[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 12, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S920-S921]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  Mr. JOHANNS. Madam President, I rise today to speak again about the

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President's health care bill--ObamaCare. Monday of this week was 
another milestone for ObamaCare. It marked yet another admission by the 
President that the health care law is unworkable as written.
  So what happened? On Monday, unilaterally, the administration decided 
to delay the employer mandate for 1 year once again. This time around 
the delay is for employers with 50 to 99 employees. It is amazing to 
me, and it is completely contradictory, that one day the President is 
behind the podium talking about how great this law is and the next day 
he is erasing the very text he supports.
  The administration had nearly 4 years to implement the major 
provisions of the law, yet the President finds it necessary to 
literally rewrite the law with delay after delay after delay. On one 
hand, I am pleased the President recognizes the grievous harm being 
done by this legislation. I appreciate that he recognizes the harm is 
too great to leave it in place. But all he is doing is delaying the 
pain until after the elections, which is unfair to American families.
  The truth is further delays don't solve the problem; they extend the 
pain. Reports certainly indicate we have only seen the tip of this 
iceberg.
  Last week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office dealt yet 
another blow to ObamaCare. The CBO estimates there will be about 2\1/2\ 
million fewer full-time workers in 10 years than if this law had not 
passed. These new figures are nearly three times greater than the CBO's 
already dismal analysis back in the day when the law was being debated 
before its passage.
  I found it remarkable back when we were debating this law--when 
unemployment was hovering around 10 percent--that any of my colleagues 
would support any bill that would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs. 
Now we are learning the truth and it is even worse. It is three times 
as bad. CBO says the law's subsidies and taxes reduce incentives to 
work. Is that what this Congress should be about? And their report 
asserts the cost of the employer mandate penalty will be passed on to 
workers in the form of lower wages or other compensation.
  A number of Nebraskans have reached out to me. An individual from 
eastern Nebraska shared this:

       I work part time and I have had my hours cut from 30 to 28 
     hours due to ObamaCare last April. My employer implemented it 
     early to be sure I did not exceed 30 hours in the year 2013. 
     Even with the delay in the mandate, they have stuck to the 28 
     hours for part time help. The loss to me is about $150 a 
     month and it sure has hurt our budget. My employer's hands 
     are tied as they would have to pay health care for employees 
     with 30 hours or more or pay a fine if not offering health 
     care. This ObamaCare is a job killer. I keep hoping I will 
     wake up and this will all have been a bad dream.

  Another Nebraskan from the northeast corner of the State wrote to me 
and said:

       My wife just left my office in tears. She worked for the 
     city for over 10 years. She is, or rather was, a 34 hour a 
     week employee who was informed that she is having her hours 
     cut back to 29 as a result of the Affordable Care Act. To 
     many those 5 hours per week may not seem like much but to our 
     family it will result in a huge loss. We currently have 3 
     children, including one daughter who is a senior getting 
     ready to graduate and go to college. As a family we pretty 
     much live ``hand to mouth'' with our income and this 
     reduction in hours, which I'm sure seems ``minor'' to a lot 
     of folks, is a huge blow to my family. The thing that pains 
     me most is the impact it is going to have on our daughter's 
     decision about college, that one thing alone is so unfair. 
     She should not, on the cusp of choosing her path in life, 
     have to be put in the position--over 5 hours of work--of 
     delaying or altering her life plans. In a world where we tend 
     to be futurists--always talking about the importance of 
     education and the next generation being the future--it just 
     doesn't seem right that I have to look my daughter in the 
     eyes tonight and have a discussion about how 5 hours may 
     alter her future.

  These are heartbreaking stories about Americans who want to work but 
their government has gotten in their way. We are seeing smaller 
paychecks and 2.5 million fewer full-time equivalent jobs.
  We all remember this law's primary marketing pitch was that it would 
provide coverage for tens of millions of uninsured Americans, but CBO 
now estimates 31 million Americans will likely be without health 
insurance in 2024--roughly 1 of 9 Americans--and 6 to 7 million 
Americans won't get coverage through their employers who otherwise 
would have. This is according to CBO.
  Let me say that again. Six million to 7 million fewer Americans will 
not get health insurance from their employer under ObamaCare compared 
to no bill at all.
  So ObamaCare has been counterproductive, to say the least. It is 
hardly a good return on investment, considering this law cost over $2 
trillion and raised taxes by about $1 trillion.
  I appreciate and support goals to help our most vulnerable Americans 
receive access to health care, and I support reforms which will 
increase competition and lower costs, such as expanding health savings 
accounts and not reducing them. I appreciate the opportunity to work on 
reforms which allow insurers to compete across State lines and allowing 
small businesses to pool together to create a broader pool to be 
insured at lower rates. These solutions would produce results.
  But a 2,700-page bill packed full of perverse incentives and negative 
consequences which hurt workers, increase taxes, and costs trillions is 
not what Americans want. That is why I am committed to shielding 
Americans from the harmful effects of ObamaCare. We must repeal this 
law and build on the alternative solutions which have been proposed by 
Republicans to help our American families.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas.

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