Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL-13th) today delivered the following statement on the House floor regarding her support for H.R. 6079, a bill to repeal the Administration’s 2010 health law:

           “Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support for H.R. 6079, to repeal the Obama Administration’s misguided Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

          “Whether it’s 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 tax increases. 

          “We cannot continue to ignore the impact of this law on jobs while millions of Americans remain out of work.  Nor should we cut $500 billion from Medicare, or leave in place new rules that the CBO estimates will eliminate employer-sponsored insurance for millions of Americans. 

            “Instead of tinkering with broken pieces, we should take the cleaner route, repeal the law, and end policies that are raising costs.  

            “In their place, we can enact consensus-driven, bipartisan solutions that Democrat leaders have ignored in the past.  At the same time, there’s no reason we can’t maintain coverage for pre-existing conditions and young adults.

            “Let’s give Americans what they want: lower costs, access to quality care, and more choice.  We can do that through Association Health Plans for small businesses, by allowing consumers to buy insurance across state lines, and by expanding health savings accounts.

            “And we must move forward on common-sense legislation to curb junk lawsuits that drive up costs and force doctors to practice expensive defensive medicine.

            “Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in repealing this regrettable law.  Then we can put our focus back on effective reforms that will deliver lower costs without putting the government between patients and their doctors.”

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