President Obama Signs Another Bill Repealing Part of His Health care Law

The president’s health care law is unworkable, and he knows it.  That’s why, on Wednesday, he was forced to sign the PACE Act to protect millions of small business workers from higher costs and coverage disruptions under ObamaCare. 

Our goal remains to repeal and defund all of ObamaCare – as we’ve voted a number of times to do – and until then we will continue to do everything in our power to protect Americans from the law’s disastrous impact on jobs, the economy, and hard-working families. 

Since 2011, the president has now signed at least 10 House bills that dismantle, defund, and repeal parts of his health care law:

·         H.R. 4: Repealed the small business paperwork (“1099”) mandate: The paperwork mandate was called “one of Washington’s dumbest ideas” – it would have destroyed jobs and “hit start-ups hardest, not to mention farms, charities and churches.”  House Republicans kept their Pledge to America and repealed it.  H.R. 4 also reduced exchange subsidy overpayments by $25 billion. (Enacted 4/14/11)

·         H.R. 1473: Cut $2.2 billion from a “stealth public plan” and froze the IRS budget: H.R. 1473 undermined ObamaCare by cutting $2.2 billion from the “Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan” (CO-OP) program – a “stealth public plan.”  It saved $400 million by eliminating “Free Choice Vouchers,” which The Hill warned “could lead young, healthy workers to opt out” of their employer plans, “driving up costs for everybody else.”  And it ensured the IRS wouldn’t receive additional funding for new agents to enforce the president’s health care law.  (Enacted 04/15/2011)

·         H.R. 674: Saved taxpayers $13 billion by adjusting eligibility for ObamaCare programs: This bill not only repealed a devastating IRS withholding tax – it saved taxpayers $13 billion by changing how the eligibility for certain programs is calculated under ObamaCare.  Without the change, a couple earning as much as much as $64,000 could still qualify for Medicaid.  (Enacted 11/21/11)

·         H.R. 2055: Made more cuts to CO-OPs, IPAB, IRS: This bill shaved another $400 million off the CO-OPs; cut another $305 million from the IRS to hamper its ability to enforce the law’s tax hikes and mandates; and rescinded $10 million from the Independent Payment Advisory Board  (IPAB) of bureaucrats, to which Republican leaders are declining to recommend appointments.  (Enacted 12/23/2011) 

·         H.R. 3630: Slashed billions from ObamaCare slush funds: Republicans fought for another $11.6 billion in savings, saving taxpayers $5 billion from the Prevention & Public Health slush fund, $2.5 billion from ObamaCare’s “Louisiana Purchase,” and more.  (Enacted 2/22/12)

·         H.R. 4348: Saved another $670 million from the “Louisiana Purchase”: This saved another $670 million by further adjusting a drafting error that made the “Louisiana Purchase” even costlier.  (Enacted 7/6/12)

·         H.R. 8: Repealed the unsustainable CLASS program: H.R. 8 saved $6.5 billion by repealing the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program, an unsustainable entitlement program whose phony “savings” were used by Democrats to mask the true cost of ObamaCare.  The former Democratic chairman of the Senate Budget Committee called CLASS “a Ponzi scheme of the first order, the kind of thing Bernie Madoff would be proud of.”  The bill also rescinded all unobligated CO-OP funds – another $2.3 billion savings for taxpayers.  (Enacted 1/2/13)

·         H.R. 83: Saved taxpayers from a $2.5 billion bailout of the insurance industry under ObamaCare: This bill protected taxpayer dollars by preventing a back-door bailout of ObamaCare’s risk corridor program.  (Enacted 12/16/14)

·         H.R. 3236: Exempted small businesses from ObamaCare mandates that make it harder to hire veterans.  The Hire More Heroes Act, a top priority for the new Republican Congress, exempts veterans who already have health coverage through the Department of Defense or the VA from ObamaCare’s employer mandate.  This much-needed relief for small businesses makes it easier for them to hire, and easier for our veterans to earn a good living.  (Enacted 7/31/15) 

·         H.R. 1624: Protected millions of Americans from disrupted health care coverage and higher costs.  This bill scrapped ObamaCare regulations that would have forced workers at small businesses off their current health care plans – exposing them to Obamacare mandates, higher costs, and disruption in coverage.  (Enacted 10/7/15)

In addition, in “a real victory for House Speaker John Boehner,” Republicans, and all Americans, a federal court recently ruled the House of Representatives has standing to challenge the president’s unilateral actions on ObamaCare.  This important victory has broad implications as Republicans continue the fight to stop President Obama’s unprecedented executive overreach, uphold the Constitution, and address the American people’s priorities.