Representative James Lankford (R-OK) yesterday applauded the passage of H.R. 6079, the Repeal of Obamacare Act. In a vote of 244-185, the House voted to repeal the 2010 law in its entirety.
“I have consistently vowed to do everything I could to dismantle this ill-advised, bureaucrat-centered law,” said Representative Lankford. “A healthcare system where patients and doctors are separated by a cumbersome federal middleman is not a sustainable, effective or efficient way for Americans to meet their healthcare needs. The law has resulted in decreased hiring because of the mandate cost. Small businesses will re-evaluate employment statuses to avoid the regulations, and Health and Human Services will violate basic religious liberties as a result of this law.”
A recent poll of doctors across the country found that 83% of physicians have considered closing their practices after the Supreme Court’s decision in favor of the President’s healthcare law. The report also concluded that by 2020, the U.S. will have a shortage of about 90,000 doctors due to provisions of the Affordable Care Act.[1]
“The more Americans learn about the law, the more they do not like the law,” observed Lankford.
“A bad law is now becoming bad policy, if Congress does not step in and act. Let’s learn from the mistakes of the hasty passage of the President’s healthcare bill in 2010 and move forward with a better option. The President’s seemingly endless list of healthcare ‘give-aways’ released before the election will all come due in early 2013 and 2014 as twenty additional taxes kick in for many Americans, including the middle class.
“Now that the Supreme Court has confirmed the law as a tax, I hope that Senate Majority Leader Reid and Senate Democrats will reconsider our repeal legislation and give patients throughout the U.S. an opportunity to get the care they deserve without the bureaucracy and added national debt they never asked for,” he continued.
“However, since the House has voted now more than 30 times to dismantle, defund or repeal the law in whole or in part, I am not optimistic that Democrat Leader Reid has any intention of fixing this broken law,” Lankford concluded.
Tuesday, Rep. Lankford participated in a House Committee on Government Reform hearing on the impact of the President’s healthcare law on job creators and the economy. A link to the video of Rep. Lankford’s remarks during the hearing can be found here.
[1] Dougherty, Jon E. “Poll: 83 Percent of Physicians Have Considered Ending Practice Over Obamacare.” Available online: http://www.newsroomamerica.com/story/260966.html. 9 July 2012.