and they were paying their bills, but were living 
     basically at the poverty line.
       Then ObamaCare came, and like so many companies, my son's 
     hours were reduced to 28 hours per week. This put him below 
     the poverty line and made it impossible to meet all of his 
     bills. He refused to pursue welfare because he has a 
     commitment to earn what he receives. ObamaCare punished 
     diligent, community, responsible Americans like my son.
       How many other working poor have been similarly hurt 
     because of a program that was put in place with such 
     irresponsible legislative leadership?

  If someone wonders what James is talking about regarding 
irresponsible legislative leadership, that came through a legislative 
process without any input from Republicans, who represented nearly half 
of the country, so nearly half of the country didn't get any input into 
ObamaCare. We were told it would be negotiated on C-SPAN by the 
President while he was running. Not only was it not negotiated on C-
SPAN, but the legislative leaders in this room--in this body--who 
pushed it through without most of the people who voted for it, haven't 
any idea what is in it. I read it. That's why I was so committed to 
voting against it and to trying to get others to understand what they 
were going to do to America.
  So, for this young man, who had known the pride of being self-
supporting with a disability and providing for his family just above 
the poverty line, ObamaCare has shoved him into poverty.
  Here is one from Michelle with two ``l's.'' It's not my friend, 
Michele Bachmann. This is from a Texas ``Michelle.'' She sent this last 
week:

       During this process and even before ObamaCare actually goes 
     into full effect, every single member of my family has been 
     affected. Both of my children, who have always maintained 
     full-time jobs and have supported their families are now 
     faced with part-time employment from multiple jobs because 
     their employers can't afford to provide health insurance any 
     longer, and as such, their hours have been reduced to avoid 
     having to provide health insurance. That means my children 
     and my grandchildren are all going to be forced into the 
     exchanges, which are not affordable at all despite the empty 
     promises made by the Democratic Party when this horrible bill 
     was passed.
       In fact, please tell our former Speaker that, now that 
     everyone has had a chance to read it, it's even more obvious 
     that this plan does not work.
       On my side, I've always maintained health insurance, but 
     since the passage of ObamaCare, my health premiums have 
     increased over 316 percent. In addition, my deductibles have 
     skyrocketed by 500 percent, and the covered services have 
     been reduced. So thank you for allowing me to keep my health 
     care coverage if I chose to. You didn't mention that it would 
     now be unaffordable.

  Here is one from Leland:

       ``A dark age in medicine.'' That was the phrase my 
     oncologist, at a recent office visit, used. He said, When you 
     cut reimbursements as low as Medicare and ObamaCare have 
     done, the number of patients I must see to cover the fixed 
     costs of my practice severely impacts the time I can spend 
     with a single patient. Quality of care can't help but be 
     impacted.

  If Leland has an oncologist, I hope and pray that his cancer is in 
remission.
  It was amazing to hear Democrats say, Hey, yeah. Okay. Maybe we did 
cut Medicare in ObamaCare by over $700 billion. I'm not sure if I hear 
them talk about the amount by which they devastated Medicare. Hey--but 
that only goes to the providers. It does not affect and will not affect 
your care.
  As you can find out from Leland, it does affect their care, and as 
we've heard from other people across the country, when you cut so 
dramatically the reimbursement that a health care provider gets 
for providing health care service, either they're going to have to stop 
providing that service or they cannot provide the same level or quality 
of service.

[[Page H6220]]

  Seniors across America are one by one figuring that out. Wow, wait a 
minute. You were so sold on this ObamaCare bill, and you called it 
``affordable.'' Yet you told me I wasn't going to be affected as a 
senior citizen in America when you cut hundreds of billions of dollars 
out from the services I was going to get? They're figuring it out. 
Their service has been affected, and it will get worse and worse as 
time goes on because that's what the government does. When the 
government takes over something, it's rare that it gets better.
  Here we've got one from Nick:

       The American Veterinary Medical Association has decided, 
     because of the uncertainties of ObamaCare, to discontinue its 
     sponsorship of its group major medical policy, effective 
     December 1, 2013. Not only have my wife and I had this 
     insurance since she graduated from vet school in 1976, but my 
     dad also had it when he graduated from vet school in 1952. So 
     now, at the age of 61, we are looking for new insurance.

