remaining. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, has 13 1/2 minutes. mr. levin: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp. mr. camp: i yield two minutes to the distinguished chairman of the trade subcommittee, the gentleman from texas, mr. brady. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. brady: thank you, mr. chairman. in the border state we have a lot of people here who are mott legal. as a result, we struggle to provide health care across our state. obamacare will make it worse, will make it harder to help familiar lows. this chart lays out the new health care law, affects every one of you in america. this is the result of that 2,800-page bill. what the supreme court left in place was 159 new federal agencies and bureaucracies in between you and your doctor. what they left in place was 21

new tax increases, a dozen of which hit middle-class families like yourself right in the pocketbook. what it left in place is half a trillion dollars of cuts to our local hospitals, our home health care agencies, our nursing homes, even hospice care, when people are dying, they left in place those cuts. and today, you'll hear when i finish, the ranking member will tell you all the sugar and spice about obamacare in texas. what he won't tell you is how many seniors will be forced off medicare advantage, their plan, because of obamacare. they won't tell you how few doctors will even see our seniors any more in texas. what he won't tell you is how many small businesses are going to drop their health care plan and move their workers into the subsidized exchanges because of obamacare. you won't hear that when i finish talking. the truth of the matter is if

obamacare is so great for american families, why are your health care costs still going up? if is it so great for small businesses, why did they sue to stop it? if it's so great for seniors, how come they kind find doctors to see them any more? health care is too important to get wrong, and obamacare got it wrong. it's time to repeal it, start with a fresh slate and help the families that need it most. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i yield myself 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. levin: 25% of the people of texas go to sleep every night without insurance. 25% and people come here defending the status quo. as of december, 2011, 357,000 young adults in texas gained insurance coverage. since it was enacted, texans

with medicare saved a total of over $220 million on prescription drugs. and over two million people with medicare in texas have received free preventive services. that's progress in contrast to the status quo 25% uninsured. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp. mr. camp: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to a distinguished member of the ways and means committee, the gentleman from nebraska, mr. smith. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from nebraska is recognized for two minutes. mr. smith: thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of the bill today, to repeal the health care law. in speaking with employers in the third district of nebraska, it's been very interesting to hear their perspective. when they are holding off on hiring because they simply do not know how much a new employee will cost due to these government mandates, in fact, they're paying overtime to very willing employees because the

employees currently are so concerned about the economy, they're certainly eager to work that overtime so they can achieve some financial security. so we've got an imbalance here in the employment sector and we need to fix that. i'm also concerned that the very bureaucratic approach, for example, with the small business tax credit, when i hear from an accountant that tells me it takes longer to calculate the tax credit than it does for the remainder of the small businesses -- small business' tax return. we can do better. certainly we need to repeal this bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. does the gentleman continue to reserve? mr. levin: i do. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp. mr. camp: at this time i yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from louisiana, dr. fleming. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana is recognized for one minute. mr. fleming: i thank the chairman and thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, by any reasonable

measure, america has the best health care system in the world. certainly the many world leaders who come here for treatment are a testament to that very fact. however, recent decades, slow but steady government takeover with growing entitlements have crowded out the private marketplace creating an inefficient system whose costs are now completely out of control. as a family physician who was elected to congress in 2008, i came here to bring consumer choices, transparency and efficiency back into our health care system, putting health care decisions back into the exam room where they belong. instead, democrats passed obamacare without even one republican vote. it essentially doubles down on the cost and inefficiencies and lack of accessibility to good health care that already

existed and puts washington fully in control of your health care decisions that will ultimately lead to yet another large, unaffordable entitlement system. and with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. does the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, continue to reserve? mr. levin: if you would tell the two of us from michigan how much time there is on each side? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, has seven minutes remaining. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, has 9 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. levin: why don't i reserve and then you can move forward? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, reserves. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp. mr. camp: i yield one minute to the gentleman from michigan, mr. huizenga. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for one minute. mr. huizenga: i appreciate my friend from michigan yielding time. i am a freshman. this is my first term in session here in congress, and i wasn't here for passage of this bill, but i can tell you i am

here because the american people wanted change. they did not and will not accept what was passed by this previous congress. you are going to hear a lot today how it has helped people. we cannot go back to the status quo, but this is not the solution. this is not the way. and that's why i rise today in strong support of the repeal of the obamacare act. the recent chamber of commerce survey indicated a whooping 74% of small businesses say the law makes it more difficult to hire employees. i am one of the small business owners who have been paralyzed trying to figure out what my insurance costs are going to be for my employees. in addition, the nonpartisan congressional budget office predicts obamacare will reduce the nation's labor supply by 800,000 people, not something we need right now. not only is this law full of compliance uncertainties and disincentives for growth --, the supreme court recently made

it clear that the individual mandate is, despite what the president and my colleagues in this body are trying to say, it is a colossal tax increase on the middle class. while i am disappointed in the decision, we know that the american people want us to come back in and change this law because it will not help them in the long run. thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin. mr. levin: i now yield two minutes to another distinguished member of our committee, mr. kind, from the great state of wisconsin. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized for two minutes. mr. kind: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i thank my good friend from michigan for yielding me this time, for his leadership on this issue. mr. speaker, just to address the previous speaker's comments, if you're a small business in america and with 50 or fewer employees, you don't have to do a god dang thing under the affordable care act other than receive tax credits for offering health care coverage to your employees. so let's stop this nonsense of trying to scare small businesses throughout america. it's been pointed out on the floor by numerous colleagues,

it's the 3 isst attempt to repeal all or part of the affordable care act. even they pointed out earlier that baskin robins offers 30 flavors of ice cream. enough is enough. when i heard the supreme court upheld the constitutionality of the affordable care act, my first feelings was relief and happiness. not for me or anyone else who was involved in advancing the cause of health care reform, which was desperately needed, it's a system that failed too many americans for too long, but it was happiness for a young little boy that i had a chance of meeting back home in wisconsin by the name of henry. see, henry's mother informed me before he was even born he suffered a seizure in her womb and therefore the very first breath he took in his life, they were informed that he was uninsurable because he had a pre-existing condition. and that family was depleting their entire life savings making sure that henry was getting the health care treatment that he needed to survive.

we are better than that as a nation, folks. and affordable care act, as this family pointed out, changed that immediately for henry and that family and for 39,000 other children throughout western wisconsin who have a pre-existing condition. 45,000 young adults in wisconsin now can stay on their parent's plans because of this act. seniors on medicare will get a 50% price discount for the prescription drugs they need in their life. you want to talk about a big tax increase, take away the 35% tax credit that small businesses are getting today for providing health care coverage which goes up to 50% in 2014. or the $800 billion in tax credits that individuals and families will receive under the exchange so they can afford health care. mr. levin: i yield the gentleman 30 seconds. mr. kind: let's talk a little bit about that tax increase that people will be facing if they are successful in repealing this legislation. what we need is more cooperation and more effort in

reforming a health care system that is complicated. it is too expensive, and we have tools in place in this legislation that will not only enable reforming the way health care is delivered so it's more integrated, more patient centered, but how we pay for it so it's based on the quality of care and not the volume of services rendered oftentimes with poor results. i encourage my colleagues to vote no on this and let's work together to improve a health care system that's in desperate need of comprofment. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp. mr. camp: thank you, at this time i yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from arizona, mr. quayle. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona is recognized for one minute. qualequale i thank the gentleman for yielding -- mr. quayle: i thank the gentleman for yielding. this decision confirms that the repeal of obamacare must take place in the very body in which it began. this decision reminds us that there is no greater calling, no higher honor than the defense of our constituents from the tyranny of government overreach.

we have seen what socialized medicine and endless entitlements did to europe. let me be clear. obamacare is bad for our doctors, it's bad for our patients, it's bad for our economy, it's toxic to our middle class. from its insidious taxes to its strangling regulation to the oppressive mandate that lies at its core, obamacare is bad for america. this bill gives us all a chance to vote, to defend the values upon which our great nation was founded. i urge our colleagues to vote for this bill and repeal obamacare. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin. mr. levin: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp. mr. camp: i kneeled one minute to the distinguished gentleman from mississippi, mr. nunnelee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi is recognized for one minute. mr. nunnelee: i thank the gentleman for yielding. everything they told us when they passed this law has turned out not to be true.

if you like your old health plan, you can keep it. this isn't a tax hike. prices will go down $2,500 a year. it won't affect religious freedom. the list goes on. i was disappointed in the supreme court ruling, but i did note the supreme court said it was not their job to say whether this is a good or bad law. well, the american people can answer that question. obamacare is bad for health care. obamacare is bad for seniors. obamacare is bad for hardworking americans. obamacare is bad for job creators. and obamacare is bad for freedom, and that's why it must be repealed. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, does he continue to reserve? mr. levin: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp.

mr. camp: i yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from colorado, mr. lamborn. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for one minute. mr. lamborn: mr. speaker, i rise today to support freedom and prosperity. obamacare, call it a tax or a mandate, is a threat to personal liberty. my constituents in colorado want to work directly with their doctors for their health care without going through a federal bureaucrat. obamacare burdens small businesses and families by imposing more than $800 billion in new taxes that will make it impossible for them to grow and thrive. the independent congressional budget office estimates employers will create 800,000 fewer jobs by 2021 as a result of obamacare. in fact, we are already seeing how this is hurting jobs today. the national retail federation found that 48% of business owners cite the potential cost of health care as a reason why they are not hiring a-- additional workers. we can fix what is wrong with health care with patient centered reforms that is

affordable. first, we must protect our freedoms and the economy by repealing obamacare. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin. mr. levin: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: reserves. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp. mr. camp: at this time, mr. speaker, i yield a minute and a half to the distinguished gentleman from indiana, mr. pence. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for one minute and one half minutes. mr. pence: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from indiana is recognized. . mr. pence: i rise in strong support of the repeal of obamacare act which will repeal the affordable care act. obamacare is not merely a government takeover of health care. but as many of us insisted during debates on this floor more than two years ago, obamacare is a massive tax increase on every day americans, small business owners, and it must be repealed. every day in indiana, i hear

people tell me that obamacare is stifling our recovery. they will face higher health care costs and increased taxes. it could cost indiana more than 2,000 jobs. but the issue before us today is not just about economic growth. it's about freedom. obamacare erodes the freedom of every american, opening the door for the federal government to legislate, regulate and mandate nearly every aspect of our daily lives under the guise of its taxing power. left unchanged, obamacare will change this country for ever. but i truly believe in my heart this law will not stand, for in the end, the fate of our freedoms rest not in the hands of a president, a congress or a court, for we are and have always been and shall ever remain a government of the people and by the people and for the people. and while this congress, this

week will vote to repeal this bill, i believe the american people will have their say on a day this fall and some congress someday will repeal this legislation. and build us a health care system that will focus on lowering the cost of health insurance without growing the size of government. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: could i ask my colleague how many speakers do you have left? mr. camp: i believe three or four. mr. levin: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp. mr. camp: how much time is remaining. the speaker pro tempore: mr. camp has 3 3/4 and the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin has 4 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. camp: i yield to the

gentleman from florida for one minute. >> i rise in support of repealing the president's health care law. it will end the individual mandate, the tax hikes on the small businesses of which my family have been proud owners of for many, many generations. the devastating cuts to medicare and the government intrusion into america's private health care decisions. while i'm disappointed with the supreme court and the decision that they made by not striking down the president's health care bill, i'm disappointed i remain committed to its full repeal. under the health care law, over one million americans will be at risk of losing their own current health care plan sm the average american family will see a

$1,200 increase in their health care premiums. many are going to be impacted. as i have said time and time again, bad procedure leads to bad policy and two years ago, my goodness, on full display, we saw bad procedure. and that's why i stand here ready to cast my 10th vote in favor of repealing the president's health care law and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i yield two minutes to mr. crowley from new york. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. crowley: i thank mr. levin. i listened to my friend from indiana a moment ago quote president lincoln. if he were president today, he would have supported this legislation, the affordable care act and maybe we would call this lincolncare today. i would call it presidentlincoln

care and now today presidentobamacare. each of you has repeatedly called it obamacare. bringing down not only the legislation we are talking about but diminishing the office of the president of the united states. and people listening to the debate today, we should be be holden the office of the presidency, that's why i call it presidentobamacare. and we are resolved to get rid of the law that will ruin the best health care delivery system the world has ever seen. resolved to get rid of the best health care system the world has ever seen? that is what we had before the affordable care act? i would dare say to my colleagues on the other side of

the aisle, would disagree with that. insurance companies deny coverage for arbitrary reasons that put bottom lines ahead of patients' needs and when families were worried about how to afford coverage and lived with the fear that a single medical emergency to send them into bankruptcy, back to a time when seniors were overwhelmed by prescription drug costs with no relief in sight? no. americans don't want to go back to that time. in fact, when we passed the affordable care act, president obama and democrats in congress were resolved, we were resolved to actually improve our health care system. we knew that the status quo was not working for far too many americans. so we are resolved to ensure everyone had access to affordable health care coverage and resolved to guarantee -- i yield an additional 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for an additional 30 seconds.

