[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11101]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  TIME FOR HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS THAT LOWER COSTS AND EMPOWER PATIENTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, for the past 2 years, my email inbox, mailbox, 
and phone lines have been flooded with reports of canceled health 
insurance plans, soaring premiums, increased deductibles, and 
exasperated constituents trying to navigate the confusing Washington 
bureaucracy that is ObamaCare.
  Members of Congress have to buy their health insurance on the 
ObamaCare exchanges along with millions of other Americans, and I 
experienced many of the same frustrations, including the nightmare of 
navigating a confusing, unfinished Web site.
  Despite its central promise, the Affordable Care Act has proved to be 
anything but affordable for many North Carolinians, and the Supreme 
Court's recent decision in King v. Burwell doesn't change that fact.
  House Republicans are continuing our efforts to minimize the damage 
caused by ObamaCare. We have passed legislation that would permanently 
repeal ObamaCare's 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices, which has 
hindered innovation as well as restricted growth and job creation in an 
industry that has improved the quality of life of millions around the 
world.
  We have voted to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which 
was created under the President's healthcare law and gives a panel of 
15 unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats sweeping authority to slash 
Medicare payments to providers or eliminate payments for certain 
treatments and procedures altogether.
  The House has passed legislation that would change ObamaCare's 30-
hour definition of full-time employment and restore the traditional 40-
hour workweek. From adjunct professors to hourly workers, I have heard 
from constituents across North Carolina's Fifth District who have one 
thing in common: their hours are being reduced.
  ObamaCare has placed an undue burden on employers and their employees 
by undermining the 40-hour workweek, which has long been the standard 
for full-time work.
  We have voted to make it easier to hire veterans by exempting those 
who already have health insurance from being counted as full-time 
employees under the President's healthcare law. No employer should be 
penalized for hiring a veteran, and no veteran should be unemployed 
because of ObamaCare.
  However, the best approach to solving the multitude of problems 
resulting from ObamaCare is to unite behind a complete repeal of the 
law and replace it with solutions that lower costs and empower patients 
to choose the care that is right for them.
  I recently signed on as a cosponsor of H.R. 2653, the American Health 
Care Reform Act. This bill would repeal ObamaCare completely and allow 
a standard deduction for health insurance that treats individually 
purchased plans and employer-sponsored plans the same, making sure that 
all Americans receive the same tax benefits for health care.
  H.R. 2653 would return decisions about healthcare and insurance 
coverage to patients. It is people, not government, who can best 
determine the coverage and services that meet their needs.
  A government takeover of health care is not what Americans asked for 
and certainly not what we can afford.

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