New Majority Kicks Off Effort to Replace Job-Destroying ObamaCare Law with Better Solutions to Bring Down Costs and Protect Jobs

Posted by Katie Boyd

January 20, 2011

General

After voting to repeal the job-destroying, budget-busting health care law, the new House majority quickly moved forward yesterday with legislation that keeps their Pledge to America to replace ObamaCare with reforms that will lower costs and protect American jobs. By a vote of 253-175, the House passed legislation (H.Res. 9) directing the Committees on Education & the Workforce, Energy & Commerce, Ways & Means, and Judiciary to develop proposals focused on, among other key goals:

Protecting American Jobs: “Rep. Dave Camp (R., Mich.), Ways and Means chairman, said his committee would aggressively examine the health-care law ‘through the same prism we are going to at other issues: jobs, economic growth, and creating a strong and vibrant private sector…’” (National Review, 1/20/11)

Lowering Health Care Costs: “Cost cutting, the Republicans said, is the major overarching goal of their replacement efforts. ‘Obviously if we can get costs down, the opportunity to afford health care goes up,’ Camp said, arguing it’s a more effective way to expand coverage.” (CBS News, 1/20/11)

Preserving Coverage Americans Like: “Camp said the goal was to replace the current law with something that would help bring down the cost of insurance and expand medical coverage as well as protect the 170 million Americans who get health insurance through employers.” (Reuters, 1/20/11)

Prohibiting Taxpayer Funding of Abortion: “The No Tax-Payer Funding for Abortion Act, introduced Thursday as H.R. 3, aims to codify the Hyde Amendment, which has long barred federal funding for abortion and must currently be renewed every year. … Their Pledge to America, an outline of their agenda released in September, included a promise to codify the Hyde Amendment … ‘We intend to move that bill quickly through our committee,’ Energy and Commerce Chair Fred Upton (R-MI) added...” (Politico, 1/20/11)

Curbing Junk Lawsuits the Drive Up Costs: “The House Judiciary Committee began work today on medical liability reform, which will be part of any Republican alternative to health care reform. .. [J]ust the threat of being sued is causing doctors to take extra precautionary measures, which is adding billions of dollars a year in unnecessary health care costs, [Dr. Ardis Dee] Hoven [Chair of the American Medical Association] said.” (Portfolio.com, 1/20/11)

Expanding Coverage Without Expanding Government: “’House Republicans won’t expand government programs with their proposals,’ said Representative John Kline, a Minnesota Republican who leads the Education and the Workforce Committee.” (BusinessWeek, 1/20/11)

In an op-ed in yesterday’s USA Today, Committee Chairmen Dave Camp (R-MI), Fred Upton (R-MI), Paul Ryan (R-WI), John Kline (R-MN) and Lamar Smith (R-TX) laid out Republicans’ health reform priorities and reaffirmed their commitment to a “transparent, inclusive and deliverative” process to replace the job-crushing health care law:

“In the last Congress, Republicans advocated solutions that were focused on lowering health insurance premiums for families and small businesses, increasing access to affordable care regardless of pre-existing health conditions, curbing lawsuit abuse and promoting healthier lifestyles — without increasing taxes.
“There was no shortage of solutions offered by our party when Congress last debated these issues.
“As we move beyond Wednesday's vote, we will proceed along three parallel paths: We will continue to go after the worst provisions of the law piece by piece; we will exercise rigorous oversight of the law as it stands; and we will examine sound alternatives. Throughout this process, we pledge to pursue health care reform through the transparent, inclusive and deliberative process our members and the American people were denied two years ago.”