mr. crowley: the coverage will work better for patients and their families. i'm not sure why my colleagues on the other side of the aisle don't share our resolve to make live better today than it was prior to the passage of the affordable care act and i don't understand their resolve to preserve what was an inadequate status quo by voting tomorrow to take a giant step backwards. my colleagues, our friends on the other side have no vision. that's what we hear today talking about going back to the future. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp. mr. camp: i yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from colorado, mr. tipton. mr. tipton: mr. speaker, the common ground that we have is seeking affordability and accessibility. obamacare fails on both counts. we have heard comments from our colleagues saying more is yet to

come. that's exactly what the american people, workers, senior citizens, american families are worried about, more to come. we cannot find doctors. we are seeing our costs increase. we hear the comments that are coming is the affordable care act? there's nothing affordable about it. it is a $2 trillion tax increase on the backs of struggling americans ffment we are going to stand up for true health care, we need to repeal this bill, repeal it now and replace it with common sense. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin. mr. levin: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. camp: i yield 30 seconds to the distinguished the gentleman from arizona, mr. gosar. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. gosar: i rise in support of the resolution. the courts said congress can impose new taxes and the individual mandate is constitutional as a tax.

and if it walks like a tax, talks like a tax and quaks like a tax the supreme court will tell us it is a tax. we could serve it with green eggs and ham. uncle sam loyal to patient-center choice i am. and the courts declared that day a tax burden is what obamacare and americans remain dismayed, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin. i yield myself the -- mr. levin: i yield myself the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. levin: i think i want to remember those in the state of michigan who years and years ago argued this issue. i think i'll go back to john dingell's father who was from michigan, a member of this

distinguished body, who started with others this effort to bring health insurance to every person in this country. after seven decades of failure, this now happened and the republicans want to repeal it without anything to replace it. so i'll quote again governor romney, mitt romney, and he said, a conservative approach is one that relies on individual responsibility. but in my view, when others are free to disagree, expecting people who can afford to buy insurance to do so is consistent with personal responsibility. and that's a cornstone of conservativism. it's a cornerstone of america as a community and to repeal this

is to undermine the sense and reality of community in the united states of america. remembering the past and looking to the future, we must vote no to repeal. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp. mr. camp: i yield myself the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 1 3/4 minutes. mr. camp: this law is overwhelmingly unpopular because it is fundamentally flawed. government is being placed at the center of health care decisions that should be made by doctors and families together, not by the government. look at the other measures that we use to examine this law. the price tag of the law has already doubled. it's over $1.8 trillion now. health care premiums are going up, they aren't going down. they are going in the other

direction. and americans are losing the insurance they have and like. and there is a perverse incentive in this bill for employers to drop coverage because it's cheaper for them to pay the tax in the bill. also, taxes are being raised in general over a half a trillion dollars in this legislation, and 12 of the 21 new taxes in this law hit the middle class. it will make costs expensive for more than 90% of the seniors and it's paid for with budget gimmicks that even the government actuaries say aren't going to work. the congressional budget office has said this law makes job creation harder. if we could only have -- what we need really is to have a stronger economy that will help create jobs but this law makes it harder according to c.b.o. and can't afford that after 41

months of unemployment above 8%. this law is bad for workers, bad for families, bad for patients, doctors and employers. i urge that rerepeal this law and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i understand we are moving into phase three and the time will be divided between myself and the ranking member of the the gentleman from new jersey, mr. appeddruse, is that correct? the speaker pro tempore: -- andrews, is that correct? the speaker pro tempore: that's correct.

mr. kline: on june 28, the u.s. supreme court dealt a devastating blow to the american people. in a sharply-divided opinion, the court upheld the president's decision to tax individuals who don't purchase government-approved health insurance. if washington can dictate that private citizens must buy health insurance and impose higher taxes when they fail to do so, it is difficult to conceive of any limit on federal power. while i disagree with the court's ruling, that is not the focus of our debate today. we are here instead to overturn a flawed law. the government takeover of health care is destroying jobs. it is raising health care costs. it is the wrong sprippings for an ailing economy. it must be repealed. we promised the american people no less and we owe it to them to keep our promise. the need for repeal has grown more urgent in light of friday's

disappointing jobs report which marked the 41st consecutive month of unemployment greater than 8%. a close examination of the health care law explains how it scribts to the job crisis facing this nation. hundreds of boards and bureaucracies and billions of dollars in tax hikes and trillion of dollars in new government spending. these are the burdens the health care law has piled on the backs of working families and job creators. . . this is not just my opinion, we see evidence from job creators across the country. gail johnson from virginia said the law will, quote, ultimately slow our stall the growth of small or mid-sized businesses. speaking the draw coneon laws on medical devices. one manufacturing facility in indiana said it will, quote,

undoubtedly force us to cut critical r&d funding and inhibit job creation and retention. and will connect, president of a manufacturing company in pennsylvania, testified that, quote, the sheer monster size of the law intimidates the most -- intimidates most americans and provides so many unknowns for the business community. it is scary. without a doubt, mr. speaker, americans are concerned about getting this economy moving and putting people back to work. as these and other employers have accurately described, one of the greatest obstacles standing in the way is the president's health care law. through his government takeover of health care, the president has created destructive roadblock to lowering health care costs and private sector job creation and he has disrupted the careful balance of power between the people and their government. whether at congressional hearings or forums or at the ballot box, the american people

want their elected leaders to repeal obamacare so we can lower health care costs. i urge my colleagues to stop defending a broken law and start standing by the american people. i urge my colleagues to vote yes on h.r. 6079, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to begin by yielding myself 15 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. andrews: the chairman of the committee says this is a job-destroying health care bill. since the president signed the bill, american companies have created 4.3 million private sector jobs. at this time i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas, who clearly understands the need for health care law. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hinojosa: i rise in strong opposition for the peel of

health insurance that would force seniors to pay more for their prescription drugs and add billions to our deficit. in my great state of texas, we have the highest uninsured rate in the country, a disgraceful 25%. one of those uninsured was a little boy named houston from crowley, texas. houston was born with a heart defect just days before the passage of the affordable care act and was deemed uninshurble from birth for -- uninsurable from bith for a pre-existing condition. his case drew national attention and eventually his insurance company backed down under pressure. today under the affordable care act, no child will suffer the indignity baby houston met. insurers can't deny children coverage over a medical need. these are the protections that

republicans want to take away from us today. just yesterday a republican member of congress said that if she had her way she would rather spend every day voting to repeal the affordable care act. so rather than working to pass legislation to put americans back to work or stop the outsourcing and offshoring american jobs, they will vote to take away health insurance to millions of americans while offering no solution for people like little houston tracy and other children like him who would be left at the mercy of the insurance companies. this is a cruel bill. i urge my colleagues to vote no on the republican bill. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota.

mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i am very, very pleased to yield two minutes to the chairman of the work force protection subcommittee, the gentleman from michigan, mr. walberg. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for two minutes. mr. walberg: i thank the chairman and, mr. speaker, my friends across the aisle decry the fact that we've now voted over 30 times to defund, dismantle and repeal the law. but, mr. speaker, isn't it right to challenge a tool of destruction of the american health care system, the economy and personal freedom of choice? in michigan, the law has stifled economic growth and hiring and raised health care costs for everyone. it would impose 21 new higher taxes, 12 of which directly affect the middle class, workers and families. it would lead to a yose tax increase of almost -- gross tax increase of almost $75 billion over 10 years. it will cost $1.8 trillion over the next 10 years, nearly double the original estimate.

meanwhile, the obama administration has failed to decide what government-approved health insurance will look like, leaving employers uncertain of future expenses and taxes they will face. white cassel in a hearing prior to this -- castle in a hearing prior to this they have not hired 400 because of the uncertainty of this law. obamacare also cuts $500 billion from medicare to finance new entitlement programs. it reduces medicare itself. according to the american medical association, one in three primary care doctors already limit the number of new medicare patients they take due to the cost. once the law is fully enacted, c.m.s. estimates that about 15% of medicare part a providers will become unprofitable and drop out entirely, leaving seniors with fewer options.

additionally, the president's hand-picked 15-member payment advisory board is even more troubling. its purpose is to control future medicare spending so that if medicare grows beyond what is sustainable, the board has the power to recommend cuts and ration care. rights of conscience violations are violated in this bill. this must stop. i recommend all my colleagues to support the repeal of this bill and going back to a patient-centered approach that offers this health care system a sustainable ability and care for our citizens. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. andrews: i ask my friend from michigan if he could stay for a question. my friend from michigan just said that there's an estimate that the bill has doubled in costs. and i read all the c.b.o. analyses of this bill. i wonder if the gentleman could tell me the source of his statement from the congressional budget office that the bill has doubled from

costs from the original estimate. i'd be happy to yield to him. mr. walberg: it is the c.b.o. go to the congressional budget office. they have directly stated that. mr. andrews: reclaiming my time. if the gentleman could supplement the record with the date and document that says i would appreciate it. at this time i'm pleased to yield to a gentleman who has become an expert on the budget who understands this repeal bill increases the national deficit and debt, the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for two minutes. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, two years ago we passed obamacare, and now the supreme court has ruled that it is in fact constitutional and even after this ruling some are ignoring the fact these reforms are working. we know there are children with pre-existing conditions who now have insurance. we know that young adults who had car accidents and the families did not have to go bankrupt due to health care costs because they were able to stay on their parent's policies.

we know there are seniors receiving assistance without falling in the doughnut hole. we know people have discovered curable diseases because they didn't have to save up for co-pays and deductibility -- deductibles. we know people won't get kicked off insurance during coverage when they need it the most. every american will receive an affordable health insurance policy. and why would anyone want to take away these protections and leave people without health security? mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to oppose this 3 st attempt to -- 31st attempt to turn back the clock of the advancements made under the affordable care act. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to yield now three minutes to the chairman of the subcommittee on health,

employment, labor and pensions, the distinguished gentleman from tennessee, dr. roe, three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized for three minutes. mr. roe: thank you, mr. chairman and mr. speaker. i rise today to urge my colleagues to vote for repeal of the affordable care act. as a physician, i've taken care of families for more than 30 years, and during my time on the front lines, i watched our health care costs skyrocket and our health care freedom erode. i observed three major problems with the health care system. one, it costs too much. unaffordable for many people. two, there were people who didn't have access to care and affordable health insurance. three, there's a liability crisis in this country. the problem is too much government so more government's not the solution. unfortunately, the president and his party did not learn the lessons of tennessee. tennessee it began in the universal coverage in the 1990's called tenncare. and in 10 short budget years, mr. speaker, i saw our costs

triple from $2.5 billion a year to $8.5 billion, and i saw access for patients go down and the quality of their care go down. the affordable care act applies this same failed idea to the whole country through a 2,700-page bill and more than 13,000 pages of rules and still counting. the affordable care act doesn't address the major problem which is cost, and it's also going to cost jobs. i spoke to a business owner in tennessee just this afternoon who has 800 employees. he said his h.r. people look at this plan. he's going to have to lay off 50 people, put 150 people on part-time work and possibly close some of his stores. we need to create an economic environment that creates jobs. the last congress passed legislation that would destroy jobs. and make no mistake, our health care system was fundamentally flawed before the affordable

care act was signed into law, but the affordable care act made a bad situation, i believe, worse. the fact is we don't have a free market medical care today. about half of all the health care bills are paid by government. but that aside, with all the court cases, the policy proposals, the statistics, it's still important to remember that health care is about human beings. it's about people. there are no republican or democrat heart attacks. i've never seen one. i never operated on a republican or democratic cancer in my life, so we need to talk about solutions in a bipartisan way for everyone. health care is too important to be left insurance bean counters and washington bureaucrats. government always makes things more expensive and eventually leads to shortages, to long waits and to rations. let's talk about a few ideas about what we should do next. let's start by just leveling the playing field and give all individuals the same tax break that businesses get right now. just treat an individual like a

business. let's start by empowering our seniors and saving medicare by giving them choice. let's allow small businesses to join together to compete for more affordable insurance just like big corporations do. and let's let -- mr. kline: i yield 15 seconds. mr. roe: let's reform medical malpractice. and finally, let's force insurance companies to compete for your business across state lines. health care freedom is about the right incentives, personal empowerment, not government mandates and regulation. i strongly encourage a yes vote for this bill, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. andrews: mr. speaker, i yield myself 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. andrews: mr. speaker, we know what our republican friends mean when they say give seniors more choice under medicare. they mean let them choose which insurance company, which private insurance company should run medicare instead of regular medicare. american seniors know you can

