Hire More Heroes Act of 2013 -- Motion to Proceed -- Continued
Floor Speech
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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today having heard the majority leader open this morning's session by talking somewhat about the health care law. He was referring to a headline that said Republicans were going quiet on health care. He then went on to say that ObamaCare is no longer very high on their radar screen.
I will say, as a doctor and someone who goes home every weekend to Wyoming, this issue of people's health care--something very important to them--continues to be high on my screen and high on the radar screen of Americans all across the country because we are seeing all across the country that the President's promises have been broken. People can't keep what they had if they liked it. People are losing their doctors.
There are many ObamaCare side effects, and one doesn't have to go very far today to see on the front page of the New York Times this morning an article related to the President's promises. He said: If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your hospital, you can keep your hospital. But in this front-page article, the first paragraph says:
In the midst of all the turmoil in health care these days, one thing is becoming clear: No matter what kind of health plan consumers choose, they will find fewer doctors and hospitals in their network--or pay much more for the privilege of going to any provider they want.
So the Senate majority leader may not want this to be a major issue in the minds of the American public, but it is because their health care is so personal.
Americans hate to see taxpayer dollars wasted, but they are seeing it all across the country.
I would note an article in Politico: ``474M for 4 failed Obamacare exchanges.'' Money completely wasted--taxpayer dollars--and didn't help patients needing care.
The other day, The Hill: Cover Oregon flops. ``FBI looking into Oregon's O-Care rollout.''
There are huge problems with waste.
There is another article about problems in Colorado and problems with their exchange, and yet the story out today--what happened with the exchange in Colorado? ``Outrage over raise for Colorado health exchange CEO.''
So the impacts are felt all around the country. And it is interesting to hear the Senate majority leader make his comments at a time when his hometown newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, had a headline story on May 4, 2014: ``Own a small business? Brace for Obamacare Pain.''
Local business owners might be hoping the Affordable Care Act's insurance mandates cover sticker shock. The law's employer coverage mandate doesn't take effect until 2015, but early plan renewals are starting to roll in. And for some businesses, the premium jumps are positively painful.
So I come to the floor having heard the majority leader's comments. I will have more to say about this later, as I see my colleague from the other side of the aisle has come to speak. But as one Senator and a physician and someone intimately concerned about the care the American public receives, their ability to get care--not empty coverage but quality, available care--this Senator, in spite of what the majority leader may say, is not going quiet on health care. It continues to be very high on my radar screen, as it is high on the radar screen of Americans who have been told many things by the President of the United States that turned out not to be true.
That is why week after week I am going to continue coming to the floor to talk about the side effects of a health care law that is hurting patients in terms of keeping their doctor, lower costs--they are seeing higher costs--not being able to keep their hospital, and paychecks shrinking because of the health care law.
I appreciate the indulgence of my colleague from Oregon, and I appreciate the opportunity to make reference to the majority leader's comments. Republicans--and certainly this Senator--are not going quiet on health care.
I yield the floor.
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