Cornyn Statement on the Anniversary of ObamaCare
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) today issued the following statement on the one-year anniversary of President Obama signing the health care bill into law:
“It seems like just yesterday President Obama and Congressional Democrats promised the American people that ObamaCare would increase coverage and lower costs. Now, just one year after ramming it through we are discovering the truth. Costs are skyrocketing, the federal government is ballooning, our national debt is through the roof, 15 million Americans are still looking for work, and middle class families and small businesses are paying higher taxes. I opposed ObamaCare because it taxed too much, spent too much, and borrowed too much. I voted to repeal it and will continue to fight against it for these same reasons and I will work to replace it with a plan that truly increases access to quality, affordable health care.”
Senator Cornyn serves on the Finance, Judiciary, Armed Services and Budget Committees. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.
Nevertheless, I suggest that the AZ Senator is playing fast and loose with the facts. This is what I mean:
- "TAXED TOO MUCH" - there is no tax increase in this law and it makes good sense that there isn't. The intent is to increase coverage of HC. The means to do this is through tax credits for the two parts of society most sensitive to health care burdens: small biz & their employees and middle/lower class folk with incomplete to no coverage.
Politically, there is no way the dems could have passed this bill if there were tax increases in it. Process-wise, there are many inefficiencies in our current system that there are many potential benfits to improve them.
- "SPENT TOO MUCH" - I am not sue what the Senator means here." You decide if the Congressional Budget Office or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid are credible sources for health care costs but they are on record indicating that the HC law will save, not cost. One figure they have made public is a savings of $b for medicare alone. I can't tell you if this figure is solid or even reasonable, at least this information is available, public and backed up.
- "BORROWED TOO MUCH" There was no need to borrow for the creation of this law. If there is going forward then math from the CBO says it would be more than offset by savings.
As for the rest of the Senator's comments,
"Costs are skyrocketing, the federal government is ballooning, our national debt is through the roof, 15 million Americans are still looking for work, and middle class families and small businesses are paying higher taxes."
These are non-specific and I would suggest to the senator, largely ad hominem.
This bill, now law, has been picked over a million times in the past two years. There is some really good info out there (partisan & non-partisan) that critque the mreits.
Nonetheless, itt's good we are debating this. Healthcare is a huge, complex and emotional issue that is one of the biggest threats (or promise)to our country's future.
Thanks for your remarks and thanks to the Gilmer mirror publishing this piece.
Todd Armstrong