count on the medicare guarantee no matter what the circumstances are, whether you're profitable to take care of or not. that's why they support medicare. that's why we support medicare even though the majority has voted on several occasions to terminate the medicare guarantee. at this time, mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to a gentleman who understands that pre-existing conditions should made illegal and insurance companies should not be able to pursue them, the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. tierney, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for two minutes. . mr. tierney: thank the gentleman. we just had a hearing and we had four witnesses who are speculating about the fear and the myths and all the things that could be terrible if the affordable care act were to go into effect. and then we had one witness, a massachusetts business person with 1,000 employees, president

of the largest chamber of commerce in the country. was a member of the board of directors of one of the larger banks and was the regional consultant to the fed in that area who said that since massachusetts accepted the equivalent of the affordable care act, not only has his business and employees done better and his profits have gone up, but the economy in massachusetts has done better. more people are working and less people are using the emergency room. and in fact that's what it is, the facts outweigh the fear mongering we see going on. there are millions of people who are taking advantage of the affordable care act. one of those in my district, whose son is a firefighter who has to spend hundreds of hours at an internship, he wouldn't have health insurance under his father's plan if this

republican-proposed bill were to go through and other americans wouldn't be covered as well. this is misguided legislation that would end that kind of a benefit. it would end the meaningful consumer protection like the 8 0/20. providing health care services instead of paying bonuses, executive salaries that are through the roof, advertising and other costs, anything but health care. it estimated 12.8 millionally cans are going to receive more than $1.1 billion in rebates because of that provision alone. if the repeal were to pass, small businesses fail -- small businesses would no longer get the business tax credits and not cover two million employees. this list goes on and on and show you examples of people fallen into the doughnut hole. let's find out what we can do about jobs and stop this 31st

attempt. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. tierney: get the american people back to work. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: i'm pleased to yield one minute to a distinguished member of the committee, the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. petri. mr. petri: i rise to support the repeal of praup obama's health care law. -- of president obama's health care law. the health care law is fundamentally flawed and will make worse our high health care costs. a study last month found the cost of health care services is expected to rise 7 1/2% in 2013 and the law's negative effects on job creation. i hear constantly how the mandates and uncertainties created by the law are

discouraging hiring. the report issued from the investment research firm last september said that the health care law was and i quote arguably the biggest impediment to hiring. we need the right reforms to eliminate waste and reward high quality low cost care. we should be choosing approaches for seniors to use their health care dollars wisely but instead we are turning decisions over to the government. i support this bill and i urge all of my colleagues to work together to ensure that every american has access to affordable health care. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. andrews: we share the gentleman from wisconsin's concern about squeezing down health care costs and the record shows that since the affordable care act was enacted, growth in medicare costs which has been 8% annually has fallen to 6% by stopping giving corporate

giveaway profits while increasing medicare benefits. i'm pleased to yield to a woman that being a woman should not mean pay-go higher premiums. the gentlelady from california, ms. woolsey, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. ms. woolsey: our ranking member today has proven something that is very clear to me. this is baloney, the arguments are baloney. so baloney, baloney, baloney. we are hear, mr. speaker, standing on the house floor for the 31st time with the majority serving more baloney regarding the affordable care act. they haven't brought a single jobs bill to the floor but for the 31st time they are voting to repeal the affordable care act. this is just a political show.

in a moment, what we need is leadership to tackle serious challenges, i'm still waiting for the majority's constructive ideas on health care. but all i hear are contradicts. this leads me to conclude that they prefer a health care system in crisis. millions not insured. out-of-control costs. they must think it is ok for an insurance company to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing coverage or charge you more if you are a woman and against seniors saving on prescription drug costs and against increased access to preventive care. we need to strengthen these reforms. the affordable care act is the beginning, not the end. actually for nearly half a century, medicare has proved to be coverage for seniors and those with disabilities to be

fair, cost efficient. maybe, just maybe, it's time to give every american those same benefits. we could do that by passing medicare e, medicare for everyone. enough baloney, because it's time for the wealthiest nation in the world to provide health care for all. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: tchanching you, mr. speaker. -- thank you, mr. speaker. i'm tempted to get in the lunch meat debate but i'll pass for now. i yield two minutes to a distinguished member of the committee, the gentlelady from illinois, mrs. big he earth. the speaker pro tempore: the -- mrs. biggert. mrs. biggert: i rise today to voice my strong support for

repealing patient protection and affordable care act. whether it is dropped coverage, higher costs or lost jobs, the unintended consequences of this legislation continue to add up and now that the supreme court has declared the individual mandate to be a tax, we know that this law contains over 20 distinct fax increases. we cannot continue to ignore the impact of this law and jobs while millions of americans remain out of work nor should we cut $5 million from medicare or place new rules that the c.b.o. estimates will eliminate employer-responsed insurance. we should take the cleaner route. repeal the law and end policies that are raising costs. and in their place, we can enact consensus-driven, bipartisan solutions that democrats have ignored in the past. there is no reason we can't maintain coverage for pre-existing conditions and

young adults. let's give them lower costs and access to quality care and more choice. we can do that by allowing consumers to buy insurance across state lines and by extending health savings accounts and we must move forward on commonsense legislation to curb lawsuits that drive up costs and force doctors to practice expensive defensive medicine. mr. speaker, i ask my colleagues to join me in repealing this regrettable law and then put our focus on effective reforms that will deliver lower costs without putting the government between patients and their doctors, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. andrews: i yield myself 30 seconds. mr. speaker, we continue to hear this charge that there is $500 billion in medicare cuts in the health care bill. here's the fookts. the new law -- here's the facts,

it eliminates a corporate welfare subsidy and goes after wasteful medicare practices. all the republican speakers who have spoken today must agree with those cuts because every single one of them have voted for every single one of those cuts in the last two ryan republican budgets. every dollar of medicare savings in the health savings act is in the last two republican budgets. i'm pleased to yield to someone who understands the benefit of families being able to keep their sons and daughters on health insurance policies until they are 26. my friend and colleague from new jersey, mr. holt, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. holt: i thank the gentleman. matt from west windsor said i graduated this past may and i'm working at a job with no health insurance. i have a pre-existing health condition and i would be without

insurance and in big trouble if this legislation is reversed. carolyn from east brunswick contacted me to say she had been laid off and cobra benefits were about to expire. at age 25 and because of the affordable care act she can enroll as a dependent on her father's benefits plan. mary from princeton wrote, my son is subject to both the lifetime cap on benefits and the denial because of pre-existing condition. were it not for the provision of health reform. many people in new jersey tell me they need those things that the health reform law does for them, including protections against premium increases as well as many others like coverage for young adults, insuring people that are people have access to health insurance and the elimination of lifetime limits. now the majority here who are trying to repeal this law say they want to keep those provisions. i say, get real. you cannot repeal the law and

still have the provisions of the law in effect. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. i would like to yield two minutes to a member of the committee, the distinguished the gentleman from south carolina, mr.âwilson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. will will i would like to -- mr. wilson: i would like to thank chairman kline. promoting women to government and expanded freedom. due to the passage of obamacare, america is set to experience the largest tax increase in our nation's history, which destroys jobs. house republicans have voted over 30 times to repeal, defund or dismantle the president's job-destroying health care takeover. if this law remains on the books, 21 new taxes will be imposed on the american people and small business owners. already, the 2,700-paged bill

has generated 13,000 pages of mind-boggling regulations destroying jobs. over the 4th of july recess, i visited ohio and read a thoughtful editorial in the "the columbus dispatch." quote, the law creates headaches for businesses of all sizes that are likely to create a continuing drag on the economy and job creation. small businesses employing close to 50 people will resist adding more workers since 50 is the threshold which the law requires them to provide health care or pay a penalty or tax, end of quote. through the last three years, the president and the liberals who have pushed government red tape stalling economic growth, just like the policies of obamacare. the unemployment rate has remained at over 8% over 48 months. the president's liberal policies are destroying jobs. in order to put americans back

to work we must start by repealing this overreaching bill and start with the replacement by market reforms as developed by chairman tom price of the policy committee. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. andrews: i yield myself 25 seconds. he said this is the largest tax increase in american history. here's the record. there are two kinds of people who pay higher taxes under this law. 97% of american families won't pay one dime of tax increases under this law. the first family who pays is a family with a gross income in excess of about $300,000 a year, about 1%, maybe 2% of the u.s. households. the second is the person who can't afford health insurance who elects not to buy it, who uses the emergency room and expects his or her neighbors to pay their bill. that's not the largest tax increase in american history. i'm pleased to yield to a

gentlelady who understands who gets hurt if this law gets repealed. mrs. davis for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. >> repeal would be a tragedy for america. repeal would mean that children with pre-existing conditions would lose their health care coverage. repeal would mean that 86 million americans will no longer have access to free preventive care services. repeal would mean seniors would no longer save money on their prescription drugs. repeal would mean that 16 million middle-class americans would not get tax credits to pay for their health care. repeal would mean that my constituent sister, who has breast cancer, would still lose her house due to excessive medical bills. repeal would mean that my constituent who has had

successful ovarian cancer treatment years ago would not be able to purchase health insurance because of her pre-existing condition. there are millions of americans who are fortunate enough to have health insurance they actually like, and they ask me why should they support reform? well, first, this economic downturn should have taught us all that we are one pink slip away from losing our health insurance by allowing the unemployed to purchase affordable health insurance, health care reform changes that. . second, those who have no choice but to use the emergency room as a primary care office make it more expensive for those of us who do have insurance by requiring that

everyone who can afford it, have insurance, health care reform changes that. small business owners in my district, concerned about the new mandates in health care reform, canned me why they should support it. these small business owners have always wanted to offer their employees health coverage but haven't been able to do so because the cost has been high and uven predictable. health care reform changes that. now small businesses have a risk pool for more stable and affordable premiums. what repeal really means, mr. speaker, is that affordable health care now within reach for so many americans would become a distant dream. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. >> can i inquire as to the time remaining on each side? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota has 17 minutes.

the gentleman from new jersey has 16 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm now pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for two minutes. mr. goodlatte: i thank the gentleman from minnesota, the chairman of the education work force committee, for yielding me this time and for his leadership in combating this terrible bill in the aftermath of a very disappointing supreme court decision ruling that sometimes what we all thought and were told was a penalty is now a tax but sometimes it's not a tax, it's a penalty. first time in the history of the united states supreme court in over 200 years of decisions that a device has been called both a penalty and a tax at the same time. very disappointing and here's what it leaves american

citizens with. this is your new health care system. more than 150 new government agencies and programs. i was called by politifact a couple of months ago and they said, where do you get the 150 new agencies and programs? we sent them a list of 158 new government agencies and programs with the page number of the bill and section where it was swro deuced. i never heard back from them. i was dispointed. i thought we'd see an arrow pointing to the far right that said true. now government dictates to businesses and families and local and state government what is your insurance policy is going to look like, which means you won't be able to keep the nurns that you like now and that you were promised you

could keep by the president. once upon a time, no, no, sir, we already have 12,000 pages of new regulations that have been written and they haven't covered about half of those 400 new mandates, new regulatory authorities, that they can write regulations on. it's going to cost $2 trillion over 10 years, a half a trillion dollars in cuts to medicare, over $800 billion in new taxes, including a quarter of a trillion dollars in taxes on middle income americans and the fact of the matter is, this monstrosity needs to be repealed. vote for this legislation and repeal it today. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. >> i yield myself 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> two points with respect to my friend from virginia's

comments, 90% of families don't pay a dime more in taxes. mr. andrews: it's families with income in excess of $300,000 a year and those who can afford insurance but opt not to buy it. here's what one regulation says if your insurance company, who doesn't have to compete for your business, doesn't spend at least 80% or 85% of your premiums, may must -- they must give you a rebate this summer, millions of americans -- of american families will be get regular baits from their health insurance companies because they haven't spent their money on tcharke spent it on profit and overhead. we don't think that's such a bad regulation. mr. speaker, in the interest of time, i think my friend the chairman has more time than we do, i think we'll ask him to go

to two for one to our speakers. mr. kline: i'm pleased to do that. i yield one minute to the gentleman from the committee, mr. thompson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. tompson: pyre to congress, i spent nearly three decades in the nonprofit health care setting. there's a saying in health care, do no harm. unfortunately, obamacare violate this is principle. he promised it would decrease rates for the average family. the law creates an employer mandate that provides a perverse incentive to drop their employees from health plans. it wastes money on so-called demonstration programs to hide the cuts to medicare advantage, a blatant attempt to protect the president from fallout in november. he said the individual mandate wouldn't result in a tax. it's official, it's a theafpblgs american people are fed up. why? another check was written that cannot be cashed.

