[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17118]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF HEALTH CARE LAW

  (Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, today the Supreme Court announced plans 
to take up a judicial review of the President's health care law, the 
so-called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This was signed 
into law in March of 2010.
  Now the Justices will consider if the Federal Government--indeed, the 
United States Congress--exceeded its authority by requiring that every 
American purchase health insurance by 2014.
  The American people have made it very clear throughout this process: 
Give us the reforms that will address the problems, but don't tinker 
with what is already working well. What people wanted was not a 2,900-
page bill that shatters the system that was working well for the vast 
majority of Americans.
  What Congress should have done was to tackle the problems that 
Americans who need help were requesting. We could have addressed and 
accomplished reform in stand-alone bills at a much lower cost. We've 
seen that the new health care law is not what the American people 
wanted, and I am encouraged that this law will now be heard before the 
highest court in the land, and I am hopeful for their expeditious and 
judicial removal of the Affordable Care Act.

                          ____________________