On the recordJuly 10, 2012
I yield myself 1 minute, Mr. Speaker. I am amazed by the comments that the previous speaker made on the Republican side. The fact of the matter is that the Affordable Care Act amounts to a tax cut. Right now, in the State of New Jersey, for people who are paying for their health insurance, we estimate that about $1,000 or $1,500 annually from their premiums is actually going to pay for those who are uninsured, for people who don't have insurance and have to go to the emergency rooms and then don't pay their bills. Once the Affordable Care Act fully kicks in, because of the fact that everyone will be insured and all those people who now go to the emergency rooms and have no insurance will, in fact, have coverage, for the people who are paying their premiums right now, they're actually going to be paying less--it will be a tax cut--because they won't be paying for those people who now are uninsured. I think it's really incredible because, if you think about it, the Republicans always talk about personal responsibility. How is it fair that people don't have themselves covered? How is it that they don't carry health insurance and then make other people pay for it? I reserve the balance of my time.