more promises were made that cannot be kept. we must protect the american taxpayer and prevent this pl policy from doing more harm. we must repeal this law. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from new jersey is recognize. mr. andrews: i yield myself 20 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognize. mr. andrews: my friend made reference to the employer mandate. it's important to know if a business has 50 or fewer full-time employees, 50 or fewer, what they have to do under the affordable care act is, nothing. there's no mandate of any kind for a business with fewer than 50 full-time employees. i'm pleased at this point to yield to a gentlelady who fought hard for senior citizen rebates on scription drugs, the gentlelady from cleveland, ohio, ms. fudge, for two minutes. ms. fudge: i thank the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. ms. fudge: i strongly oppose h

r. 1679. the republicans need to stop this political grand standing, stop wasting congress' time and do what we were elected to do there are critical issues facing the american people that desperately need our atense. the middle class is asking republicans, where are the jobs? and what is their plan to stop outsourcing american jobs? we should and we must focus on legislation in this house that will strengthen our economy. it seems like groundhog day, the same thing over and over and over again. the american people should know what it's going to mean to repeal the affordable care act. let me tell you what it means. it means the republicans support legislation that will make insurance companies, c.e.o.'s, and executives richer. it means republicans support legislation that will deny the right of young adults to remain on their parent's insurance

until age 26. it means the republicans support legislation that will deny individuals with pre-existing conditions the right to affordable health care. it means that republicans support legislation that will raise scription drug costs for our seniors and eliminate provisions that hold insurance companies accountable for double digit premium increases. it means that republicans support legislation that will raise the taxes of hundreds of thousands of small businesses. by eliminating the small business health care tax credit, which helped deliver health insurance for more than two million workers. and just for the record, the "washington post" fact checker has also concluded that -- and i quote, the health law will provide more tax relief than tax burden for the middle class, for middle class families, end quote. again, it says, quote, the health law will provide more tax relief than tax burden for middle class families, end

quote. this repeal would mean republicans support legislation that will prevent eligible constituents from receiving the same health care coverage as members of congress. and i'm not sure why republicans feel that their constituents do not deserve the same access that they enjoy themselves but by voting to repeal the affordable care kt, that's the message being sent to the people we represent. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to yield two minutes to a member of the committee, the very distinguished gentleman from tennessee, doctor desjarlais. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. desjarlais: i come to the house floor today to call attention to another problem in this poorly drafted 2,700-page job-killing bill. we remember former speaker of the house nancy pelosi's famous statement that we needed to pass the bill to find out

what's in it. today i stand perplexed not only by what's in the bill but by what is not. while many states are refusing to set up exchanges, making it necessary for the federal government to create them. that's permissible in the law. here's what is not. nowhere does it give permission for credits to be offered in federally run exchanges. mr. obama has had the i.r.s. unilaterally change his bill to fix this error. last i checked, it was congress that made law, not the executive branch. the legislative process should still have meaning in this country which is why my colleague and federal tennessee physician, dr. phil roe, and i introduced legislation to prevent this. even my colleagues who support the law agree his administration's actions lead us down a dangerous

constitutional path my opposition to obamacare is clear. that aside, having a president act without congress to change law sets a dangerous precedent, one that violates the principles of our constitution and the separation of powers. principles that are the pillars of our democracy. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. andrews: i yield myself 15 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. andrews: my friend's comments echo those we've heard over the last two years about the unconstitutionality of the law. 24e supreme court spoke about that question. people may agree or disagree with the policy but this law is clearly constitutional and valid. i'm pleased to yield to the author, the originator, of the employment -- the discrimination provisions against pre-existing conditions, the gentleman from connecticut, mr. courtney, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. courtney: thank you mr. speaker, thank you for your

leadership, mr. andrews. we've heard a lot of misleading comments about the so-called taj that's been don to u.s. employers as a result of the affordable care act. the people who make those statements forgot to ask the 5,200 american employers who stampeded into the early retiree reinsurance program, over half the fortune 500 companies in that group, some of whose logos are on the chart. and rather than causing problems with employment, ford motor company, for example, have added ,000 people to their books, using the program that acts as a back stop for high insurance claims, a principle and pattern we have ewe -- used for flood insurance, nuclear insurance. companies like comcast who are hiring in my district have taken advantage of this program. individuals who make these claims have also forgotten to

ask the 360,000 small businesses that last year took advantage of the small business tax credit a 35% tax credit on health insurance premiums. that number is going to go up to 50% starting in 2014. as mr. andrews has repeatedly pointed out here tonight, there's no mandate on businesses or firms, 50 or less, that's 96% of small businesses in america, but there will be a tax credit to help those firls actually defray the cost because as a former small employer myself, small employers want to provide benefits, the problem is they have trouble affording it and the tax credits set up in the affordable care act will help those small businesses to defray the cost and entice and enroll new employees in their business who are looking for those benefits. so the fact of the matter is, with the job growth we have seen, we need more, but with the job growth over the last year and a half since the affordable care act went into effect, we have helped businesses, 5,200 employers who are using the early retiree

insurance programs, including nonprofits, religious institutions and public sector employers across the country and 360,000 small businesses who have taken advantage of that tax credit. we need to build on that success and grow this economy, let's skip this debate and move on to real jobs legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: i would like to yield myself 30 seconds. we heard a couple of times today from my distinguished friend and colleague from new jersey and again from the well about how small employers aren't affected. if you have 50 or fewer, you absolutely have to do nothing. but if you have 51 or hire one more employee, you have to pay $42,000 in taxes or whatever that is, after the supreme court ruling. it's having an impact on our employers. there is a reason why they

aren't hiring and scared and want us to repeal this awful piece of law. i yield two minutes to a member of the committee, a physician, dr. bucshon. mr. bucshon: as i rise, this legislation called affordable, it will be anything but affordable. what's in it? 21 new taxes most of which hit the middle class. it will continue to generate thousands of pages of regulation to comply with. and establish subsidies that are predicted to be overwhelming when employers stop dropping insurance policies for their employees. in indiana, we have approximately 500,000 additional medicaid enrollees in 2014 and

2024, 700,000 additional enrollees compared to today. medicaid is broken, financially strapped program that doesn't provide good insurance for its beneficiaries. why would we use medicaid as the vehicle to provide coverage? access to physicians will be a significant challenge as fewer and fewer physicians take medicaid. it will be billions of dollars. once the federal subsidies in, state taxes will have to be increased dramatically or reimbursement to providers, hospitals and physicians will need to be cut. this will result in further access issues for beneficiaries as even more doctors drop out of the program. as the number of indiana residents depending on the exchange for their insurance growth, the cost to the federal taxpayer will grow rapidly. taxes will have to be increases or reimbursement to providers

will be cut. we have a new group of citizens many of which had private health coverage that are now dependent on a federal government program. access will become an issue. the a.c.a. is a financial snowball rolling down the hill and must repeal it before it is too late. we need s health care reform that decreases the costs while maintaining critical care in this country and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. andrews: the gentleman from indiana said this is where taxes would hit the middle class. i wish that were true in some ways because the people it pits are people with income over $300,000 a year. and then secondly, with respect to medicaid enrollees, for the first three years, the federal

treasury picks up 100% of that cost. and thereafter the average is about 95% of the cost of the new enrollees. this is a benefit to state governments. at this time, i'm pleased to yield 1 1/2 minutes to a gentleman who understands the impact on hard-working families being able to get affordable health care. mr. carnahan, for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. carnahan: i oppose the republicans' attempt to repeal the new health care law. when people of sthroose go to work and want to pay a fair pay for a day's work. when they buy dinner on the way home, they expect to pay a fair price and don't expect to be gouged because the chef needs a new set of golf clubs. but that's an example of what has happened in the health care industry. health insurance premiums are rising faster to provide the

same services, bonuses, advertising, overhead have crowded out dollars for actual health care. the affordable health care changes that. by law, any insurance premiums must be spent on paying for health care. some companies cannot or will not lower overhead and profits to 20%. this year they will be forced to pay refunds, more than 170 on average to more than 580,000 residents in my state of missouri. for those who have stood up for health care today, i stand with them. the republican idea is to go backwards to the broken system of the past. they are trying to end insurance for kids with pre-existing conditions, end protection from prescription drug costs, end free ma'amo grams and tax credits for small business.

let's call thrm republican repeal bill what it is, this is a distraction from addressing the jobs agenda in this country. let's get past this republican stupt and back to work on things we can do together to continue to grow this economy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri yields back. chairman minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: could i inquire of the time remaining on each side? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota has 10 minutes remaining. the gentleman from new jersey has 9 1/4. mr. kline: i would like to yield one minute to a member of the committee, distinguished gentlelady from south dact. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. >> i rise to support this bill. mrs. noem: this bill will cut

half a trillion out of medicare. up 20 million americans could lose their employer-sponsored health care coverage and known all along that this health care law has made costs go up rather than go down. however, we now know that buried within the 2,700 pages of this bill is yet another tax that is going to hit and fall on the middle class, this is in addition to the nearly two dozen tax increases already in the law on everything from over the counter prescription medication. very little about what is promised turns out to be true. we owe it to every taxpayer and senior and to every american and put real solutions that don't put washington in charge of our health care. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. andrews: i yield myself 20

seconds. the gentlelady talked about cutting trillions from health affordable care act. the cuts that were made which take corporate welfare money away from insurance companies and avoid waste were voted on in favor by every republican who has spoken today because every dollar of those cuts were used in the last two republican budgets. i would like to yield to a gentleman who has been a leader in health care for a long time and understands how much his district has benefit frd affordable health insurance. my good friend from california, mr. farr, for 1 1/2 minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. farr: i have been listening to this debate, not just this moment but throughout the whole health care debate and shocked me, why are the republicans so angry with a bill with essentially they wrote? it was the republicans who wanted a mandate that ever

person in the united states carry private health care insurance. the bill does that. the republicans wanted to make sure that people who were cheating on medicare got busted, no free ride. the bill does that. it was the republicans who said people ought to help themselves by being healthier, eating better, taking care of your health and exercise more. the bill encourages that. so is a bill that has so much republican writing in it, why are they so angry about it? the members in the beginning of this year said we want to defeat the president no matter what, even if he signs into law our ideas. that's it. he signed into law an awful lot of republican ideas and they can't stand it. don't listen to the rhetoric down here, go check for yourself. go to www.healthcare.gov.

find out for yourself. check the facts. they will tell you what you get and what you don't get. look it, there is so many good things that thr bad repeal is trying to do. it's going to take away affordability and take away access and going to take away what americans have been asking for for over 100 years. let's keep it and let's make it work. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: i yield to another member of the committee, the gentlelady from alabama, mrs. roby, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from alabama is recognized for two minutes. mrs. roby: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 6097 the repeal of obamacare act on which i'm a co-sponsor. president obama signed into law the largest health care overhaul

in the history of the united states and sadly it is less about providing quality health care and more about expanding the scope of the federal government. and the law fails to address the number one health care concern that families and employers have and that's cost. and under the individual mandate as i sat here and listened to the debate, each individual will absolutely will be penalized, we'll call it a tax, and this free country, that person chooses to remain uninsured or purchase health care that is not government approved, and that is regardless of their income. despite the supreme court's ruling, a significant number of americans continue to oppose obamacare and encouraging congress to take immediate action. americans and their doctors, not federal bureaucrats and politicians are in the business position to determine which

health care options best meet their individual needs. regardless of the court's decision, many problems in the law remain present, many of which have a an impact on small businesses. the american people don't want a one size fits all that imposes numerous mandates and regulations on employers and employees. this will be devastating not just to my home state of alabama but also to the nation and i look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to improve our health care system to approve market-based reforms and maintain high quality of care for all americans. i urge my colleagues to listen to the voices of the american people and support h.r. 6097. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. andrews: i yield myself 15

seconds. my friend from alabama in describing the individual mandate which republicans have supported for year is imposed irrespective of income. that's not accurate. the mandate is covered by medicaid and there is a hardship exemption for someone who says they captain afford it. and there is a religious conscience exemption as well. i would like to yield to a gentleman who worked very hard to make sure that small businesses and entrepreneurs were aided by this bill and not hurt. mr. polis for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for two minutes. mr. polis: in this bill before us today, there are several provisions that i think the american people would be very angry and will be very angry when they find out what this body is up to. members of congress would be able to maintain their government-subsidized health care after they retire. instead of getting insurance from a plan created under the

affordable care act. before the act was passed, members of congress were eligible to continue to receive government-subsidized health insurance under the federal employees health benefits program after they are retired. this would give government-subsidized health insurance to members of congress as it took it away for millions of other americans. members of congress shouldn't have access to special health insurance as republicans would have us do under this -- have us do. under this bill, it will increase the deficit and we won't have that estimate of how much until july 23. it should be important for republicans if they intend to modify this bill to say how they're paying for it. are republicans in favor of increasing the deficit by $150 billion at the same time they

