[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 505]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     BEYOND THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

  (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, this year the Supreme Court agreed to 
hear and issue a decision on the Affordable Care Act. Of course, I'm 
eager to see what happens, and I'll be following the case very 
carefully, as will millions of Americans. But important steps will need 
to be taken depending upon how the Court rules. Right now, we do not 
know if the Court will rule solely on the individual mandate or say 
that the entire law is unconstitutional. Either way, this House must be 
prepared.
  Now, House conservatives have been working for at least the past 3 
years, well before the Affordable Care Act was even passed, to craft 
policies that focused on patients instead of payments, that focused on 
quality instead of quantity, innovation instead of stagnation, and 
affordability as opposed to just being cheap.
  I'm fully committed to continuing this work and producing alternative 
legislation that will benefit the American people without putting an 
undue burden on the economy.
  The Congressional Health Care Caucus discussed this issue today at a 
briefing. James Capretta and Thomas Miller discussed and shared ways on 
which we can prepare in the coming months with specific policy ideas. 
Although no one has a clear idea of how the Court will rule, we do know 
that we need to work together to consider ideas and craft policies to 
take care of the American people when their decision is rendered.

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