President Barack Obama has "irresponsibly added trillions of dollars to our national debt" while concentrating too much power in Washington — and Obamacare is the best example of the president's failed policies, Arkansas Rep. Tom Cotton said in this week's GOP address.
"The debt slows economic growth today and it places an immoral burden on our kids and grandkids," said Cotton Saturday. "And the President's policies concentrate too much power in Washington — they give more control to bossy bureaucrats, who want to run your lives, while handing out special favors and privileges to the elite and well-connected."
And in Arkansas, where like most states Americans "have had their grit tested over the last several years through a financial collapse, recession, and a stagnant, jobless recovery," Obama's policies are causing the problems, Cotton said.
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Obamacare promised to lower costs and improve care while cutting spending, said Cotton, but that hasn't happened.
"We now know the sad reality of Obamacare: lose your insurance, lose your doctor, lose your job," he said.
"President Obama promised you could keep your plan if you like it. That’s not true. Five million Americans face cancellations, and the President’s own estimates predict that tens of millions more will lose their plan. Many more are losing access to their family doctors, specialists, and local hospitals. And the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects Obamacare will cost the equivalent of at least two-and-a-half million full-time jobs."
Meanwhile, the healthcare law adds trillions in new spending during a time of record debt and means less money in paychecks and less capital for businesses, Cotton said.
"Less growth means less opportunity and more stress for families," noted Cotton. "And the Congressional Budget Office says we’ll still have 31 million uninsured in 10 years — the same number President Obama used to sell the law in the first place.
He pointed out one of his state's constituents, a woman named Elizabeth, who says her monthly premiums "have risen 85 percent because of Obamacare's new coverage mandates."
"She’s now forced to pay for things she does not want and can’t afford, simply because Washington politicians and bureaucrats think they know what’s best for her and her family," said Cotton.
"What’s worse, Obamacare isn’t just raising her premium costs. Elizabeth now takes home less total pay than she did in 2011 – and that’s after two raises and a promotion. She’s stopped shopping at locally owned businesses because she can’t afford their prices, so Obamacare is hurting her local community, too."
For such people, Cotton said, Obamacare is "anything but an amazing success story," and wrong for Arkansas and America.
"Republicans in Congress are committed to stopping the harms caused by the President’s policies, repairing the damage, and getting America working again," said Cotton. "We’re advocating reforms that trust patients and their doctors – not Washington bureaucrats. And we’re working to get spending under control. That’s because we trust you to make the right decisions for you and your family."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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