give lifetime retiree health care benefits to members of congress? or do they plan to increase taxes on the american middle class. i urge a no vote on this and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to another member of the committee, an emergency room physician, the very distinguished gentleman from nevada, dr. heck. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. heck: thank you, mr. speaker. just because a law is constitutional doesn't mean it's a good law. just because a law is well-intentioned doesn't mean it fulfills its promises. i've heard firsthand from patient who was concerns about the so-called affordable care act, that it would reduce access to affordable care by enacting substantial new taxes, creating thousands of pages of

new regulations and putting unelected, unaccountable government bureaucrats between patients and their doctors. millions of americans were sure if -- were assured if they liked their health plan, they can keep it. yet we have heard testimony from businesses large and small that the increased cost of providing health coverage for employees is unsustainable. i've talked to business owners in my district who want to continue to provide coverage for their employee bus the health care law is making it harder. the so-called small business tax credits phase out so quickly once you get above 10 employees or start to raise wages, it's a disincentive. and it highlights an uncomfortable duty for the law's supporters. this law stands only because the individual mandate is considered a tax even though proponents repetedly insisted it was not. we were told congress had to pass this -- to pass the bill to find out what was in it. what we found was a bait and switch of unprecedented

proportions. i strongly believe we should ensure that patients with pre-existing conditions should have affordable nurns options, that annual and lifetime limits don't prevent americans from receiving care they need and that young americans have access to health insurance. i've introduced a bill to do exactly what without a government takeover of health care. we need to restore government to the proper role in the health care system and ensure that patients and their doctors and their families have the ability to make decisions about their health care. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. andrews: i yield myself 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. andrews: we have been unable to find any occasion in the recent history of the house where a major piece of legislation has been brought to the floor, where the congressional budget office has

not yet scored what it's going to cost. i think it's important that members understand this. no one can tell the members of the house how much this repeal will add to the deficit. no one. when the first repeal came up in january of 2011, congressional budget office said it would add around $220 billion plus to the deficit to repeal the law. no one can tell us this afternoon how much this will add to the deficit. i yield myself 10 more second. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 10 seconds. mr. andrews: the congressional budget office said by july 23 they'll be able to answer that. but we're in a hurry, we have to pass this law this week because mr. cantor said the day of the supreme court decision, we're going to show how bold and decisive we were. why should congress vote on a bill no one knows how much it's going to cost? i have not heard that answer from the majority side. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized.

mr. kline: i'd like to yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. rohrabacher. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. rohrabacher: i rise in support of repeal. when republicans had control of congress and the white house in the previous decade, we failed to address america's major health care problems. which were rising costs and lack of access to health care for millions of hardworking americans. so we republicans didn't do the job. never passing up a chance to expand the size and power of government over our lives, the democrats have seized upon this opportunity to change the fundamental nature of health care in america. instead of fixing the problem, they chose to change the system. it is significant to remember that even though there were serious issues that needed attention, most americans at that time were satisfied with their health care coverage. nevertheless, obamacare passed

this house by seven votes and the senate with no votes to spare and nobody has read the whole bill. what disturbs me most is the largest percentage of americans who were satisfied already with their health care are going to find out to their dismay that the quality of their health care under obamacare will go down and the cost will go up. poth paw ma has promised those who are content with their current coverage that they could keep it. we now know that is not true. is my time up? i would ask that the rest of my statement be put into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. andrews: mr. speaker, if i may engage the chairman. we have one speaker left, so we're going to let him finish the rest of his speaker, i'll close for our side. mr. kline: the gentleman from

new jersey is the only speaker remaining? mr. andrews: the last and only. mr. kline: i have two more speakers and myself. mr. an cruise: we yield. mr. clipe: can i ask one more time, the time remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota has four minutes, the gentleman from new jersey, five. mr. kline: i yield one minute to the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. duffy. sfloip gentleman is recognized. mr. duffy: there are a number of reasons why we should vote to repeal obamacare. the tax increases on middle class americans, the debt that is going to be piled on to the next generation of americans. but i want to talk about the impact of this legislation on our senior citizens. the impact of this legislation is going -- that this legislation is going to have on medicare. the fact that this bill takes $500 billion out of medicare and uses that money for obamacare. and the trustees of medicare

have indicated that medicare goes bankrupt in 12 years. the c.b.o. says it goes bankrupt in eight years. why we would take a half trillion dollars out of medicare for obamacare doesn't make sense. but one of my biggest concerns is the independent payment advisory board, a board that is going to systematically look at where it can reduce reimbursements to doctors, hospitals, and clinics for medicare reimbursements. if you reduce payments to doctors, hospitals, and clinics for senior, you'll impact the quality and access for care for our current senior, not a future generation but our current seniors. i think that's wrong. i think both parties should come together and find a bipartisan bill that will work for all americans. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. andrews: i yeeled myself 15 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. andrews: the changes in medicare the gentleman from wisconsin spoke about added

eight years to life of medicare, added benefits to medicare, they were so bad he voted for them twice. every dollar of those medicare savings in the last two republican budgets for which he voted. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chairman from minnesota is recognize. mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield one minute to the gentleman from texas, mr. farenthold. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. farnltehold: thank you, mr. speaker. our job as representatives is two-fold. we lead and we listen. if we think back to the last election that swept a republican majority in the house, a lot of the surveys says that was a result of the public's dissatisfaction with this law. we voted to repeal all parts of it multiple times and will continue to do so. we conducted an online poll, not scientific but showing that 79% of the folkbacks in south texas are opposed to this law. i'm looking forward to voting to repeal it again as i'm sure

many of my colleagues are. i do want to take a second to address something the gentleman on the other side of the aisle mentioned, we don't have a c.b.o. score of this i would imagine the cost to the federal government, a good chunk of it, is for gon revenue. it makes no sense that undoing something costs the government in the way of spend, it only costs in the way of foregone revenue like this bill has cost the economy in fore gon jobs. we have numbers showing -- -- in foregone jobs. we have small businesses telling us they are not growing, not expand, because of the uncertainty associated with this law and the kansases associated with complying with it. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. andrews: i yield myself 15 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

mr. andrews: this is the first time, apparently, in the modern history of congress where we voted on a major piece of legislation and not a soul knows how much it's going to cost the federal treasury. i think that's an irregular and irresponsible procedure and i think on that basis alone, people should vote against this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized fed. mr. kline: i yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. royce. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. royce: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i join with those that are concerned. i urge my colleagues to repeal this health care law so that we can replace it with a plan that is fiscally responsible, that gives americans the freedom to make health care choices for their family, that contains reforms that actually reduce costs and actually expands coverage. my concerns here are with this 150 new government agencies we are going to see, with what i

believe will eventually lead to a government takeover of health care, with the creation of a new, massive entitlement program, with a cost of $1.76 trillion over the next decade, and i know the argument is made, well, year going to pay for this by cutting medicare by half a trillion dollars. how could that possibly be done given the office of the actuary telling us that that is not -- that that's not possible. that is not possible. and all the taxes in this bill, how that will hurt business, i can tell you right now, businesses are facing an enormous amount of uncertainty. largely because of our massive debt burden. and here we've compounded that problem with 20 taxes on businesses and individuals in this law. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. andrews: i yield myself 15 seconds.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. andrews: the $1.7 billion cost is a gross cost. the last time the c.b.o. looked at this, in 2011, the first of 31 attempts at repeal, they said the net savings to the deficit would be over $22 -- would be over $200 billion. repealing the health care bill cost the federal frshry and adds to the deficit. mr. kline: is the gentleman ready to close? mr. an truse: yes, we are. we have no other speakers. i yield myself the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. andrews: i'd like to thank my colleagues on both sides for the civil and constructive tone of this debate, it's been an honor to be part of it. i want to note that the leader of our committee, congressman miller of california, is regrettably not with us because of the death of his mother. we extend our condolences to his family and to our beloved colleague, george miller. i want to speak a few minutes

about some people who have been left out of this debate tonight. most importantly, the people who have been left out of this debate are the people looking for a job in this country. or looking to grow business in this country because that's what we should be working on here together tonight. we should be working on legislation to put the american people back to work and create an environment where america's entrepreneurs can grow and drive and succeed. instead of doing that, instead of asking speaker boehner's infamous question, where are the jobs, we're asking, where is the 31st vote on repeal of the health care bill? and by doing is so, we're forgetting about other peoples who -- whose voice will not be heard in this hall tonight but who need to be heard throughout this country. the person who had a malignancy in her breast in her 20's and when she goes to start a company and get insurance in in her 30's said we won't sell you -- is told, we won't sell you

an insurance policy because you had breast cancer, or we charge you three time what is we charge someone else. that should be illegal. under the law the majority is going to repeal today, it is. or the son who is in grad school or working part time, who has health insurance because he can stay on his parents' insurance. he can under this law, but if it's repealed he won't. or the senior citizen who has to choose between paying their scription drug bill or electric bill. they ought to be in a situation where the medicare program makes those drugs afordable and under this law that the majority wants to repeal today, that senior is getting between $600 and $800 a year of rebate.

we ought to be thinking about the family who has suffered the tragedy of a malignancy for a child in their family. and the child hits their millionth dollar of chemotherapy and the insurance company says, we're sorry, we're not insuring you anymore. we're not paying the bill anymore. that ought to be illegal and it is illegal under the affordable care act but if the majority succeeds in its repeal, that will no longer be the case. you've heard a lot of things today about what this bill isn't. it isn't a $500 billion cut in medicare. it expands medicare benefits, it lengthens the medicare trust. it does so by cutting out corporate welfare for health insurance companies and every single republican speaker here today voted for every one of those cuts in the last two republican budgets. it's not the largest tax increase in american history. 97% of american families don't pay $1 more in taxes under this

bill. if your family has a grose income above about $300,000, yes, you do. but for the other 97% of american families, that's not the case. we've heard this is a government takeover of health care. this is a consumer takeover of health care. it's a law that says, when your insurance company says to you, sorry but you had breast cancer, we won't insure you, oyou don't have to take that anymore. when your insurance company says, we're sorry your daughter has leukemia but we're not paying her bills anymore, even though you paid your premiums for 20 years. you don't have to take that anymore. when a insurance company says here's a bill that's 40% higher pause you're a woman, you don't have to take that anymore. this is not about defending a statute. it's about defending the rights of middle class americans who deserve better than this repeal. we should defeat this repeal and come right back to work tomorrow on a bill that will

stop outsourcing and support insourcing american jobs. it's time to get back to work putting america back to work and end the 31st travesty of trying to repeal this bill. vote no. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: mr. speaker, we've heard a lot of the same debate, the same rhetoric we heard before this bill was turned into law, passed on christmas eve, jammed through congress. now we've got a chance to look at the results of that law. the reality includes higher health care costs, fewer jobs, and even more government meddling into health care decisions. we have had 12,000 pages of regulations and still writing. it's no wonder that america, american employers, american employees, american families are

afraid what's next. we have heard on this floor that everybody should be in medicare. no wonder they are afraid. we heard about millions of new jobs added and we are in the worst recovery since world war inch i. we need jobs and we need to get americans back to work and the most important step to put americans back to work is to repeal this awful law. i urge all my colleagues to vote yes on repeal of obamacare so we can stop debating a failed law and start advancing commonsense health care reforms. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized for 15 minutes. >> i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. ryan: i yield myself one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. ryan: let me say it this way, mr. speaker, this bill barely passed into law. it was the biggest social legislation to pass into law in over 40 years. seven votes in the house, no

votes to spare in the senate. christmas eve, backroom deal, and it was based on three promises by the president of the united states. one, if you like the health insurance you had, you can keep it. that's a broken promise. two, this will bring down our health care premiums. that's a broken promise. three, there's no tax on people making less than $200,000 in this bill. that's a broken promise. the president said there is no tax and went to the supreme court and argued it was a tax so he could keep it on the books. if any of these three were known to the public and the congress at the time they were passing this law, law would never have passed in the first place. let's revisit this. and with that, i look forward to a hearty debate with my good

friend, mr. van hollen, and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland is recognized for 15 minutes. mr. van hollen: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. van hollen: thank you, mr. speaker. what we are engaged here in the house of representatives right now is a total waste of taxpayer money. it's no wonder the american people think so little of this institution. we are now on our 31st effort in this house to repeal all or part of obamacare. we have not yet voted once on the president's jobs bill, which he presented last september. two numbers, 31, that's the number of times this house will now have voted to repeal

obamacare. zero, the number of times that we voted on the president's jobs bill. i have been listening to this debate this afternoon and heard the same, old, tired misrepresentations and distortions that we heard the first time around. government takeover of health care. in the year of 2010, it was rated the lie of the year and it just goes on and on and on. you know, the american people do not want to relegitimate this issue. what the american people want us to do is focus on jobs and the economy. let's get on with that business. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. ryan: i yield 1 1/2 minutes to the distinguished the gentleman from from texas, mr.

