Boehner Column: ObamaCare Hasn’t Delivered on Its Promises & Must Be Repealed

April 2, 2012

Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) released the following column discussing House efforts to repeal President Obama’s health care law, which is making it harder for American small businesses to create jobs:

“In 2010, my colleagues and I made a Pledge to America that if entrusted with the responsibility of leading a new House majority, we would focus on removing government barriers to job creation and economic growth and strive to make government smaller and more accountable to the people it serves.

“Consistent with that pledge, one of our first votes was to entirely repeal President Obama’s massive 2010 government takeover of health care. Over the course of the past 15 months, we’ve had a total of 27 votes now to scrap, dismantle, and/or defund the law. Despite strong opposition from the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House, which continue to defend the unpopular law, two ObamaCare programs have been successfully repealed. A third ObamaCare program has been halted. And we’ve had 47 oversight hearings to closely examine the impact of this gargantuan law on American families and small businesses.

“Via these hearings and the input received from citizens and job creators across the country, it is now clear Americans’ worst fears about the law have been confirmed. Two years after its enactment, ObamaCare is raising health care costs, jeopardizing coverage for millions of Americans, and making it harder for small businesses to hire new workers.

“For example, the Columbus Dispatch recently editorialized that one of the law’s many taxes ‘is already killing jobs and hurting U.S. businesses,’ including medical device manufacturers right here in Ohio.

“I have seen a lot of crazy schemes, overbearing regulations, and bad legislation come out of Washington, but none compare to ObamaCare. With its tax hikes, mandates, and excessive regulations, ObamaCare is piling on more barriers to economic growth on an already struggling economy. I have heard it from small business owners, concerned citizens, and community leaders here in southwest Ohio: of the government actions hurting our recovery, ObamaCare is at the top of the list.

“And it’s not just small businesses and job creators who are threatened by the law; it’s patients and families, too. ObamaCare features a health care rationing board that made up of 15 unelected government bureaucrats who are empowered to restrict treatment options and deny seniors access to care. The House recently passed the Protecting Access to Health Care (PATH) Act (H.R. 5) in an effort to repeal ObamaCare’s harmful health care rationing board.

“Rising health care costs are a real threat to family budgets, and there are things we can do to lower them – and protect jobs – without an unconstitutional government takeover. For example, we can allow people to purchase more affordable health care plans across state lines, and allow small businesses to pool together to lower costs. We can also expand Health Savings Accounts, and create high risk pools so there’s a market for those with pre-existing conditions. All of these things put patients in charge instead of putting government bureaucrats in charge.

“The only way to fix ObamaCare, though, is to repeal it entirely. Even in the face of clear public opposition, Democratic-controlled Senate continues to protect the president's prized legislation. At the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments on what Democrats consider the law’s cornerstone: the so-called ‘individual mandate’ requiring Americans to buy government-approved health insurance. The individual mandate at the heart of ObamaCare is opposed by a broad majority of the American people, and it is my hope that the Court rules it unconstitutional.

“While we wait for the decision from the Supreme Court, Republicans will continue to press for action to repeal this unworkable law. We will continue to do everything we can to repeal all of ObamaCare – and replace it with common-sense reforms that will actually lower health care costs for families and small businesses and protect seniors without destroying American jobs.”

Boehner represents Ohio’s 8th District, which includes all of Darke, Miami, and Preble counties, most of Butler and Mercer counties, and the northeastern corner of Montgomery County. He was first elected to Congress in 1990.