The fiscally responsible Republican party is always looking for ways to reduce government waste. They search for any 'fraud, waste and abuse' inside the federal government in an effort to reduce the budget. Even after they make statements about how we need to become more focused on jobs in Washington, they once again vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act. This makes attempt number 37 for those counting.
“This vote was a waste of New Hampshire taxpayers’ time and money,” Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter said.
The act of voting on this repeal has already cost the taxpayers over 60 million dollars (37 votes times 1.75 million in cost per vote equal 64.75 million). I wonder what 60 million dollars would do to help some of the programs the sequester is cutting. In fact the money wasted on repealing the ACA is more than enough to cover the cuts made to the meals on wheels program (41 million). I wonder if this $60 million would be enough to keep the 70,000 kids in the head start programs that they are being forced out of.
Wasting our time and money aside the ACA is a good start. According to the White House, the ACA will help over 30 million Americans who do not already have healthcare. Right now over 86 million Americans have added protections to their healthcare coverage thanks to the ACA. They can no longer deny you for a pre-existing condition. They can no longer charge different amounts for women or men. They have helped millions of seniors save an average of $600 a year by closing the prescription drug 'donut hole'. These are just of a few of the benefits we Americans are gaining thanks to the ACA.
Congresswoman Annie Kuster stated after the vote:
“I am extremely frustrated that House leadership is more interested in refighting old political battles than actually solving problems. Instead of wasting more time and money on another vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act, both parties should be focused on growing the economy, helping create jobs and opportunity, and strengthening the middle class.
Congresswoman Shea-Porter chastised the House leadership in her statement. “Instead of voting 37 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Republicans should listen to the American people who want Congress to help create jobs and end sequestration. Republican House Speaker John Boehner should stop political posturing and put a jobs bill on the floor.”
Congresswomen Kuster and Shea-Porter are exactly right. They have voted 37 times to repeal the ACA and wasted 15% of their time in Washington in a futile attempt to repeal the law.
Congresswoman Kuster continued, "voting to undo these vital reforms will do nothing to improve our health care system, and only serves to reinforce peoples’ worst assumptions about Congress’s willingness to put politics ahead of middle class families.”
I want to see Congress do something to help the working families in America by pushing for a comprehensive jobs bill, not another repeal attempt. Almost all of the people in Washington ran on creating new jobs and yet there has not been one vote on a jobs bill. And you wonder why the Congressional approval rating is so low.
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