Cornyn: Labor Leaders Feeling Obamacare Buyer’s Remorse

I spoke on the Senate floor today on the disappointment felt by many Obamacare supporters, and invited President Obama to work together on creating workable alternatives to the failed health care law.

The full speech can be seen here and excerpts of my remarks are below:

“Obamacare has disappointed some of its most ardent former supporters. For example, back in 2009 and 2010, American labor unions were among the biggest supporters of the president's health care plan. Now, along with many of my friends across the aisle, they're having second thoughts, and in some cases buyer's remorse.

“Last week, three of the country’s most prominent labor leaders, James Hoffa, Joseph Hansen, and Donald Taylor, sent a very concerned letter to Senator Reid and former Speaker Pelosi.

“They said, ‘When you and the president sought our support for the Affordable Care Act, you pledged that if we like the health plans we have now, we could keep them. Sadly, that promise is under threat.’

“They went on to say, ‘Right now, unless you and the Obama Administration enact an equitable fix, the ACA, the Affordable Care Act, will shatter not only our hard-earned health benefits but destroy the foundation of the 40-hour work week that is the backbone of the American middle class.’ They went on to say, ‘The unintended consequences of the Affordable Care Act are severe. Perverse incentives are already creating nightmare scenarios. The law as it stands will hurt millions of Americans.’

“This same letter went on to detail some of the nightmare scenarios that these labor leaders have concerns about. It pointed out that many businesses are cutting full-time employment back to part-time in order to avoid the employer mandate.

“It’s time for us to acknowledge reality that whether you were a proponent and voted for Obamacare, or whether you were an opponent and a skeptic that it would actually work, that I think we need to deal with the harsh reality and the facts that exist. So it's time for Democrats, including the president, to work with us to replace Obamacare with better alternatives.”