Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Monday that “our worst fears are coming true” on Obamacare — as GOP legislators predicted three years ago.
“Next week marks the third anniversary of Obamacare,” the Kentucky Republican said on the Senate floor. “And I’ll remind you that leading up to its passage in March of 2010, Republicans warned endlessly that the bill would cost too much, and wouldn’t work the way the president and other Washington Democrats said it would.
“Then-Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi famously said we needed to pass the bill to learn what was in it,” he added, referring to the California Democrat. “Well, nearly three years and thousands of pages of regulations later, we’ve learned a lot about Obamacare. It looks like our worst fears are coming true.
McConnell cited reports by the Congressional Budget Office saying that Obamacare would raise federal health spending and subsidies by nearly $600 billion and would increase premiums by $2,100 per family.
“Tragically, Obamacare will place the greatest burden on young Americans, those just starting to build lives of their own,” McConnell said.
“This is a time in their lives when every dollar counts. Yet, three years after Obamacare’s passage, experts say that premiums for healthy young people could rise by 169 percent.
“Part of the reason costs are set to increase so dramatically is because Obamacare levies so many new taxes and fees. But that’s only half the story. It’s also because the law imposes so many onerous regulations.”
He noted that the Obamacare owner’s manual contained nearly 20,000 pages.
“Are you kidding?” McConnell asked. “This law is a disaster waiting to happen.
“This is the worst time to be imposing tens of thousands of pages of new regulations and onerous taxes on the very families and businesses that can least afford them. We owe our constituents better, particularly those who are struggling the most.
“Obamacare is just too expensive — and it’s not working the way Washington Democrats promised,” McConnell concluded.
“That’s why Obamacare needs to be repealed. And that’s why I will continue to push for its repeal.”