  I'm sure Nick recalls the promise: if you like your insurance, oh, 
you can keep it.
  Here is an email from Debbie:

       I am responding by letting you know that I've lost my 
     health care insurance. It's terminating at the end of this 
     year due to ObamaCare.

  Of course, we have her name and information.
  One from Tom:

       My doctor retired as a result of ObamaCare.

  That's somebody who served in the Army.
  Here is one from Emily:

       We had group insurance with my husband's work. It was a 
     plan that covered our family that cost $568 a month, no co-
     pay, and the $1,200 deductible per person has now increased 
     to $1,100 per month and a $4,800 deductible per person to 
     stay current with new health care laws. That's more than our 
     house payment. Once upon a time, a mother whose husband 
     worked was able to stay home. Now either both have to work to 
     afford a thing like insurance or neither works so we can bum 
     off the people who do.

  Her subject line was: ``Unaffordable rather than Affordable.'' But 
her insurance went from $568 a month, which is a pretty healthy price 
there, basically doubling to $1,100 per month, and the no co-pay 
deductible went from $1,200 per person to $4,800 per person. That's 
enough to devastate a family.
  Here is one from James:

       Several months ago, we got a letter in the mail saying that 
     our physician--and I won't give the name--was leaving her 
     affiliated practice. When we asked her about it, she listed 
     ObamaCare as the primary reason for leaving the practice.

  Here is one from Ty:

       I just received my affordable health care renewal notice 
     from my health care insurance provider, which is one of the 
     two members participating in North Carolina's marketplace 
     exchange. I've been informed that the plan which I currently 
     have and like will no longer be available under ObamaCare. As 
     a result, I'm being forced to switch to a new plan. 
     Additionally, effective January 1, 2014, the premium for an 
     insurance plan comparable to my current is increasing from 
     $235 to $407 per month, and my maximum out-of-pocket expense 
     is increasing from $2,700 to $6,350.

  He goes on to complain about hearing the President say on numerous 
occasions, if you like your insurance, you can keep it.

                              {time}  1830

  Here's one from Carmine:

       I am a responsible family man. I've always provided health 
     insurance for my family. In 2008, I was diagnosed with MS, 
     making insurance expensive. However, I always made do by 
     having insurance either on my wife's plan or my own plan. In 
     2009, we lost my wife's plan and we worried because of my 
     preexisting condition. However, we learned that our State of 
     New Jersey had a provision that we cannot be denied coverage 
     as long as we can prove we had coverage at the time I was 
     diagnosed. I also find out that in our State, New Jersey, 
     dependents can stay on their parents' plan up until they are 
     31 years old. So two of Obama's biggest benefits were already 
     available in my State. However, after being extremely 
     responsible in this tough economic time, the ObamaCare law 
     has now made my insurance policy nonrenewable. My wife worked 
     really hard to make sure that I and our child are covered 
     under this plan and now we will lose it. We do not know if 
     these plans, which could be a little cheaper, will provide 
     the coverage I need. I have a specific doctor I see at St. 
     Sinai. Because the liberal Democrats want to cover the 
     uninsured--a noble thing--they are hurting those who always 
     try to be responsible.

