Sen. Carper on House Republicans’ Efforts to Repeal Affordable Care Act

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) released the following statement on the House Republicans’ decision to hold a vote to repeal health care reform:

“I’m disappointed that House Republicans would attempt to roll back legislation that will provide consumers with better health care outcomes for less money. This is the wrong direction for the House Republicans to take. It would weaken our health care system, not make it better.

“The Affordable Care Act has already provided significant benefits, such as Medicare Part D rebate checks, to many Americans, including almost 8,000 people in Delaware. The health care reform law has also provided Delaware with millions of dollars in funding to bolster public health, strengthen consumer protections, and support private research and innovation.

“With today’s vote, the House Republicans would attempt to repeal key benefits including protections for patients with preexisting conditions, tax credits for small businesses to provide their employees with insurance, support to make prescriptions for seniors more affordable and provisions allowing children to remain on their parents’ health insurance until age 26.

“The repeal vote is also fiscally irresponsible, jeopardizing provisions to reduce the deficit. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, repealing the law would increase the deficit by $230 billion over the next ten years. My hope is that when this political posturing is over, House Republicans will work with us in the Senate to tackle the real problems facing this country – reining in our budget deficit and creating jobs.”