Minnesota Rep. Erik Paulsen says that every American is about to feel the effects of Obamacare when tax season hits in 2015.
"As Obamacare begins to come fully into effect, it will be hitting every single American on the cost side as well as on the care side," Paulsen told Ed Berliner on "MidPoint" on
Newsmax TV Friday.
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"The only other good news starting in January — we're going to have a brand new Congress that's coming in that's going to look to address and fix those parts of the law so we can actually grow the economy, have a healthier economy, and also get on the right track with real healthcare reform," he explained.
Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that the first matter he wants to tackle is the Keystone XL Pipeline, which the Minnesota Republican has said will "pass with bipartisan support" with "potentially large margins."
"For the first time it's actually going to be put on [President Barack Obama's] desk and it is tied to jobs and the economy, it's also going to deal with energy exports down the road which is also going to help our foreign policy move in a better direction," he added.
However, "we're not going to leave Obamacare sitting on the sidelines, we've got to be very clear about that."
"We're talking about dealing with [Obamacare] bills in the first week, in the first two weeks," Paulsen explained. "I would expect other legislation — unfunded mandates might be in Obamacare, permitting processes . . . those are all going to move forward in the near future."
The other measure that will likely hit early is "repealing the medical device tax and we also will vote in the House, the very first week that we come back, restoring the 30-hour work week to a 40-hour work week, which is the definition for full-time work, and that's repealing part of Obamacare right away," he said.
The Minnesota congressman contends that when the Republicans have control of the both bodies of Congress, "Republicans have to prove that they can govern."
"They got to prove they have the trust of those voters that voted for us in November — that we actually will have alternatives and positive solutions," he said.
"It's not just enough to say we've got to get rid of Obamacare, but we have to be able to convince the public that we've got the real answers, and if we can do that, we're going to see a wide variety of other issues that will help our economy," Paulsen explained.
"Healthcare reform move through as well and that's an opportunity for us as we set the stage for a new president in two years, which this country really, really needs," he added.
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