Senator Mitch McConnell Press Release:

Press Releases

Aug 01 2013

Senate Republicans Call for Delay of Obamacare Mandates for Everyone

‘In my home state of Kentucky, actuaries are predicting cost increases that could exceed 30 percent. Remember, the President said these costs would go down – that Obamacare was the ‘Affordable’ Care Act’.’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor in which he called for Senate passage of a House-passed bill delaying burdensome Obamacare mandates for everyone, not just businesses:

“Last month, the Administration announced it would delay Obamacare’s employer mandate on businesses. It’s not hard to see why.

“We keep reading about how businesses large and small will have little option but to cut employee hours and paychecks as Obamacare comes online. About how restaurants like White Castle are considering hiring only part-time workers moving forward. About how small businesses are citing Obamacare as a top worry.

“Now, I think there are a lot of members on this side who would question the legality of what the President did. But, with mid-term elections on the horizon, it’s no mystery why the Administration would want to delay the law for businesses. Considering how many jobs it’s likely to kill. How many paychecks it’s likely to slash.

“Here’s the thing though: Don’t families and individuals deserve the same kind of relief?

“I believe they do. I don’t believe it’s fair to give a break to business and leave Americans out in the cold.

“I mean, just recently, we learned that Ohioans buying health insurance next year can expect about a 40 percent premium increase. For Indianans, costs could rise by more than 70 percent. Some Georgians could face a nearly 200 percent premium spike.

“In my home state of Kentucky, actuaries are predicting cost increases that could exceed 30 percent.

“Remember, the President said costs would go down – that Obamacare was the ‘Affordable’ Care Act.

“And millions face the prospect of losing the insurance they like and want to keep.

“Which, again, is not what the President promised.

“That’s why I’ll be asking for the Senate to pass H.R. 2668 in just a moment. This legislation passed the House on a strong bipartisan vote – nearly two dozen Democrats supported it – and it would delay some of Obamacare’s most burdensome mandates for everyone.

“Shortly after its passage in the House, my colleagues and I called on Leader Reid to bring it to the floor for a vote. Those calls went unheeded. And, now, I’m disappointed to hear that some of my friends on the other side plan to object to this vote too. I don’t understand why they’d want to leave Americans out in the cold.

“I would note that members on this side are united in our belief that, at the very least, Americans deserve the same relief as businesses. So we’ll all be supporting this common-sense, bipartisan bill.

“But really, you’d think this would be a principle members in this body would support unanimously.

“I hope they will. I hope I’m proven wrong. But if not, we’ll look to put the whole Senate on record when we return in September.

“Because, the sooner we act to fully repeal this law, the more needless pain can be avoided for our country – and the sooner we can start working on the kind of common-sense, step-by-step, cost-lowering reforms that Americans can support.”