  That was Carmine in New Jersey.
  It is worth noting, Mr. Speaker, that back during the ObamaCare 
debate, there were many of us Republicans who were saying to our 
Democratic friends--they controlled the White House; they controlled 
the House; they controlled the Senate--who said, Look, why don't we do 
a bipartisan group of bills or one bill? We can agree on a bill that 
allows people to keep their kids on their insurance if they're 
dependents. We can work something out here. We were told we weren't 
needed because they controlled the White House, the Senate, the House 
of Representatives. They didn't need our input.
  They rammed through a bill without knowing what all was in it. I know 
of cases, I've heard of cases where people had acknowledged conditions, 
insurance companies that we know, and then later got dropped after they 
got expensive. Oh, you had a preexisting condition. There have been 
things that were very unfair that insurance companies have done, and 
there are ways to deal with those things. When there are not, we should 
fix it with legislation.
  What the Democratic party did, without most people who voted for the 
ObamaCare bill knowing what was in it, they passed a law that had not 
been properly vetted or thought through. There was no chance to fuss 
about amendments at the subcommittee, at the committee, or here on the 
floor because the bill that was dealt with in the subcommittee, 
committee, it wasn't the same one that they rushed through as the final 
ObamaCare.
  I read the 1,000-page bill. I read their 2,000-page bill when it 
looked like that was what they were going to vote on here. Then it 
turned out, here came the other. So I was slow to make my way through 
that bill. I really didn't want to. What if they come back with a 
5,000-page bill after that? When it turned out that's what they were 
really going to do, I went through that.
  I wasn't able to go through and take the sections in each place that 
were talked about in other bills, other laws. It's almost impossible 
unless you have a tremendous amount of time to go back and figure out 
how it actually affects other laws. But when you read through it, you 
get an awful lot of gist of what's happening, and it sure wasn't 
something we should have passed.
  Karen, from Vermont, actually, said:

       Shortly following passage of ObamaCare, I lost my primary 
     care doctor. He decided to join a group that limited the 
     number of patients that he could treat, and they charged a 
     yearly fee not covered by Medicare for the privilege of 
     remaining his patient. This resulted in hundreds of patients 
     being dropped. Put an end to ObamaCare.

  She lost her doctor. She didn't get to keep him or her.
  Here's one from Dee:

       My insurance deductible was raised to $4,000, as of 
     September 1, 2013, per individual, $8,000 per family.

  She goes on to describe all the other things that jumped up as a 
result.
  Here's one from Erica:

       As a single disabled mom to one disabled son, I'm on 
     Medicare and Medicaid. I just got my new policy for 2014. 
     Half of the insurance I had is gone because of----

  Well, I can't read that here, Mr. Speaker, as Erica describes the 
bill in such a way that I can't read it on the floor.
  Anyway, she says:

       I was able to join a gym on a discount to keep me active, 
     but no longer can do that. My price increased for my 
     prescription drugs. Please, repeal this bill and listen to 
     the American people.

  Here's one from Helen:

       As a glass artist, Obama's hold on our economy has ruined 
     my business. My target market is middle class, stay-at-home 
     moms, but almost all my customer base has shifted to those 
     owning half-million-dollar homes. I know, because I check 
     every time I make a sale. This makes me very sad, and even 
     mad, that only the wealthy can afford my art now. I should 
     have gone into gun sales, which don't discriminate.
       ObamaCare has forced my family to lose our Blue Cross from 
     my husband's work because he cannot afford us anymore. We're 
     almost old enough to go on Medicare, but I hear it's been 
     raided by ObamaCare, which we refuse to participate in. We're 
     not Obama's slaves.

  Well, I'm not going to read the rest of that. But Helen obviously is 
rather bitter because they liked their insurance, but the promises were 
broken. She didn't keep her insurance, she and her family. That's only 
a portion of the stacks of emails we've been getting.
  I want to go back to the question my friends ask: Why not just let 
ObamaCare go through? Like I say, if you're a pure political animal, 
yeah, let it go through. Let Americans like

