Republican Freshman Class on the Need to Repeal Obamacare

Floor Speech

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Mr. PITTENGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join a chorus of individuals who are calling for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

Mr. Speaker, it's not even affordable. The CBO says it will cost $1.8 trillion just to employ. Blue Cross/Blue Shield in North Carolina says the premiums are going to go up 284 percent. We can't afford this. Seven million people won't be able to keep their own policies. There's no risk pool now, no funding for it, no provision. Even Democrat Senator Max Baucus, Finance Committee chairman, says this is a train wreck getting ready to happen.

Mr. Speaker, last January, I sponsored a seminar in my district that brought together 400 business leaders. The purpose of this seminar was to explain ObamaCare. We had the Cato Institute and the AARP there. Mr. Speaker, what they heard was a resounding, What in the world have we done? They were so concerned about what ObamaCare was going to do to their own businesses, they were afraid to hire people, and they thought they would let people go.

Do you know what they saw, Mr. Speaker? This chart right here. This chart--what a quagmire to process through to try to get real health care. It can't be done. We can do better.

That's why with Congressman Hudson I've introduced a bill called Auto Enroll. This is a little provision put in the health care law, one of those provisions that I believe Speaker PELOSI said we are going to read it after we vote on it, we are going to learn about it then.

Well, we've learned about it. What did we learn? That the companies have to automatically put people on their health care plan. And this bill says, no, you can opt out, you don't have to comply.

Students who are already on their parents' health care, they shouldn't have to do this. You have temporary people who are working during seasonal work time in major retail or in restaurants. They shouldn't have to be on this, yet they're required to. This bill will allow some flexibility for employers.

The American people were told, We are going to provide you a champion thoroughbred horse who is going to go win the Kentucky Derby. Do you know what they got, Mr. Speaker? They got a maimed, blind, deaf, crippled horse that can't even make its way around the track. That's what we have with ObamaCare.

We are going to do better. We are going to provide for the American people at the right time, and we can do this in competitive markets. They can cross State lines, hundreds of companies competing, drawing down the cost of health care. This needs to be done now.

We can get rid of the frivolous lawsuits that are driving the cost of health care up. The American workers, responsible people, hardworking taxpayer Americans, they deserve better, and we are going to do it.

Thank you, and God bless you.

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