The Truth About Obamacare and the Continuing Resolution (CR)

Yesterday I voted for the H.R. 933, the Department of Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013. The bill provides our military and veterans with the funding that they need while also cutting millions in wasteful and unnecessary spending. In addition, the bill funds the rest of the federal government through September 30 so that agencies such as the FBI, Customs and Border Patrol, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) can continue to provide essential services.

Listen to my remarks on the floor explaining why this bill is important and why we need to continue to work to reduce federal spending.

After the vote, I received several phone calls from District 7 residents concerned that the bill funded Obamacare. That isn’t an accurate assessment of what the bill does, and since there is confusion about the provisions, I would like to walk you through what was in the final bill. The CR provides no new Obamacare funding, and it reduces funding for two of the main agencies that are in charge of implementing Obamacare: the CMS and the IRS.

Even Democrats opposed the bill because of the squeeze it puts on federal agencies who are in charge of implementing Obamacare. Because of funding reductions in the CR, agencies will find themselves funded at pre-Obamacare levels and therefore will have no money to implement the health care reform law. As Democrat Congresswoman Nita Lowey explained in her floor remarks: “Specifically, this bill will delay implementation of the Affordable Care Act scheduled to begin enrolling participants in October. Without IT infrastructure to process enrollments and payments, verify eligibility and establish call centers, health insurance for millions of Americans would [be] further delayed.”

I am fully committed to repealing and replacing Obamacare. I have voted more than 30 times to repeal, defund, or dismantle the law.

To date, three Obamacare programs have been repealed by Congress:

  • The 1099 tax reporting requirement imposed on small businesses 
  • Repealed Free-Choice Vouchers 
  • CLASS Act program 

Funding has been reduced for five additional Obamacare provisions:

  • Reduced improper Exchange subsidy overpayments 
  • Reduced funding for the CO-OP
  • Reduced funding for the IPAB rationing board, 
  • Reduced funding for the Prevention and Public Health “slush” Fund 
  • Reduced a Medicaid formula drafting error included in the “Louisiana Purchase”

House conservatives will continue to pursue strategic opportunities to get other defunding and repeal bills to President Obama’s desk.

For the text of H.R. 933, please visit: http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20130304/BILLS-113hr933ih.pdf

For a summary of the bill, please visit: http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=321979

Issues: 

Comments

Make sure to check out the comments on Facebook.

TexasGOPVote
 

© 2015 TexasGOPVote  | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy