For years, President Obama has been blind to the failures of Obamacare. Crumbling co-ops, dropped coverage, rising premiums, high deductibles, limited networks — Obamacare is failing. Many Democrats have merely paid lip service to the law while joining with Republicans and voting to dismantle the employer and individual mandates, reduce the burden of the Cadillac Tax and Health Insurance Tax on small businesses, repeal the medical-device tax, cut funding for the health-care rationing board, and stop the taxpayer bailout of insurance companies through the risk-corridor program. As Obamacare remains unpopular across the nation, there are few people left in Washington who defend it.
But while the president has ignored the health-care house of cards falling around him, he has also turned a blind eye to the moral crisis of taxpayer dollars supporting the abortion industry. This willful blindness is so stark that the White House wouldn’t even say whether President Obama had seen the horrific videos of Planned Parenthood employees casually discussing the sale of infants’ organs.
But whether the president has seen the videos or not, it is disgusting to force taxpayers to fund an organization whose barbaric practices — as shown in the videos — disregard and devalue the sanctity of the most innocent human lives.
Ever since the Planned Parenthood videos were released, we have worked with our allies in the pro-life movement, coming up with the best strategy to stop taxpayer funding for abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood, whose practices are not only reprehensible, but may also violate federal law. Our strategy also ensures that community health centers have enough funding to provide women access to quality care. And for years, the House has been working to dismantle, defund, and repeal Obamacare. That is what makes today a momentous occasion.
Today, the House will pass a budget-reconciliation bill that repeals Obamacare and stops taxpayer funding to abortion providers. After more than 50 House votes to repeal Obamacare in part and in full, and after the conscience of our nation was awakened again to the great evil of the abortion industry, we will put this bill on the president’s desk.
#share#Now, the president will show the people clearly if he stands for health-care freedom and basic human decency, or if he will continue to pummel the American people with his failed health-care law and force taxpayers to support abortion providers engaged in something truly evil.
Unfortunately, we know and have known for a while that President Obama will veto any bill that repeals Obamacare or defunds Planned Parenthood. That isn’t news. But with this bill, Republicans show that we have listened to the American people and can use reconciliation to pass substantive policies despite opposition from congressional Democrats and the constant threat of filibuster.
That means we can repeat this same process with a Republican in the White House, overcome obstruction from congressional Democrats, and accomplish our greatest priorities.
On this foundation, we can create a patient-centered health-care system that takes power from Washington bureaucrats and gives it back to the people. And we can develop a stronger culture of life, freeing people from being forced to pay for an industry of death. After years of hard work, Congress is taking a long and firm step closer to enduring conservative reforms.