Blog Briefing Room feed
November 16, 2013, 06:00 am
GOP Rep. accuses Dems of 'political fraud'
By Julian Pecquet
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) used Saturday's Republican address to accuse President Obama and Democrats of committing “political fraud” in their marketing of the healthcare law.
Johnson said Democrats' promise that Americans would be able to keep their healthcare plans was “fully vetted, coldly calculated, and carefully crafted” to “deceptively” sell the law to voters. Republicans have seized on the cancellation of millions of plans and problems with the government's insurance portal to paint the law as a hopeless mess.
“Those assurances weren't slight exaggerations or innocent shadings of the truth,” said Johnson, who has introduced legislation allowing people to keep their plans. “It was a political fraud echoed relentlessly by House and Senate Democrats who should be held accountable for the disastrous consequences of their grand deception.”
Johnson said such “massive” fraud in the private sector would “bear serious legal ramifications.” He went on to accuse the president of delivering a “phony” apology that did not fully recognize his administration's responsibility.
“It was like telling someone you're sorry their dog died, but refusing to acknowledge you ran over the dog,” Johnson said.
“Sorry Mr. President, it didn't work. Millions of Americans are coming to realize that those are your tire tracks on their cancelled policies.”
The speech creates added pressure on the Democrat-controlled Senate to bring up Johnson's bill. The legislation has been co-sponsored by every Senate Republican and the House easily passed similar legislation on Friday, with six Democrats breaking with Obama.
The White House opposes the bill, arguing that it would undermine the healthcare law. The president has proposed an administrative fix but Republicans say it doesn't provide enough of a guarantee.
Johnson also said he'll soon be introducing another bill, the ‘Preserve Freedom and Choice in Health Care,’ which he said will “attempt to protect liberty and the rights of individuals to make their own health care decisions.” He called on voters to hold Democrats accountable for the health law's shortcomings “with a very loud voice" so that Republicans can enact alternatives.
“Democrat Senators must help Republicans pass legislation to limit the damage of Obamacare,” he said. “If not, those who choose to ignore the plight of millions of Americans should be replaced next November by those who will act.”
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/190484-gop-rep-accuses-dems-of-political-fraud-on-healthcare