[[Page H6221]]

these poor folks, let them keep suffering and, ooh, it will be so good. 
Republicans will win back the majority in the Senate, and we're told, 
oh, gee, they'll win the White House in 2016. Well, it just happens 
that, to some of us, doing the right thing in Congress is not about 
helping a political party. It's about trying to help the people that 
elected us. It's about trying to do what's right for the whole country.
  If your heart doesn't break when you read these stories and when you 
take the phone calls and when you have people tell you, with broken 
hearts, of what's happened to their business, what's happened to their 
job, what's happened to their family, what's happened to their kids' 
jobs and the suffering that's going on, why? if you're enough of a 
political animal like some folks, I guess, yeah, okay, maybe it would 
be great for the Republican Party if we just sat back and let it go 
through, let it devastate everybody you can.
  My late mother used to tell me she wished I would be a doctor. She 
used to have Dr. McKellar, who passed away this year. I think he's the 
one that kept encouraging me, but he would tell me: Louis, you'd be a 
great doctor. I'll help you. You'd be great. We can get you into Baylor 
Medical School.
  That's a great medical school, but it just didn't feel like what I 
was called to do. It didn't feel right in my heart. But when I think 
about the suffering that is going on, I know that I'm in a place to 
make a difference, and we, every one of us here in this body, are here 
where we can make a difference, where we can help people see the doctor 
that they should see.

  The question has come from different constituents, from other people, 
gee, all Federal workers--some think that Congress has a different 
health care plan than all Federal workers, but it's all part of the 
same Federal plan that every Federal worker has, and you've got choices 
you can make. Some people have asked a question that I don't have a 
really good answer for. They've said: If the Democrats were so 
insistent, if the real purpose of ObamaCare was to try to make sure 
people that didn't have insurance got insurance, and they really 
intended to make sure that if you like your insurance you can keep your 
insurance, and if they were really serious that if you like your doctor 
you can keep your doctor, then why didn't they just figure out a way 
that if you don't have insurance, you can choose from a State's 
cafeteria plan or Federal employee plan in their States? Do something 
like that.
  I don't have a good answer, other than, when you look and you go 
through ObamaCare, it is very clear, as we said before, it wasn't just 
about health care. It was about the GRE, the government running 
everything, the government getting all of your most personal, private 
information, having every one of your medical records in Federal 
possession.
  It's a disaster.
  Well, I have reflected on Franklin Roosevelt's speech. I admired the 
speech he gave in this room from that podium when it was white marble, 
that this is a day that will live in infamy. He gave another speech 
when he said the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. It's 
considered one of the greatest speeches by anybody. Yet our President 
was on CNBC yesterday, and he said:

       If we get into the habit where one party is allowed to 
     extort, then any President who comes after me would be unable 
     to govern effectively.

  That's rather interesting. It's a little different from the approach 
that Bill Clinton took back in the 1990s; because President Clinton, 
back during the shutdown, the few weeks that was going on, talked to 
the Speaker of the House virtually every day. There may have been 1 or 
2 days that they didn't talk, but otherwise, they were basically 
talking every day.
  You had an interviewer asking the President, gee, Wall Street seems 
to be pretty calm. The President, instead of saying that's a great 
thing, everybody should remain calm, we're going to work this thing 
out, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, instead sounded 
more like a fire alarm, gee, they better be concerned.
  He wanted Wall Street to be concerned, to be worried, because when 
Wall Street gets worried, then it means that people that have invested 
in the market, that have their life savings, retirement savings in the 
market, it means they lose money. Yet that's what was suggested--get 
worried, get concerned.

                              {time}  1845

  Here's an article from Penny Starr from yesterday afternoon late. It 
is an interview with our Democratic colleague across the aisle who 
chaired the Energy and Commerce Committee that brought ObamaCare to the 
floor. cnsnews.com asked, ``What I was going to ask you is if you've 
read those 10,535 pages of regulations.'' Those are the final ObamaCare 
regulations that have now come out and been published in the Federal 
Register.
  Former Chairman Waxman, who pushed through the ObamaCare bill, said 
to the reporter, ``Have you read them?'' The reporter said, ``No. Have 
you read them?'' The former chairman that pushed through ObamaCare 
said, ``Is it important that I read it?'' The reporter said, ``Do you 
think that the American people should read it? I just asked you a very 
honest question, whether you've read them. It's a yes or no question.'' 
The former chairman that shoved through ObamaCare said, ``I think it is 
a propaganda question, and I refuse to talk to you about it.''
  The article says:

