On the recordJanuary 19, 2011
As a two-time cancer survivor and the father of a daughter living with cystic fibrosis, what is rhetorical for many of my colleagues is a reality for my family. There is no doubt that reforms are needed to ensure that individuals with pre-existing conditions have access to affordable insurance. However, the law enacted nearly a year ago is the wrong solution to our health care system's numerous problems. The law will raise taxes by over $500 billion. It includes an unconstitutional individual mandate on all Americans requiring the purchase of health insurance coverage. The law will cost millions of American jobs and hits small businesses with more paperwork, more bureaucratic red tape, and less opportunity for growth. Finally, the law cuts Medicare by about half a trillion dollars which, even the President's own actuaries have said, could jeopardize access for seniors. We must repeal the detrimental health care law and focus on the real problem facing our nation's health care system, the issue of cost.