flores. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. flores: i rise in support of the repeal of the obamacare act. it was passed in the middle of the night in the last congress without being read has numerous fatal flaws. one, the worst of these is that it is a violation of our constitutional liberties. two, it fails upon its primary goals of controlling costs and allowing americans to keep their current health insurance coverage. three, it has 21 new taxes. four, according to the nonpartisan congressional budget office, it will cost our nation's workers over 800,000 jobs. five, in addition, now that the state medicaid mandate has been ruled unconstitutional, those costs will increase by several hundred billion dollars over its massive costs. six, obamacare puts 15 unelected federal bureaucrats between americans and their health care providers. seven, even though just

partially and not implemented, it has caused health insurance premiums to rise dramatically. and lastly, it is costing small businesses and hurting our economy adding pain to an already troubled obama economy. it is time for congress to do the right thing and repeal this this flawed legislation. that is what h.r. 6079 does, simply put, and i urge my colleagues to support it. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back. mr. ryan: gentleman has four or five speakers? mr. van hollen: five or six. mr. van hollen: it's quite a scene to see so many of our colleagues rush to the floor of this house to call upon this congress to deny the american

people health care protections, patient protections that every member of this congress has. if a child of a member of this congress has a pre-existing conditions, whether it is diabetes or asthma, their child gets covered. if their child is 25 years old and didn't happen to have health insurance, they can be covered on the health insurance plan. and yet this bill to repeal obamacare would deny to the american people the same kind of patient protections that every member of this congress enjoys. it's a sad day. with that, i yield 1 1/2 minutes to the gentlelady from pennsylvania, ms. schwartz. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. schwartz: i appreciate the opportunity to speak on this legislation. as so many of us know, two weeks

ago the supreme court uphell the affordable care act and increasing access to health insurance coverage, for seniors to afford medications, for children, 17 million american children who have pre-existing conditions to receive coverage, for 30 million uninsured americans to be able to afford coverage. because of the affordable care act, families will not go broke. small businesses can afford affordable coverage. and young adults, 6.6 million, to remain on their parents' insurance. yet republicans are continuing their attempt to repeal health care reform. instead of working to grow our economy and strengthen the financial security of america's middle class. today is the 31st time republicans have called for a vote to deny americans access to affordable and quality health

coverage. this is a clear decision by republicans to put partisanship ahead of the needs of our constituents and our country. their actions are taken away time and attention. it's wasteful and misguided. they are creating uncertainty and hurting our economic recovery and the security of middle-class americans. i urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation and get to work on jobs and economic growth for our families, for businesses and for our nation and stop this wasteful, unnecessary action. and i yield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. ryan: i yield one minute to the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. cole. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized for one minute. mr. cole: i thank the gentleman for yielding. obamacare is unpopular, unworkable, unaffordable. unpopular, because it limits

individual freedom and personal choice. unworkable, because it relies on thousands of regulations, dozens of boards and commissions and unelected group of bureaucrats to distribute and ration care. we have the opportunity today to end a bill that's also unaffordable. hundreds of billions of dollars worth of taxes. hundreds of billions of dollars worth of raids on the medicare fund. we can only take the first step here today. in november, the american people can take the next step by electing a president and a senate that will work with this house instead of against them to repeal what is a legislative monstrosity that should have never passed in the first place. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland. mr. van hollen: mr. speaker, the gentleman who just spoke, the gentleman from oklahoma, called this bill unaffordable. we heard the debate a little bit

earlier about what the nonpartisan congressional budget office has said about this bill, the affordable care act, and they say if you repeal the affordable care act, it will increase the deficit over the next 10 years and increase it by over $1 trillion in the second 10 years. and yet, we have this bill on the floor today without even a fresh congressional budget office estimate. so nobody knows how those numbers may or may not change. but we do know is that the last assessment they gave us was the action our republican colleagues are proposing today would increase, increase our national deficit. that is not fiscal responsibility. and with that, i yield to the gentlelady from minnesota, mismccollum, a member of the budget committee. the speaker pro tempore: how much time? mr. van hollen: 1 1/2 minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized.

. . today's vote is not about drk -- >> today's vote is not about health care. it's a gimmick to pander to the tea party. ms. mccollum: their vision for health care is deny coverage, deny care, deny the law of the land. if you have a child with a pre-existing condition, possibly a life-threatening illness, this republican plan means your child's health care insurance can be terminated. if you're a senior on medicare, this republican plan throws you back into the doughnut hole. the republican plan repeals the indian health care improvement act, harming native children, families, and seniors across indian country. the affordable care act is the constitutional law of the land and it is a good law because obama does care.

president obama and democrats must continue to work to implement the law, extend the quality and affordability of health care to millions of americans and this congress must get back to work putting america back to work. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from minnesota yields back. the chairman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. ryan: let me comment. we know c.b.o. will give us a score in a couple of weeks and it's going to be more expensive. that much we know. we know states will probably put more people on obamacare instead of mid cade which will cost more dollars. the only reason this bill, quote-unquote, on paper, saves money, is because they told c.b.o. to score 10 years of tax increases, of medicare savings, to pay for six years of spending. you can contort and distort and torture statistics long enough and eventually they'll confess. that's what happened here.

in reality -- i have no doubt that this will be a budget buster. with that, i yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. mcclintock: chairman ryan noted the false claims upon which obamacare was sold to the congress. i think they bear elaboration now that we know what's actually in it. it didn't bend the cost curve down, the medicare actuary admitted to the house budget committee last year that it will add at least $300 billion more upon our health care costs. it hasn't been good for the economy, the gentleman from maryland asks for the congressional budget office's opinion they admitted to the republican committee last year that obamacare would cost our economy a net los of $800 -- of 800,000 jobs and they told us, if you like your plan, you can keep it. the mckenzie survey of employers reports that nearly

1/3 expect to drop their employees' health plans as a result of this law, like them or not. seems to me, three strikes and you're out. we need a system that puts patients back in charge that provides tax reforms to put health care back within the reach of every american family and restoring to them the freedom to make their own health care digs without the interference of government bureaucrats. this bill is a necessary first step to get us there. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. >> just to respond my friend, if it was true that other the 10-year period, you had tax revenue loaded in a way that sort of would deceive, so-call dead seve the impact of the deficit, it would seem it would get worse over the second 10 years. mr. van hollen: in fact, the deficit savings is greater over the second 10 years, according

to the congressional budget office, than the deficit reduction over the first 10 years. and if you repeal the bill, as the republicans are proposing to do today, you will not only add to the deficit in the first 10 year bus add even more to the deficit over the 20-year period. i now yield a minute and a half to the gentlelady from florida, a member of the budget committee, ms. wasserman schultz. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for a minute and a half. ms. wasserman schultz: thank you. thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today because it's time to put an end torte pointless partisan gapes. the affordable care act has now been passed by a duly elected congress, signed by the president and upheld as constitutional despite the chagrin of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle and their best efforts, upheld as constitutional by the united states supreme court. more importantly, americans and particularly south floridians are already benefiting from this law. thanks to the closing of the coverage gap, the doughnut hole, seniors in my district can now afford their scription

drugs. instead of having to choose which ones they have to leave behind at the pharmacy because they can't afford to take them all home when they fall in the doughnut hole. young adults have the security of staying on their parents' plan until the age of 26. as a cancer survivor and mother, this plaw is important -- this law is important to me because through it, the nearly two million floridians who don't have nurns -- insurance will be able to get the coverage they need. this is our 31st vote to repeal all or part of the affordable care act. it is time to stop the tantrums, grow up, and work together on americans' number one priority, creating jobs. i look forward to working with my colleagues, any colleague on're side of the aisle, to focus on job creation and getting this economy turned around and focusing on americans' number one priority which is not fruitlessly engaging in partisan bickering. thank you, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlelady from florida yields back. the chairman from wisconsin is recognized. ms. ryan: i yield one minute to the gentleman, mr. lankford. mr. lankford: americans know more about this law now. we've had time to process it. two years ago it was estimated at $8 billion. new it's estimated at $1.8 trillion. it's been estimated that 80% of the small employment plans will lose their grandfathered plans and up to 60% of the large employment plans will lose their grandfather status and will need to be changed at the end of 2013, after the elections. physician-owned hospitals are pushed to protect the bigger hospitals in this we were told there were no new taxes. now we know there are 20-plus different taxes on it. this supposed deficit reduction goes down in the days to come because there are so many new

taxes that are built into this. let me give you a couple of my favorites built into this reremoving the detuck -- deduction for people with high medical bills. they move that cap up. if you have high medical bill, you will pay more in taxes under this. how about the flexible spending account cap change? if you have a special needs child that you currently have special needs, your taxes will go up. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. van hollen: thank you, mr. speaker. i now yield one minute to the gentlelady from alabama, ms. sewell. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. sewell: mr. speaker, with only 14 legislative days left before congress lets out for summer recess, i want to register my disappointment that my republican colleagues are willing to spend yet another hour, five hours, for the 31st time in trying to repeal the affordable care act. instead of using this valuable

time to put our country back on track by investing in job creation and stimulating economic growth, house republicans have opted to divisive politics and partisan politics. i believe enough is enough. the american people deserve better and frankly my constituents expect better. not only is the affordable care act been passed in both house of congress and signed by the president, it was upheld by the highest court in the land nearly two weeks ago. by now, we should be moving forward and acknowledging the benefits of the affordable care act a, which the house republican leadership cannot seem to grasp. in my district alone, the reality is that 77,000 seniors receive affordable scription drugs now. the reality is that 36,000 children in my district can no longer benied coverage for pre-existing conditions. we must get back to the work of the people. i am reminded once again that we've had 14 days left to recess. please, let's get back to the business of the house, getting people back to work. thank you.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. ryan: i'd like to yield one minute to the vice chair of the budget committee the gentleman from new jersey, mr. garrett. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. garrett: if one accepts the contortionsed on flimsy reasonings of the court's finding. it leaves one thing, the president has lie. the president of the united states has said repeatedly that no family making less than $250,000 will see any tax increase. not your payroll tax, not your income tax, not capital gains, not any tax. even the o.m.b. director from the scradmrgs said to us, there are no tax increases in this. again and again the president has said this to us. but justice roberts said, yes it is. it's a tax. look, mr. president, it's time

you be straight with the american public wefpble must repeal obamacare. it is a broken promise this country can't afford it. if we don't, it will be the final nail in the coffin of a dynamic free enterprise system and as speaker boehner said, we must pull it out by its roots and plant the seed of real health reform in this country. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. van hollen: thank you, mr. speaker. i think this whole conversation about a tax or a penalty has gotten us a little bit into the silly season. if you go to the state of massachusetts website and you look at the romney care plan, what they say is that if you're able to afford insurance, but decide not to get it, you will pay a penalty, collected through the tax system. a penalty collected through the tax system. obamacare is modeled on romney care.

and as governor romney understood at one time, if you say to people who can afford health insurance, it's ok that you don't get it. just show up at the hospital and everybody else will pay your bill through their higher premiums or taxpayers who have to pay uncompensated care to hospitals. that's free riding on the system. that's free loading on the system. that's saying to every other person, every other taxpayer, that other people should be responsible for paying for the health care bill of the person who chooses not to get health care coverage. and yes, if you can afford health care coverage but you decide to free ride on other people, then there's a little penalty under this bill, just as there is under governor

romney's proposal. a proposal, by the way, that was once widely supported by our republican colleagues when they talked about the importance of personal responsibility and the importance of making sure that people who are going to use the health care system took some responsibility for paying for their health care system. and now i yield one minute to the gentlelady from ohio, ms. captor. -- ms. kaptur. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. kaptur: i would like to thank ranking member van hollen. i rise again to oppose the republicans' destructive attempt to repeal the accord -- affordable care law. their 31st such attempt. in ohio already the law has been making a difference for hundreds of thousands of people, middle class families, nearly 100,000 young adults have been able to remain on their parents' health insurance plans. in the first five months of this year, over 700 seniors any

many hometown of toledo, ohio have collectively saved over half a million dollars in scription drug costs. last year, 1.2 million medicare beneficiaries in highway receive freed preventive care from their doctors like mammograms and colonoscopies. insurance companies are now paying out over 11 million in rebates. to ohio families -- in rebates to ohio families because they did not spend enough on paying for health care. over four million ohioans, including 1.5 million women and 1.1 million children have seen their insurance companies drop the lifetime and annual limits on care they had previously imposed. the republicans here in the house of representatives are wanting to take away all these benefits and what is the republican plan to replace it? nothing. the republicans plan to replace it is nothing. mr. ranking member, i thank you so much for yielding the time and i yield back any remaining time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the chairman from wisconsin.

