Republicans turn their attention to bashing Obamacare as shutdown enters day 39
Amid a 39-day government shutdown, Republican after Republican took to the Senate floor on Saturday to blast the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, calling the program a failed...
By Fox News · Fox News
Amid a 39-day government shutdown, Republican after Republican took to the Senate floor on Saturday to blast the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, calling the program a failed approach to addressing the country’s health care needs. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., went as far as to say the current system might need replacing. "You were promised when Obamacare passed in 2010, President Obama said, that every family in America who participated in this thing would have a $2,500 savings in premium reductions. It’s been like a 100% increase. This thing is unsustainable," Graham said. FLASHBACK: TED CRUZ PREDICTS BALLOONING OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES NOW AT CENTER OF SHUTDOWN FIGHT "We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer to meet the goal of lowering health care costs," Graham added. Graham wasn't the only Republican voice to speak out against Obamacare. "I hate to report that folks on the other side refused to acknowledge the very obvious damage being done across the board by Obamacare," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said. "The problem we have in healthcare is we've largely driven free-market principles out of healthcare. That's because of the faulty design of Obamacare. It's got to be fixed." Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., a former health care executive and longtime critic of the program, joined in. "It's all caused by Obamacare. When the government gets involved in things, they often go up in price," Scott said. Notably, Republican criticisms of Obamacare on Saturday went beyond the front-and-center issue holding up consideration of government funding. Where Republicans have advanced a short-term spending package meant to keep the government open through Nov. 21, Democrats have rejected it 14 times, demanding that lawmakers first consider extending COVD-era emergency tax subsidies for Obamacare plan holders. Republicans, who maintain the temporary subsidies and their expiration have nothing to do with government spendin…