[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 15065]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     AFFORDABLE CARE ACT IS KILLING THE ECONOMIC ENGINE OF AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Westmoreland) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, every day now for the past 3 years, I 
have heard from the good people of Georgia's Third Congressional 
District about how expensive their health insurance costs have become 
and will become as a result of ObamaCare. On Tuesday, their fears of 
just how unaffordable this Affordable Care Act is became a truly bleak 
reality to them.
  If this train wreck of a law is truly affordable, then why have 
Georgians seen their premiums increase as much as 300 percent on the 
exchanges? If it is affordable, then why do 57 percent of Americans 
oppose ObamaCare? If this law is affordable, then why is Ruth from 
LaGrange opting to pay the penalty and forgo insurance because she and 
her husband can no longer afford to pay their family's premiums under 
this Affordable Health Care Act? I guess even if Ruth likes her plan, 
she really can't keep it. She was lied to.
  One thing supporters of ObamaCare always tout is that it will help 
those who are very sick or have preexisting conditions get access to 
affordable care. Well, let me tell you about Cindy from Newnan who is 
fighting a brave battle with cancer. Much to her surprise, she has been 
told by her doctor that under the Affordable Care Act, ObamaCare, some 
of the treatments in medicine that make a difference in her being sick 
just a few days instead of a few weeks will no longer be covered. What 
about someone who does not have a few weeks? What are they supposed to 
do? And how do we explain that to Cindy's children?
  You know it is a sad day when employers like IBM are left with no 
choice but to kick retirees off their health care plans. What a reward 
to those like David of Griffin who have given so many years 
contributing to their company's success.
  And it is not just hurting American families. It is killing small 
businesses, the economic engine of our country. I just got a letter 
from Dale in LaGrange, who is one of four owners of a heating and air 
conditioning company which self-insures their employees.
  In an effort to comply with ObamaCare, the Affordable Care Act, in 
2011, the heating and air conditioning company saw their health care 
costs go up $38,000 compared to 2010. The same thing happened in 2012. 
Their costs went up almost $40,000 from 2011. This means they went from 
spending $115,000 on health care for their employees in 2010 to almost 
$195,000 just 2 years later.
  What is just as concerning is employers who have been forced by 
ObamaCare to increase their employees' premiums and no longer offer 
health insurance for spouses or children.

                              {time}  1130

  This change has been a financial disaster for Melanie of Hamilton 
whose husband will no longer be covered by her employer, TSYS, a great 
company in my district and a stable source of jobs.
  For 3 years, we have seen the disastrous consequences of this 
supposedly Affordable Care Act, and in just 3 days since the exchanges 
have gone live, we have heard hundreds of stories similar to the ones I 
just told. Imagine how much worse things can become in 3 months.
  But listen, it's not just the lies we have been told, but it's the 
lies we're still being told--such as California reporting they had 5 
million hits. Finally today, they confessed, they only had 655,000.
  As I have said time and time again, the easy solution is for the 
President and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to join 
House Republicans and agree to a 1-year delay and defund, just like he 
has done delay for Big Business and his buddies. Why don't we do it for 
the American people? Why don't we put all of us in the same class 
rather than trying to divide this country? Why don't we do the delay? 
Give them time, if they can, to straighten out this mess and put 
everybody, small businesses, Americans, everybody, employed and 
unemployed, in the same class.

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