Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) Delivers Weekly GOP Address On The Need To Repeal Obamacare

“Hi. I’m Dr. John Barrasso, United States Senator for Wyoming.

“The President and his allies in Congress are going to try to convince the public that the Supreme Court just gave the health care law a seal of approval.

“The fact is that this is the same failed policy that won’t lower the cost of health care in America.

“On Thursday, I was in the courtroom as the Supreme Court ruled that the President’s health care law is what the President claimed it was not: a new tax.

“President Obama has repeatedly promised, and I quote, ‘if you’re a family making less than $250,000 a year, my plan,’ he said, ‘won’t raise your taxes one penny.’

“Now, all of America knows the truth.

“The President’s health care law hires more IRS agents to investigate you and to make sure you buy insurance—but it fails to deal with the shortage of nurses and doctors to actually take care of you.

“The President’s health care tax is only one of his many broken promises related to this law.

“He promised lower health care costs, but they keep going up.

“He promised lower insurance premiums, but they’ve increased $2,400 a family over the past three years.

“He promised the law would create jobs, but the Congressional Budget Office projects that 800,000 fewer people will have jobs because of this law.

“He promised it wouldn’t add a dime to the deficit, but the law calls for trillions of dollars in new spending that Americans don’t want.

“The President said he would protect Medicare—but instead he raided $500 billion from our seniors on Medicare—not to strengthen Medicare—but to start a whole new government program for someone else.

“Even after the Supreme Court ruling was announced, the President said that if you like the insurance you have, you can keep it.

“Mr. President, because of your law, many Americans have already lost the health insurance that they had and they liked.

“Each broken promise proves that the Supreme Court’s ruling did absolutely nothing to improve the President’s failed health care law.

“It remains unworkable, unaffordable, and very unpopular.

“Americans deserve better.

“As a doctor who’s practiced medicine for 25 years, I know that the health care system in this country is far from perfect. It’s one of the reasons I ran for the Senate in the first place.

“The goal of health care reform all along should have been to ensure that people get the care they need, from the doctor they choose, at a lower cost.

“Under President Obama’s health care law, they got the exact opposite—tax increases and government control.

“Now we have another chance to reform our health care system and in a way that does not result in higher costs, in fewer choices, and less personal control.

“There should be no doubt: Republicans in Congress will fight to repeal the President’s failed health care law.

“It is a law that is bad for patients, it is bad for the nurses and the doctors who care for those patients, and it’s terrible for taxpayers.

“In the middle of a tough economy, President Obama passed a health care law that has made our economy even worse.

“By forcing expensive new health care mandates through Congress, he’s made it harder for Americans to find good jobs and provide for their families.

“With unemployment at over 8 percent for over 40 straight months, we cannot afford for this tax to stay in place any longer.

“Once we have repealed the law, we will tackle the serious problems that plagued our health care system and are now getting worse.

“We will replace this law with real reforms that will actually lower costs and improve access to care.

“We will not make the same mistakes the Democrats made.

“We will not raise taxes in the middle of a recession.

“We will not push through a 2,700 page bill the American people can’t afford and don’t want.

“Unlike President Obama, we will not cut deals behind closed doors to protect special interest groups, or include political carve outs for some states at the expense of others.
“What we will do is make sure that our health care system is truly patient-centered, not government-centered.

“Republicans in Congress are committed to a step-by-step approach that’s focused on lowering the cost of car.

“That means commonsense solutions, like allowing premium breaks to encourage healthy behavior.

“It means letting consumers buy insurance across state lines, and letting small businesses pool together to offer affordable health insurance to their workers.

“It means finally ending the lawsuit abuse that leads doctors to practice defensive medicine by ordering expensive and unnecessary tests.

“Now that the Supreme Court has acted, the American people cannot afford for Congress to wait any longer.

“It is time for Washington to repeal the President’s health care law and replace it with real health care reform.

“Thank you for joining me today.”