       Since March 2010, when President Barack Obama signed the 
     Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its companion 
     Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, various Federal 
     agencies have published in the Federal Register 110 final 
     regulations governing how ObamaCare will be implemented. 
     Those regulations add up to 10,535 pages in the Federal 
     Register. That is more than eight times as many pages as 
     there are in the Gutenberg Bible, which has 642 two-sided 
     leaves or 1,286 pages.

  It is bad enough ObamaCare was never read by most of the people that 
voted for it. And now you've got 10,535 regulations that have been 
published that I'm sure nobody here in the House or the Senate has 
read, that are now the effective new laws of the land.
  We've got new navigators. There is money, massive amounts of money 
being paid for navigators. And that's created a problem. National 
Review Online published this today by Sean Riley:

       Tuesday marked the first day of open enrollment for the 
     health insurance exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act. 
     It didn't go very well. Would-be health insurance consumers 
     in at least 47 States encountered technical problems. These 
     so-called glitches, however, mask a much more serious concern 
     for consumers: protecting sensitive data. The lack of 
     sufficient security surrounding the exchanges should give 
     potential enrollees pause.
       In August, a coalition of attorneys general from 13 States 
     wrote Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius 
     to express concerns over consumer privacy and oversight of 
     ``navigators,'' counselors charged with assisting consumers 
     enrolling in the exchanges. Specifically, the attorneys 
     general asked what policies were in place to screen and 
     monitor program personnel, prevent fraud and remedy cases of 
     it, and regulate the navigators at the State level. But chief 
     among their concerns was whether sufficient safeguards were 
     in place to prevent security breaches.
       In September, the concerns of the attorneys proved 
     prescient. An employee of Minnesota's health exchange 
     accidentally sent 2,400 Social Security numbers, complete 
     with names and addresses, to an insurance broker applying to 
     become a navigator. Not only was the information mishandled, 
     it was sent in an unencrypted and unsecured spreadsheet, 
     suggesting additional lapses in security. HHS--Health and 
     Human Services--has yet to respond to the August letter.
       Concerns are not limited to the 13 attorneys general who 
     wrote to Secretary Sebelius. In California, State insurance 
     commissioner Dave Jones, an early supporter of the ACA, 
     expressed worry that the 21,000 personnel providing customer 
     support for the exchanges lacked proper oversight and could 
     ``obtain information that will allow them to build the trust 
     they have with the individual they're working with and 
     potentially sell them all manner of bogus products, steal 
     their identity, and gain access to certain assets they might 
     have.''
       Commissioner Jones is not alone in his unease. A report 
     from the House Oversight Committee found that top HHS 
     officials are similarly worried about the potential for 
     identity theft.

  Anyway, the article goes on.
  An article here from today entitled, ``Obama: `I have bent over 
backwards to work with the Republican Party.' '' It says ``I think it's 
fair to say that--during the course of my presidency--I have bent over 
backwards to work with the Republican Party. And have purposely kept my 
rhetoric down.'' Of

[[Page H6222]]

