Luetkemeyer Statement on First Anniversary of Disastrous Health-Care Law

Press Release

"All American families deserve access to high-quality, affordable health coverage, but Obamacare fails to do any of this. It raises premiums, suffocates economic growth that costs jobs, makes damaging cuts to Medicare while also paving the way for federally funded abortions," Luetkemeyer said. "When I voted against this bill a year ago, I vowed to continue seeking ways to defund this legislation, and I have not wavered from that commitment. The job-killing health-care law is simply the wrong prescription for dealing with the health-care challenges facing our country, and 71 percent of Missourians made it clear they felt the same way when they went to the polls in August 2010."

Since the passage of the legislation, Luetkemeyer has worked with House colleagues seeking ways to defund and ultimately reject the job-killing health-care law, including:

On January 19, 2011, the House passed, H.R. 2, the Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act: One of the House's first official actions was to repeal the health-care law in its entirety and instruct the committees of jurisdiction to begin work on finding commonsense patient-centered replacement legislation.

On February 19, 2011, the Housed passed H.R. 1, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011: The House passed several substantial bipartisan amendments to H.R. 1 that would severely handicap implementation of the job-killing health-care law:

* The Rehberg Amendment #575:Provides that no funds in this Act may be used for any employee, officer, contractor or grantee of any department or agency funded in this title to implement the health-care provisions of the job-killing health-care law.
* The King Amendment #267:Provides that no funds in this Act may be used to implement the job-killing health-care law.
* The King Amendment #268: Provides that no funds in this Act may be used to pay officials who implement the job-killing health-care law.
* The Emerson Amendment #83: Provides that no funds in this Act may be used by the IRSto implement or enforce provisions of the job-killing health-care lawrelated to the reporting of health insurance coverage.
* The Price Amendment #409:Provides that no funds in this Act may be used by HHS to implement or enforce the Medical Loss Ratio provision.
* The Burgess Amendment #200 would prohibit any funds in this Act to be used to pay the salary of any officer or employee of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.
* The Pitts Amendment #430:Provides that no funds in this Act may be used for an officer or employee at HHS, IRS, and Labor to do any action to specify or define, through regulations, guidelines, or otherwise, essential benefits as required inthe job-killing health-care law.
* The Gardner Amendment #79: Provides that no funds in the Act may be used to pay the salary of any employee or officer of the HHS who develops or promulgates regulations or guidance regarding Exchanges under the job-killing health-care law.
* The Hayworth Amendment #567:Provides thatno funds in this Act may be used to implement the Independent Payment Advisory Boardcreated under the job-killing health-care law.

On March 3, 2011, the House passed H.R. 4, the Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011, which would repeal the job-killing 1099 reporting requirement that was added in the health-care law and has a detrimental impact on small businesses.

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