mr. ryan: i yield a minute and a half to mr. rokita from indiana. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. rokita: i thank the chairman and the speaker. my 18 months here, one thing has been clear and that, just like so many bills this bill isn't just about the underlying subject. what this bill is about is controlling the individual. what this bill is about is government oversight, government control, government decision making by bureaucrats hundreds of miles away from us over something that should be between us and our doctor. i do agree with the gentlewoman from ohio. this bill, this law, has already made a difference. the facts are clear. obamacare will add trillions of dollars in new taxes, increase our $16 trillion national debt by hundreds of billions of dollars, cause millions of americans to lose their health insurance, destroy jobs,

increase health premiums and impose new costs on states and penalize american innovation. it's making a difference. in indiana i also agree with the gentlewoman from ohio, in indiana shows just how harmful this law will be to the hoosiers i represent. for fema purchasing insurance in indiana's individual market, premiums are expected to increase 75% to 90% since passage of obamacare my state has seen five insurance carriers withdraw from the individual market, resulting in less choice and less competition for indiana consumers. it will cost between $10.4 and $18.3 million annually. yes, mr. speaker, this law is making a difference. a bad difference. as the house votes again to repeal president obama's unpopular health care law, the american people must continue to make their voices heard, end of story. personal health care decisions should be made between

individuals and their doctors. obamacare passed more than two years ago. in the infamous words of the house leadership at that time, we have now had a chance to see what's in it and the fact remains, we do not like it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. >> i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland reserves the balance of his time. the chairman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. ryan: at them this time i yield one minute to the gentleman from indiana, mr. young. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for one minute. mr. young: thank you, mr. speaker. my friends on the other side of the aisle keep saying we should focus on jobs so let's look at how obamacare has impacted jobs and economy. a few numbers. 48% of business owners say the potential cost of health care coverage under obamacare is the reason why they're not hiring additional workers. 74% of small businesses said the law will make it harder to hire new employees. states like my home state of

indiana would be hit particularly hard. among the 21 new taxes found in obamacare, there is a 2.3% excise tax on the profits from medical device companies. now, indiana and southern indiana in particular is home to dozens of these businesses. it employs over 20,000 hoosier jobs in this medical device sector. because of the negative effect on our economy, we must start over and get health care reform done the right way. in the light of day, with bipartisan support and with due deliberation i hope we can do that. that's why i'm proud to co-sponsor this first step, the repeal obamacare act. i urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it, too. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland. mr. van hollen: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. mr. ryan: i'd like to yield one minute to the distinguished lady from wyoming, mrs. lummis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from wyoming is recognized for one minute. mrs. lummis: thank you, mr.

speaker. let's review the top 10 reasons why obamacare is wrong for women. higher insurance costs. that's already happening. 20 new taxes. that's coming. the likely loss of your current insurance. we know that's coming. losing dependent coverage, that's already happening. employers losing rights of conscience over morally offensive procedures, already in litigation. the overwhelming of the medicaid programs that are in states that participate in the extension. lots of control over family health care decisions. doctors' shortages. a real concern in my state of wyoming. and employers cutting back work hours for their employees to 25 a week, 25 hours a week to avoid the costly mandate. loss of child-only health insurance policies. and now $210 billion added to

the deficit over 10 years. mr. speaker, congress passed a bad law. the president signed a bad law. the supreme court upheld a bad law. let's repeal it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentlelady from maryland. mr. van hollen: may i inquire how much time is remaining? the speaker pro tempore: 3 1/2 minutes. mr. van hollen: i yield myself the balance of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. mr. van hollen: mr. speaker, during the debate over passage of the health care bill, obamacare, we heard a campaign of massive distortions. we heard it was going to create death panels. not true. we heard it was going to be a government takeover of health care. the independent plit fact called that the 2010 lie of the year. now we hear it's going to wreak havoc on the economy when the

head of the congressional budget office, our nonpartisan referee, just said two weeks ago that they don't think this bill's having any significant impact on the economy. and on and on -- and on. we heard from our republican colleagues they were going to repeal and replace. we've now repealed this 31 times in the house. no replacement. and what does that mean? that's the status quo. our colleagues make it sound like the status quo is just great. in the health care system. when the insurance companies got to run the show when they got to deny kids coverage, even if they had asthma or diabetes and pre-existing conditions, when they got to say, you're not covered if you're 22 years old, you can't stay on your parents health care bill, when premiums doubled between 2000 and 2006, while insurance company profits quadrupled, that's what the republicans are proposing.

to go to -- are proposing to go back to. we continue to hear this distortion about medicare. the reality is that we reduced some of the big taxpayer subsidies to the private medicare plan. some of them were being subsidized 140% of fee per service. average subsidy, 114%. we used some of those savings to eliminate the prescription drug doughnut hole that seniors fell into. to eliminate many of the co-pays preventive care services. now the republican budget that every republican in this house has voted for, that mitt romney has endorsed, they took all that $500 billion in savings, every penny. but you know what? they didn't plow one penny back into strengthening medicare benefits. they would reopen the prescription drug doughnut hole . so that's what this debate is all about. trying to make sure that we

provide the best health care we can at the best price. and to witness this effort, to deny patients across this country the same kind of patient protections that members of this congress have, i think is something that the american people, when they focus on this, as they clearly are, will clearly reject. what we should be doing, instead of taking away from millions of americans the kind of patient protections that members of congress have, what we should be doing is focusing on jobs and the economy. and it is a shame that as we're going to vote tomorrow for the 31st time to repeal obamacare, we haven't had a single vote on the president's jobs initiative. an initiative that he brought before this body last september . he was at the podium with a presiding officer -- where the

presiding officer stands now. he asked this congress to pass this jobs initiative. not a single vote on that. and yet here we are, our 31st vote to repeal the kind of patient protections that members of congress enjoy. repeal them for the american people. so, mr. speaker, i hope that our colleagues will reject this effort. i know the american people have already made it clear through their voices and their response to surveys that they want to move on. they want to move on, they want to deal with jobs and they want to deal with the economy and they want to end the political charades. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the chairman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. ryan: may i inquire to how much time remains? the speaker pro tempore: four minutes. mr. ryan: i yield myself the balance of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. ryan: mr. speaker, here's why we're doing this.

if the facts that we now know today about this law were available when this law was being debated, there's no way this would have become law. this is effectively a government takeover of 17% of our economy, the health care sector. it was sold on a number of promises by the president that are now broken promises. taxes? there are 21 tax increases in this law, 12 of which hit people who are low and middle income earners. remember the line, if you like the health care plan you have, you can keep it? ha. completely not true. what about the idea that this is going to lower health care premiums, they've been going up ever since the law passed. they're going up next year, they're going up even more. here's the fear. what we worry is going to happen, what is happening, is you're going to have what we

call about five health insurers left. blue cross, united. that's the big joke in washington. you'll have about five big massive health insurers who are de facto public, providing government extension companies like your utility company. except they're going to be controlling your health care. people say, we should focus on jobs instead of this bill. this is about jobs. the c.b.o. is selling -- telling us it could cost us 800,000 jobs. i remember talking to an employer in southern wisconsin not too long ago, family business, a big family business, a private business. the woman who runs this business, whose grandfather founded it, had tears coming down her face. because she provides health insurance for her employees, about $17,000 for a family

plan, she's proud to do it. her competitors notified her at one of her trade association meetings, they're publicly traded, that they are going to have to dump everybody in obamacare and just pay the $2,000 per person fine. $15,000 difference per person between herself and her competitors. she was tell meg that she felt she had no choice. when the time came to dump her people into obamacare. that's what's going to happen in this country. people get dumped into obamacare, obamacare will underpay providers, providers will go out of business, they'll overcharge the private sector and we'll get a vicious cycle. here is the awful irony about this. we can have affordable access to a health insurance for everybody in america including people with pre-existing conditions without this government takeover. that's why we do believe in

replace. that's why we advocated then and we continue to advocate today for patient-centered heament care reforms -- health care reforms. deal with the discriminatory tax treatment on health care. get transparency and price, quality and outcomes so people can really shop. have pooling mechanisms so people can buy health insurance, help those with pre-existing conditions. save medicare and medicaid by harnessing the power of choice and competition. have the providers compete against each other for our business as patients instead of hoping that the winds of some government bureaucrat will favor us when they make their next price-controlling and rationing decision. we can do better than this. here's the reason why we're doing this. a few weeks ago we had two chances to repeal and therefore replace this law. now we have one. the supreme court upheld this law. that doesn't make it good policy. the one chance left and yes this is the 31st time and i

fear we're going to have to do it the 32nd time because the one chance left is that the american people, through their elected representatives, through the house of representatives, the senate and the president has one more chance before this law is fully implemented in 2014 to repeal this law and replace it with true patient-centered health care reform and that is why we're doing this today. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chairman yields back. with regard to remarks of our previous speaker in the debate, the chair would remind members it is not in order to suggest dishonesty on the part of the president such as stating that he was not being straight with us.

the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from texas is recognized for 15 minutes. >> mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: i support this legislation to repeal the new health care law which will shrink jobs, increase taxes and limit americans' freedoms. although the supreme court has delivered its decision on obamacare, it is the people whose verdict counts the most. the american people have consistently rejected this costly and ineffective government takeover of the health care sector. they realize the law fail ours families, drives up the cost of health care, undermines the doctor-patient relationship, tramples on the religious liberty of millions of americans, and vastly expands the role of the federal government. after the supreme court decision, we now know that

obamacare is a massive tax hike on the middle class. while the supreme court may have declared the law constitutional, that does not mean it is good policy for the american people. obamacare forces millions of americans to abandon their current health care plans and give up the physician of their choice. a recent "reuters" poll found that 56% of respondents oppose obamacare and 61% obeas the individual man tate. with the cost in massive middle class tax increase this imposes, these poll numbers, frankly, are not a surprise. this massive tax hike on the middle class must be repealed. only when obamacare is fully repealed can we enact real reforms that reduce health care costs without restricting the rights of americans. one reform congress should

consider to lower costs is medical liability reform. medical liability reform will reduce the cost of health care by decreasing the waste in our system caused by defensive medicine. this practice occurs when doctors are forced by the threat of laults to conduct tests and prescribe drugs that are not medically required. according to a harvard university study, 40 noveget medical malpractice lawsuits in the united states lack evidence of medical error or any actual patient injury. many of these suits amount to legalized extortion of doctors and hospitals. the congressional budget office estimates that lawsuit abuse reform would save taxpayers $48 billion over the next 10 years. the american people do not want obamacare.

as their representatives, we must repeal obamacare and enact real health care reforms that lower costs, increase access to health care and preserve the fundamental freedoms of all americans. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 15 minutes. >> i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. conyers: this has been an unusual debate in congress over an extremely important matter. what we have witnessed and listened to today for the 31st time is something that i would like to spare our conservative friends the heavy responsibility of trying to go

back to their district to explain why they voted to allow insurance companies to theny coverage for 17 million children with pre-existing conditions. i would like them not to have to explain why they voted to kick over 6.5 million youngsters up to age 26 off their families' insurance policies. i do not want my dear friends on the other side of the aisle to explain why their community hospitals will again have to provide free care to people without insurance to pay for the medical costs of the

uninsured, medical providers, of course, pass these costs on to private insurance, private insurers, which pass them on to families. increasing premiums, on average, about $1,000. you can tell families paying this hidden tax why they want to impose it. i don't want them to have to try to explain that. i don't want my conservative friends in this body to explain to the 13 million americans who won't receive $1.1 billion in rebate this is summer from health insurance companies that have overcharged them. and so it goes on and on. we don't want anyone here to have to explain to the 105 million americans who will have

to face a lifetime limit on their coverage why they would want to allow insurance companies to deny them coverage once they got sick, and then of course there's the pre-existing conditions that are an excuse to first of all not insure for health insurance, but in addition, to deny insurance once they have it. if they feel that it is a long-term illness. we don't want any of our conservative friends to leave the house, to have to go home to explain to the 360,000 small business employers who use small business health care tax credit to help them afford health insurance for two million workers that they will

not get it any longer. finally, this bill will not -- they will not have to explain why this bill promotes the fiction that repealing the affordable health care act won't increase the deficit. we can't keep doing this. i hope nobody's thinking about 32 or 33 times. there has been no comparable debate over major legislation that has been through this kind of tortured process in recent memory. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from section is reck -- from texas is recognized. mr. smith: i yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. lungren, a distinguished member of the committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

mr. lungren: thank you for yielding. the chairman of the budget committee, mr. ryan, has outlined very -- in very much detail how the current law, some call it obamacare, some call it the patient protection affordable care act of 20 10, does not do what it claims to. it in fact does not protect the patient and it does not provide affordable care. he also pointed out that when this bill was argued on this floor and in the other body, it was denied time and time again that it was a tax. we recall the president of the united states on several public occasions denied it was a tax. and yet, he had his administration argue before the u.s. supreme court on the question of constitutionality that it was a tax. the american people view the

