McKinley Votes to Repeal Job-Crushing Medicare-Cutting Healthcare Law

Press Release

Rep. David B. McKinley, P.E. (R-WV) voted Wednesday to repeal the healthcare bill passed by the 111th Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama. This effort to repeal and replace the law was a focal point for McKinley and is a crucial step in getting the country back to work. With the vote to repeal the law completed, McKinley now looks forward to working with members of both parties to begin crafting a replacement health care reform package.

"All Americans want and deserve health care coverage -- we can all agree upon that. But never before have Americans been forced to purchase a product as a price of citizenship," said McKinley. "This law is unconstitutional and needs to be repealed for a host of other reasons, including its crippling impact on small businesses and seniors.

"The law passed by the previous Congress comes with a $1 trillion price tag; with the current state of our economy, it is beyond reason to ask Americans to foot the bill. I voted to repeal the health care bill because it is the wrong approach at the wrong time, and it will cost jobs. I promised West Virginians I would get them back to work and this bill is riddled with too many uncertainties for job providers. Repealing this bill is an important step in creating an environment that fosters job growth and ensures a better future for West Virginians."

Prior to the vote Wednesday evening, McKinley addressed the House chamber -- marking his first floor speech -- on why repeal is critical to the health and well-being of seniors.

"Let's not lose sight of some of the most vulnerable citizens in our society -- senior citizens," said McKinley. "The law's five hundred billion dollars in cuts to Medicare is unconscionable. Reducing benefits for some senior citizens and jeopardizing access to care for millions of others is unacceptable to those of our Greatest Generation. Congress should never have broken a promise that was made to our seniors decades ago by cutting the health care they deserve."

McKinley continued later, "Some say this bill simply needs to be "fixed.' But how can you fix legislation that is so fundamentally flawed and at its core a major job-crusher? While I do not agree with most aspects of this law, I do believe reform is necessary. There are a few positive things in this legislation that I would favor including in replacement legislation, such as allowing children to stay on their parents' insurance policy until the age of 26 and ensuring that those with pre-existing conditions receive the care they need. Also, our seniors must be protected and we should close the "donut hole' in Medicare that was weighing heavily on their pocketbooks. I recognize there is a need for serious health care reform in this country, and we need to keep moving towards this effort -- but we must do so in a bi-partisan and constitutional way."

McKinley has also advocated for many other reforms to be included in the replacement legislation: tort reform, allowing insurance to be sold across state lines, and allowing individuals, small businesses, and trade associations to pool together to acquire health insurance at lower costs.

"Today is a major step forward in repealing a deeply flawed piece of legislation and replacing it with something that is bipartisan, lowers costs, saves jobs, and protects our senior citizens. We owe this to our seniors, job-creators and to all Americans."

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