Reply from ryan's office [View all]

[El Mimbreno]

I had contacted ryan’s office regarding the Affordable Care Act. This is what I got back several days later. A bit long but enough of it and I should have a great garden this year. I’ll need it. My comments and highlights in italics.



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January 23, 2017 | Speaker Paul Ryan

Dear John,

Thank you for contacting me about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). In my role as Speaker, I am committed to ensuring that the House functions in an open and transparent way to repeal this failed law in its entirety and replace it with a patient-centered system that expands access to health care, lowers health care costs, and puts health care decisions in the hands of patients, not bureaucrats.

Benefits over 20 million Americans and it’s a failure? El Mimbreno

As my colleagues and I listen to our fellow Americans, we hear from more and more individuals who have serious concerns about what the implementation of the ACA will mean for them, their families and their businesses. Businesses, policy experts, government actuaries, and even some supporters of the law have confirmed what the country already knew: the ACA is bad policy that does not accomplish what it was designed to do. Instead, the law spends trillions of dollars we do not have, and raises taxes on workers, businesses and families, and puts the federal government squarely in the middle of health care decisions.

This law has resulted in cancellation notices and massive premium increases for families and individuals nationwide. Insurance premiums remain high—in fact higher than ever before for many Americans—and they are rising faster than the rate of inflation, the economy, and average income. These premium increases are taking a big toll on family budgets –not to mention the federal budget. Under the ACA the federal government now either directly or indirectly subsidizes most premiums, meaning the burden of rising premiums is also falling on taxpayers. In Fiscal Year 2016, this subsidization alone will cost an astonishing $300 billion. Unfortunately, we now know that the most damaging effects of the ACA only get worse as we look to the future. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently projected that average employer-based premiums will go up nearly 60 percent between this year and 2025. It should come as no surprise then that late last year, CBO also projected that, because of the ACA, the workforce will be two million full-time workers smaller in 2025 than it would be otherwise.

As you may also know, in an effort to protect the American people from the ACA and clear the way for common sense reforms, the House has acted boldly to make use of a budget process known as reconciliation during this Congress. After working to resolve budget differences between the House and the Senate, Representative Tom Price introduced a reconciled budget report as independent legislation on October 16, 2015. This bill, H.R. 3762, the Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015, would dismantle the president's demonstrably unworkable health care law. Specifically, H.R. 3762 repeals the individual and employer mandates, the medical device tax, and the "Cadillac" tax on high value insurance plans. By eliminating the most coercive and onerous pieces of the ACA and by laying the foundation for a patient-centered system, H.R. 3762 would force President Obama to deal with the fact that his health care law has resulted in higher costs and lower quality care for working families. On October 23, 2015, in bipartisan fashion and with my support, the House passed H.R. 3762 by a vote of 240 to 189. On December 3, 2015, the Senate passed this bill with minor changes by a vote of 52 to 47. On January 6, 2015, the House once again acted in bipartisan fashion and passed the Senate's version of H.R. 3762 by a vote of 241 to 168.

Not surprisingly, President Obama vetoed H.R. 3762. While the president’s refusal to admit failure and chart a better course is unfortunate, the passage of this budget reconciliation bill is a major victory for those who believe in patient-centered health care reform. After more than five years of trying to put a bill on the president's desk to repeal his healthcare law, Congress was able to hold the president accountable for the unmitigated disaster that is his signature policy item. Importantly, because the reconciliation process was used to achieve this victory, Congress has now shown that the ACA can be repealed without the 60 votes required to pass most legislation in the Senate. On February 2, 2016, in bipartisan fashion, the House voted 241 to 186 to override the president’s veto. While this bipartisan majority failed to meet the two-thirds threshold required by the Constitution to override a presidential veto, the House demonstrated its unwavering commitment to repealing the ACA by completing the entirety of the constitutional process.

As part of the effort to repeal the ACA continues, Congress must show what a better way forward would look like. There is no doubt that health care reform is needed in this country, but the law the president signed aggravates the worst aspects of our nation’s health care system, without fixing what was and remains broken. The troubled rollout of the ACA goes far beyond a dysfunctional website. For too many Americans, the ACA simply means increased costs and cancellation notices. The negative effects of this law on Americans are sweeping, and instead of offering quick fixes that only temper the consequences, Congress should instead be focused on offering much-needed reforms to our nation's health care industry.

The law the president signed was what congress gave him, not what he wanted. El Mimbreno

Congress should advance solutions that strengthen health care security by taking power away from the government and insurance companies, and empowering patients with control over their care instead. These solutions should realign incentives so that individuals and their doctors—not government bureaucrats or insurance company bureaucrats—are the nucleus of our health care system. This requires reforms to equalize the tax treatment of health care insurance, invite true choice and competition, and ensure critical programs like Medicare and Medicaid can deliver on their promises in the 21st century. As Congressional Republicans, we must show the country our vision of patient-centered reform, and we can do so by putting forward a bold, conservative agenda in the months ahead.

This year, the House is turning a new page. To solve more problems, we are improving the way we seek solutions. To serve the People all members are elected to represent, the People’s House has to function the way the Founders intended. I approach my role as Speaker from the perspective of a two-time committee chair, and so I believe the committees should retake the lead in drafting major legislation.

We have more to do to get our country back on track, and so my top priority is to work with my colleagues to assemble a bold, pro-growth agenda for the country. We will make clear where we stand and how we would apply America’s founding principles to today’s problems. To accomplish this goal, I have worked with my colleagues to define six key areas of focus for restoring a more confident America, and we have formed six committee-led task forces charged with developing a bold, pro-growth agenda. The task forces, comprised of committee chairs of jurisdiction, will seek input from all members to ensure their ideas and perspectives are reflected in this agenda. For updates, please visit: www.speaker.gov/...

Here is an overview of our six areas of focus for building a more confident America:


This doesn’t give me any confidence; it scares the crap out of me. El mimbreno


National Security

Goal: Develop an overarching strategy and the military capabilities required to confront the national security threats of the 21st century.

Tax Reform

Goal: Create jobs, grow the economy, and raise wages by reducing rates, removing special interest carve-outs, and making our broken tax code simpler and fairer.

Trickle down economics: Piss on the 99%. El Mimbreno

Reducing Regulatory Burdens

Goal: Make it easier to invest, produce, and build things in America with a regulatory system that reduces bureaucracy and eases the burden on small businesses and job creators, while still protecting the environment, public safety, and consumer interests.

Based in the cabinet nominations, I say bullshit! El MImbreno

Health Care Reform

Goal: Repeal and replace Obamacare with a patient-centered system that gives patients more choice and control, increases quality, and reduces costs.

OK, let’s see it. El Mimbreno

Poverty, Opportunity, and Upward Mobility

Goal: Strengthen our safety net and reform educational programs to make them more effective and accountable, help people move from welfare to work, and empower productive lives.

Again, let’s see the plan. El Mimbreno

Restoring Constitutional Authority

Goal: Reclaim power ceded to the executive branch over the years by reforming the rulemaking process, checking agency authority, exercising the power of the purse, and conducting more robust oversight.

Thank you again for contacting me. If you would like to find information about the lawmaker who represents your congressional district in the House or about how to contact that person, you are welcome to visit www.house.gov, where you will find this and other useful information about the work of the House.


I already know who my misrepresentative is, Steve Pearce, a multi-millionaire who has no idea what the average New Mexican wants or needs. El Mimbreno


Sincerely,


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Damn, I sure wish he could be removed. The BS level is so high I couldn’t even read it all.