course that's not exactly what the term ``extort'' would indicate from 
the other article.
  But again, I go back to the fact that during the last shutdown of the 
government, President Clinton and Newt Gingrich were talking daily, 
only a day or two exception during those few weeks. I mentioned that to 
another Member of Congress. And he said, Well the difference must have 
been that President Clinton wanted to end the shutdown. Because there's 
evidence that continues to mount that this wasn't about the Republicans 
as much as it was our Democratic friends thinking that the polling 
data, the conventional wisdom that all of us in this body have heard, 
that if there's a shutdown, Republicans will pay in the next election. 
So the conventional wisdom has been going around for some time. It goes 
back. I recall hearing it after the majority was won here in the House 
by the Republicans in November of 2010: If there's another shutdown, 
then we'll get the majority right back from the Republicans. Which 
always kind of mystified me a little bit because the last shutdown was 
in '95--that was when it began. And it was 11 more years before the 
Republicans lost the majority. And Newt Gingrich stayed Speaker for 3 
more years. And as a result, the relationship seemed to grow closer, 
and the President and the Speaker worked more closely together.
  But again, that was a different time because then, back in those 
days, the President would never call over the Speaker of the House to 
say, I just wanted to remind you here in private, here at the White 
House, since you took off from your busy day to come over here, I just 
wanted to remind you basically that I'm not negotiating with you.

  Which had to feel a little weird to everybody in the room because 
everybody in the room knew the President has said, after the next 
election, you know, he'll be a lot more flexible with the Russians and 
certainly willing to negotiate with the Russians, certainly willing to 
negotiate now, as we've seen, with the Iranians, which certainly causes 
our close allies and friends who are trying to fight radical Islam a 
lot of concern because they've seen this administration throw one ally 
after another under the bus. We've heard allies wonder which ones of us 
may be next under this administration. So how is it the President can 
work with all these other countries--Russians, Iranians, Syrians--but 
can't negotiate with Americans?
  This is an article from the National Review Online from Charles 
Cooke. In the article it says:

       The Washington Post's Wonkblog is snarking a little about 
     the lack of successful Federal ObamaCare sign-ups. Under a 
     picture of a unicorn, Sarah Kliff writes: ``If you have 
     purchased health coverage on the Federal Government's new 
     ObamaCare marketplace, about a dozen or so reporters would 
     like to speak with you. We promise we won't take up too much 
     of your time. We just need to find you first. The Federal 
     Government has said that somewhere out in this vast country 
     of 313 million people, where 48 million lack insurance 
     coverage, someone has managed to sign up for health insurance 
     on the federally run marketplaces. As of yet, we haven't 
     tracked this person--or these people--down. This is not for 
     lack of effort. Reporters here at The Washington Post and at 
     other publications have been on the hunt for this mythical 
     creature.''

  Anyway, kind of sarcastic snarking.
  This article is from The Daily Caller by Alex Pappas from October 2:

       In Tennessee, those shopping on the new health insurance 
     co-ops could end up with more than just some health 
     insurance. They might even walk away with a free smartphone. 
     The Nashville Business Journal is reporting that Community 
     Health Alliance, Tennessee's ObamaCare health insurance co-
     op, is using the prospect of a free phone to encourage folks 
     to enroll:
       ``Community Health Alliance, Tennessee's health insurance 
     co-op, is running a unique promotional program to drive 
     enrollment in its plans for sale on the exchange: health 
     insurance in exchange for a smartphone.
       ``As a part of its Community Health Connection Program, CHA 
     is offering qualified individuals an LG''--that's not Louie 
     Gohmert--``an LG Lucid 2 4G smartphone (or equivalent model), 
     a phone plan, and tech support, included as a cost of their 
     health plan benefits. The phone plan includes unlimited talk, 
     unlimited texting, and 1.2 gigabytes of data.''

  The article goes on.
  This is by the Associated Press in Paris:

       Government Shutdown Spreads to the Beaches of Normandy.
       Tourists traveling to Omaha Beach to pay their respects to 
     the 9,387 military dead at the Normandy American Cemetery and 
     Memorial will find it closed, a victim of the U.S. 
     Government's partial shutdown.

  We've seen what has happened to this country and what is happening to 
this country. It's time to stop the suffering. We could let it go 
through and let people continue to be hurt. I never took an oath to do 
no harm, but by golly, that's what this Congress should do. Stop the 
harm. Let's, at least, delay ObamaCare. And in the meantime, we'll keep 
passing spending bills to keep things going.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

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