Barrasso: ‘Now it’s the Senate’s turn’ to scrap healthcare reform law

Following House passage of the healthcare repeal, a Republican
senator used the GOP’s weekly address to urge the upper chamber to scrap
the law.

“Ask yourself – are you better off or worse off now
that the healthcare law has been on the books for almost a year?” Sen.
John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said.

Barrasso said the new House Republican majority had “kept its
promise” to voters by advancing a repeal of the healthcare law. “Now
it’s the Senate’s turn,” he said.

Although much of the law has
yet to be implemented, Barrasso said it had not lived up to Democratic
expectations in the 10 months since it was enacted.

“Each and every day, more people pay the price of Obamacare’s
mountain of mandates,” Barrasso said. “As I travel across the country, I
continue to hear from Americans who want Washington to take its hands
off of their healthcare.”

The first-term senator criticized the administration for granting more
than 1.5 million exemptions from the requirements of the new law and
accused officials of giving preferential treatment to labor unions and
other allies.

Barrasso said Republicans would eventually replace the healthcare law
with one that, among other provisions, allowed Americans to purchase
insurance across state lines and cracked down on so-called “junk
lawsuits.”

“Our job won’t be done until we repeal and replace this bad law,” he said.