Repeal of Obamacare Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, let me, first of all, respond to what my previous speaker on the other side has said because it's very important that we straighten the Record out.
This is not a tax for people to get health care insurance. What this is, the Supreme Court ruled, and again, chaired by a Republican chairman, Chief Supreme Court Justice, and he said that in order for the mandate to stand, Congress could only do it through their taxing authority. And that was to take care of the penalty.
This is not a tax for individuals to get their health insurance. CBO says it will only affect 1 percent of the American people, and that is a choice that they will make. It's not a tax penalty for you to get insurance. It's a penalty for those who can afford the insurance who choose not to buy the insurance.
Now, let me also make another point that is very clear. In addition to this being a program in which the vast majority of the American people approve, they do not want you to repeal their opportunity to have individuals, in these tough economic times, their children be able to stay on their insurance
till 26. They want that there. They do not want you to repeal them having to be denied insurance because of a preexisting condition. And our hospitals need this very much in order to have the Medicaid expansion.
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago we passed ObamaCare, and now the Supreme Court has ruled that it is, in fact, constitutional.
Even after this ruling, some are ignoring the fact that these reforms are working. We know that there are children with preexisting conditions who now have insurance. We know that there are young adults who have had car accidents and their families did not have to go bankrupt for health care costs because they were able to stay on their parents' policies.
We know that there are seniors who are receiving assistance when they fall in the doughnut hole. We know many people have discovered curable diseases when those diseases were in fact curable because they didn't have to save up for copays and deductibles for their annual checkup. We know that there are people with serious illnesses who no longer fear being kicked off their insurance plans in the middle of treatment when they need the coverage the most. And in 18 months, all Americans will be able to afford a comprehensive health care policy. All of this was done in a fiscally responsible way. And why would anyone want to take away these protections and leave people without health security?
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this 31st attempt to turn the clock back on the advancements made under the Affordable Care Act.
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