http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/190882-cruz-dems-o-care-bills-designed-to-cover-theirNovember 20, 2013, 09:21 am
Cruz: Dems trying to cover 'political rear-ends'
By Rebecca Shabad
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) says Democrats’ bills to fix ObamaCare are designed to “cover their political rear-ends.”
In an interview on CNN’s “New Day,” Cruz said no one is defending the law anymore.
“All of the bills proposed by the Democrats, they’re designed to be political Band-Aids. Their effort is to cover their political rear-ends, not to fix the problem,” he said.
Several Democrats facing tough reelection campaigns in 2014 — including Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Mark Begich (D-Alaska) — have proposed bills to fix President Obama's signature legislation, focusing on a way to let people keep their healthcare plans. Several House Democrats who are GOP targets next year voted for a Republican bill that would allow people to "Keep Your Health Plan."
When CNN's Chris Cuomo asked the freshman Tea Party senator how he would solve ObamaCare, Cruz didn’t offer an alternative. Cuomo said it’s Cruz’s responsibility as a senator to provide one. “I appreciate your trying to lecture me in the morning. Thank you for that,” Cruz replied.
Coming together to stop ObamaCare, Cruz said, “is the essence of pragmatism.”
Several million have already received cancellation notices from health insurance companies, but that’s only the beginning, he warned.
Americans won’t be able to keep their doctors, small businesses will begin canceling plans in large numbers, and up to 100 million people in employer-based large plans will lose their healthcare, he claimed.
Cuomo asked Cruz if he’s willing to work together with other members of Congress to address the debt and fiscal issues instead of shutting down the government.
“Let's be very clear. From day one I’ve been willing to work with anyone, Republicans or Democrats,” he said. “I don't think we should have shut down the government.”
The shutdown happened, he added, because Obama and the Democrats refused to negotiate on ObamaCare.
Last week, at the Aspen Institute’s Washington Ideas Forum, Cruz said the 16-day government shutdown last month was “worth it.”
