Nomination of Roy K.J. Williams to Be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development

Floor Speech

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Mr. RISCH. Madam President, I come to the floor today to talk about a case involving ObamaCare and an Idaho resident. She has asked me to state her case. It is one of many such cases that I have. I did not pick this one because it is the most egregious or anything else. I picked it because this is an effect that ObamaCare is having on ordinary American people, people who deserve better, people who deserve a government that will help them and will leave them alone when leaving alone is the right thing to do.

She writes to me and says that her husband's company will no longer be offering health insurance next year. Of course, that is the result of ObamaCare. We have all heard the reasons why many companies are abandoning offering health care to their employees. Be that as it may--and there is a lot of reasons for that, none of which are good--these people are caught in this spot.

Right now, through her husband's business, they are paying $700 a month. They get 80-percent coverage for that $700 a month. Their deductible is $2,500 each. They are told, through the exchange, through which they have shopped in Idaho, that the new coverage they are going to get is going to cost them $1,400 a month. So that is exactly double what they are paying now.

One would think you would get double benefits, right? Wrong. Because of the government involvement in this, instead of 80-percent coverage, they are going to get 70-percent coverage. Instead of a $2,500 deductible, they are going to have a $5,000 deductible.

Well, who are these people? They are ordinary, regular American people. They are 60 years old. They do not qualify for a tax subsidy. They tell me that now the cost of their health insurance is going to be three times what they are paying for the cost of their house. They told me: Senator, we are not extravagant people. We live in a 1,400-square foot house. We do not take vacations, never bought a new car, raised our kids, and saved for their educations. Both of us went to college.

They talk about how they taught their children to pay their taxes and to work hard and be contributing members of society.

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