Levin Statement in Opposition of the 37th Affordable Care Act Repeal Vote

Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) made the following statement on the House floor in opposition to the 37th ObamaCare repeal vote:

I rise today in opposition to The Patients’ Rights Repeal Act. This vote is more than just a sideshow. It is an embarrassing spectacle that has consumed House Republicans for more than two years, to the detriment of our economy and millions of Americans looking for work. Republicans on this have their legislative head in the sand and their feet in cement. The Republicans are blind to the benefits that so many are already experiencing through the Affordable Care Act. It is already helping millions of Americans – with many millions more set to gain insurance coverage through the marketplaces next year.

With their feet in cement, 37 times House Republicans will have voted to repeal all or part of Obamacare. More than 50 million taxpayer dollars has been spent by House Republicans – through the dozens of hours Republicans have devoted to floor votes – to try to repeal ObamaCare, which even Speaker Boehner acknowledged last year is the law of the land. 

Since the beginning of 2011, Republicans have spent no less than 15% of their time on the House floor trying to repeal ObamaCare when they know it would not happen. Yet not once this year have Republicans turned their focus toward job creation. What we have here – repeal – is a Republican obsession.

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