The U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills this week; The Fairness for American Families Act (H.R. 2668) and The Authority for Mandate Delay Act (H.R. 2667), which would delay the individual mandate and the employer mandate in the Affordable Care Act, respectively. Arizona’s representatives Paul Gosar and Krysten Sinema voted for the legislation for distinctly different reasons.
Gosar said in a statement released after the vote that he hoped the delay would allow Congress to “scrap the worst law Congress has passed since Prohibition. This law represents the single largest peace-time tax increase on an already over-taxed American public. Obamacare destroys the relationship patients have with their doctors and puts bureaucrats in the middle. The impact of this law has cost workers their jobs, raised policy premiums and limited health options.”
Rep. Gosar continued, “President Obama already admitted that his law was unworkable. Democrats have admitted it is a “train wreck” – a phrase that insults train wrecks. Employers and labor unions agreed this law is misguided. As this train wreck plows full steam ahead toward the American people, I will make every effort to save my constituents from this disaster. Today’s vote is a part of that effort.”
Sinema said she hoped the delay would allow Congress to “take bipartisan action to make changes to the law so it is workable, effective, and affordable for families and businesses.”
“I support the legislation offered today to create a one-year delay of implementation for businesses and families, said Sinema. “Arizona’s hard-working families and businesses need transparency and certainty about this health care law and its implementation.”