On the recordFebruary 2, 2011
we are here today, holding this debate, preparing for this vote, because our Republican friends believe a collection of myths. Some of them say they want to repeal a law that amounts to a ``government takeover'' of health care. Some of them say they want to repeal a bill that violates the Constitution. They say they want to repeal a law that will cut the benefits on which Medicare recipients depend. Others say they want to repeal a bill that will explode the deficit, or that they want to repeal the law because it will kill jobs. If such a law existed, I would want to repeal it too. Thankfully, the law Republicans describe is a fiction. The Affordable Care Act, the law Republicans want us to repeal, does not take over the health care system; it strengthens and protects our existing private health insurance system. The independent fact checkers at Politifact.com found that the law ``is, at its heart, a system that relies on private companies and the free market,'' and called the claim that government would take over the system Politifact's ``Lie of the Year.'' This bill does not violate the Constitution.
