Drew Ferguson: “My colleague from Florida touched on something that is very important, and that is fairness in the marketplace. I can…”

“My colleague from Florida touched on something that is very important, and that is fairness in the marketplace. I can tell you, as a small-business owner, I did not receive the same favorable tax treatment as the major corporations did under the Affordable Care Act. Once this bill took effect, I had to move into the individual market. I had to begin buying health insurance with post-tax dollars, and I was unable to afford the coverage not only for my family, but for the people that I had the pleasure of working with every single day in my business. What Mr. Rutherford talked about is leveling the playing field, and that is something that we need to do. It will increase innovation. It increases jobs. It increases success. It is so frustrating for Americans as they begin to build their small businesses and they begin to grow, and every single time that they take a step forward, the government takes more and more out of their pocket. Now we have a healthcare system that continues to rob them of their success. Make no mistake; the healthcare system that we had prior to the Affordable Care Act was certainly not successful and not headed in the right way, but we have made it worse with this. What we have done is we have not only disenfranchised many small businesses and people who are growing their businesses and finding success, but we have also, quite candidly, done a poor job of maintaining our safety net.…”