federal government as an entity. and what have they seen with respect to this as it went from the executive brampling to the legislative branch to the judiciary? they find that they were played. they find that what they were told at one point was not that which it was at the other point. if you look at the supreme court's decision, they had to first consider whether this was a tax under what's known as the anti-injunction act. the anti-injunction act essentially says you can't content a tax until it has been visited upon you. and the question was, since the individual mandate conceived as a tax, doesn't come into effect for some time, how could it be before the court? so the court said, for purposes of standing, it is not a tax. and then they went and analyzed the individual mandate and said

is it constitutional under the commerce clause? no. is it constitutional under the necessary and proper clause or the spending clause? no. but then they said, we will interpret this mandate, this penalty, as a tax for purposes of constitutionality, as argued by the administration, which had denied it when it was arguing that case here in the house of representatives and the united states senate. is it any wonder people are cynical about this? is it any wonder that people begin to lose their confidence in a government that will not present facts consistently to them? i will not say there were any intentional lies made, but i will say that the american people have to question, do they have confidence in their government when they say one thing at one time and say another thing at another. in fact, now, by virtue of the

supreme court decision, is the largest single tax on the middle class of america in history. that's what we're talking about. can we do bet her we believe we can. we believe that you can provide affordable health care for the american people without the largest single middle class tax in the history of the nation, which puts the federal government in the position of being between the patient and the doctor. it is the antithesis of patient-centered health care. that's why we're here. not because we believe the present system is perfect. we think it is broke . the status quo is not acceptable. but we believe that this bill, because macare that is before this congress right now, is unacceptable to the american people because it exacerbates the problems that we find in

our health care delivery system. that's why we're here. the fact of the matter is, we have voted several times to repeal it and have yet to be successful is no reason for us to give up. we are standing here for the american people against the largest middle class tax increase in the history of the united states and we will not stop until we are ultimately successful. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. conyers: i yield myself 15 seconds to assure my dear friend from california, former attorney general of his state, that the supreme court has made more decisions that i don't like than that he doesn't like and the chief justice of the supreme court, rather than get into the commerce clause, ruled it a tax. i'm sorry he did that, i wish he had done it my way, and you don't like the way he did it.

i yield now to the gentleman from new york, the constitutional, former chairman of the constitutional subcommittee, the house judiciary committee, jerry nadler, three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for three minutes. mr. nadler: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise in strong opposition to the republicans' 31st attempt to repeal the affordable care act. mr. speaker, you don't have to be a policy hog to know the u.s. economy is still struggling to rebound. millions of americans are still unployed -- unemployed or underemployed. congress has not spent every day of the last year -- that this congress has not spent every day of the last year and a half trying to put people back to work is uncon shon -- unconscionable. and now, rather than working on job the republicans have the 31st attempt to repeal the affordable care act. they said it was unconstitutional, the supreme

court said they were wrong. they said it was too expensive, the budget office said they're wrong. now they say it raises taxes on middle class families. the you are pan -- urban institute says they're wrong, estimating that a near 3% of those under 65 will face the choice of purchasing the insurance or paying the penalty. let's review what the affordable care act does. it extends health insurance to 32 million unemployed americans, preventing the deaths of 45,000 people who die etch year -- each year because they lack health insurance. we know it will enable millions of americans with pre-existing medical conditions to get insurance. this has gotten publicity. but also every middle class family today is one cancer diagnosis away from bankruptcy. 55% of all personnel -- personal bankruptcies are caused by health insurance -- by health care emergencies and 75% of these bankruptcies are of people who had health

insurance but health insurance that proved inadequate to cover an expensive disease like cancer. but by preventing insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions and eliminating the annual and lifetime caps on coverage found in most current policy, the affordable care act will guarantee that middle class families no longer have to fear going broke because of an expensive illness. despite the benefits of this law, the republicans decided this whole law -- must go. they want to repeal and replace. replace with what? what's their plan to stem the ever-rising cost of health care in this country? what's their plan to help millions more americans gain access to health insurance? what's their plan to end discrimination in the insurance market for women, for those with pre-existing conditions, for those who are sick and going broke because of medical bills, for those who die because of lack of care? there is no none. the simple truth is, republicans have no plan. i urge my republican colleagues

to do something new, to try something novel. instead of going to that particular well of election year politics and a steady stream of no, let's try to work together. let's not turn a blind eye on the problem and hope it goes away, let's not be inch doincht 45,000 unnecessary deaths of americans every single year. i urge my colleagues to vote no on this repeal bile bill so we can move on to fighting for american jobs and we can move on to ensuring the middle class they won't go broke because of expensive illness and ensuring americans they can get murns when they need it. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. smith: i yield to mr. king from iowa. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. king: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the esteemed chair of the judiciary committee for yielding time to me and i appreciate bringing this issue to the floor. i would announce, mr. speaker, that this is a subject matter,

the full 100 re-- 100% repeal of obamacare. when we saw this passed it passed on november 7, 2009, and that was a long and difficult day here in this house of representatives. and it came back through for a final passage by legislative shenanigan, by packaging up the reconciliation along with a earlier piece that went through over the -- requiring a 60 vote filibuster proof majority that took place for a time in the senate. and came to this house under unprecedented terms, mr. speaker. and we saw the american people rise up. they didn't just jam this capital. it wasn't just 10,000-plus or tens of thousands of people that came here to say, keep your hands off of our individual american freedom and liberty and health care. it was tens of thousands of people that came here that said, let's respect the constitution, let's respect fiscal responsibility, let's respect individual rights and

let's respect the american people. well, through that period of time over this last two-plus years, i couldn't sleep after this finally passed on about march 21 or so, two-plus years ago, i got up and wrote a repeal. and that language for that is in this bill. most of it in tact. i'm glad we're at this point, mr. speaker. because it says that this house of representatives has reflected the will of the american people. they've reflected the will of the american people and the elections a year ago last november when we saw 87 new freshmen republicans come here to this house of representatives and every single one of them ran on the full 100% repeal of obamacare. every single one of them voted for the full 100% repeal of obamacare and every single republican senator, 47 of them, voted for the full 100% repeal of obamacare. and, mr. speaker, the next step is this next november, when there will be a changeout in the united states senate, i believe, that reflect what is

happened here in the house so that the full will of the american people can be worked in this body that's to be responsive to the american people. while that's gone on this terminology that began, the patient protection and affordable care act, always understood to be obamacare, referred to himself as obamacare by president obama february 25 in the blair house, in the health care discussion that took place, when the president interrupted republicans 72 times, not that that's an issue, mr. speaker, but just for the record. he referred to it as obamacare. many of the democrats that believe that it's pejorative so they changed the name of it because nobody knew what the patient protection and affordable care act was. they changed it to the affordable care act. well, we know it is the unaffordable care act. it's a couple of trillion dollars stacked on this heavy burden the taxpayers have today of nearly $16 trillion altogether. it's the unaffordable care act and what it does is it reduces care. and it reduces american freedom and liberty. and when you think about the american people, how distinct

and unique it is to be in america -- an american, what makes us different? we come from a lot of places on the planet. we have the vigor of the american people here and it's totally unsuitable to be saddled by this unconstitutional takings of american liberty and i thank the speaker and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: mr. speaker, i'm please to recognize a senior member of the judiciary committee from texas, the honorable sheila jackson lee, and we yield her two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for two minutes. ms. jackson lee: i am glad, i thank the gentleman from michigan, and i thank this house, reminded of the declaration of independence that calls upon this great nation to pursue life and liberty with certain inalienable rights. as i paraphrase it. i don't know what the answer is to my friends on the other side

. i don't know what the answer is to those who are languishing in the state of texas, when we have our governor rejecting medicaid and politicizing it by in fact, in the obamacare plan the federal government fought to expand medicaid. he says in repeating that the gun to our head has been removed. certainly a personal statement by this governor. i ask him whether or not he has asked 357,000 young people in the state of texas who actually are on insurance plans because of this bill, i wonder has he asked the three million children that have benefited in the state of texas since 2010? boys and girls like these little ones who are seeing doctors now for the first time. what next is the question? maybe this little one who needs to have doctors' appointments.

i'd like to know, has he responded to the fact that our plan, the affordable care act, reduces the deficit by $143 billion? has he responded to the fact that 5.3 million seniors have saved $3.7 billion in part d? or does he realize that health care costs has been halfed to 3.9%? now after this legislation was passed, the affordable care act, because before it was 6% and over. i call obamacare leroycair, mariacair, senior citizens sick care, nursing homecare, that's what it is. does he realize that the american cancer society said they are concerned that the decision may limit the expansion of quality coverage to some of our nation's most vulnerable citizens? that is what the governor of the state of texas has done and many others. finally, mr. speaker, these soldiers who are coming home, who lose tricare, are the very

people in the state of texas -- do you have 15 seconds? 30 seconds? the speaker pro tempore: recognized for 15 seconds. ms. jackson lee: very people in the state of texas of who we want to absolute and honor, they will -- salute and honor, they will come home, their families will need the affordable care act. 13% in the 18th congressional district in houston. we will lose this. 1.74 trillion dollars in costs, in health disparities. health disparities. death and disease because we are losing the affordable care act. what is next? what is your answer? i yield back. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i yield 1 1/2 minutes to the gentlewoman from florida, mrs. adams, a distinguished member of the judiciary committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. damsdams thank you, mr. chairman. mr. speaker, i -- mrs. adams: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of the ree repeal of the obamacare act. i was disappointed that the supreme court did not strike down the law. but the court did rule that

obamacare is a tax. a tax on all hardworking taxpayers. including middle income taxpayers. let's go back for a moment to when this bill was passed. in 2010 president obama said, if you like what you have, you can keep it. we now know that isn't true. he also said, health care costs will go down. and again not true. because health care costs are rising. they have gone up. he also said numerous occasions that this is not a tax. it's a penalty. well, the supreme court has spoken and there is no denying now that it is a tax on all hardworking taxpayers. we all remember former speaker of the house nancy pelosi's famously saying, we have to pass a bill so you can find out what is in it. the 111th congress passed the bill, ignoring the will of the american people, and after the bill was signed into law, americans across this great nation did find out what was in the bill an guess what? they didn't like it. across the country americans showed their displeasure with congress at the ballot box. with their votes they demanded

congress listen to them and repeal obamacare. even today obamacare is less popular than it was the day my democratic colleagues passed it. it's not hard to figure out why american people -- why the american people don't like obamacare. this is a law that takes $500 billion from medicare, a law that will lead to the rationing of care of our seniors, and a law that has job-killing taxes on individuals and small businesses when our economy is hurting. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: mr. speaker, i -- mr. smith: i yield the gentlewoman from florida an additional 15 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for 15 seconds. mrs. adams: furthermore the individual mandate is the largest tax increase on americans in american history. largest tax increase. so it is time, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, rejoin us, repeal obamacare and its taxes. i may not have been here when congress passed obamacare but i was sent here to repeal it.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: mr. speaker, i yield myself 15 seconds. to remind my distinguished friend from florida on judiciary committee that obamacare extends medicaid and does not cause anybody to lose any insurance if they already have it. and i now turn to the distinguished the gentlelady from los angeles, california, who has worked with us on so many progressive causes. i yield maxine waters of los angeles two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for two minutes. ms. waters: thank you very much. i thank the gentleman from michigan for the time. i rise to oppose h.r. 6079, the republicans' 31st attempt to repeal the affordable care act. this bill is ridiculous.

it is as ridiculous as the previous 30 votes to repeal health care reform. it is ridiculous because this bill is going nowhere. it will not be taken up by the senate and even if it were to pass the senate, the president would veto it. every day people die from preventable and treatable diseases. every day our most -- almost 50 people die of hiv-aids. more than 1,600 people die of heart disease and more than 5,000 people are newly diagnosed with diabetes. yet the republicans are trying for the 31st time to deny americans access to preventable health services and treatment for these conditions. because of the affordable care act, more than six million young adults under the age of 26 now have health insurance through their parents' plan. many of these young people just graduated from college. they were worried about finding jobs and paying off their student loans. yet the republicans are trying for the 31st time to take away their right to health insurance coverage. because of the affordable care act, up to 17 million children

with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied coverage by the insurers. yet republicans are trying for the 31st time to return to the days when these children cannot get health insurance. the bill on the floor today is a political charade. it is not going anywhere and it is wasting our time when we should be focusing on jobs and our economy. i urge republicans to stop this charade, withdraw this bill and move on to the pressing issues facing this country. as a matter of fact, republicans are forever talking about saving the taxpayers money. you're wasting the taxpayers' money. look at the energy costs, look at all the man hours and the personnel time that's being spent on this floor. look at all these young people who should be at home with their families. look at the costs that you are incurring with this charade. stop it. it is ridiculous. it's not going anywhere. mr. lungren said you'd made a few attempts. no. that let he remind you again. 31 attempt