House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell attacked President Obama and the 2010 health care law in a pair of Washington Times op-eds on Friday, each penning a straightforward argument in support of a House vote to repeal the law that will take place July 11.
“There’s a lot of resolve among my House colleagues, and among the American people, to stop a law that’s hurting our economy, driving up the cost of health care and stunting job growth,” Boehner wrote.
Both lawmakers argue that the law is toxic to job creation and that the individual insurance mandate amounts to a tax increase, a position in line with the Supreme Court’s ruling last week that upheld the law.
Noting that proponents argued that the law was not a tax increase when moving the bill through Congress – a process McConnell called “unseemly, secretive, partisan and anti-democratic” – both lawmakers highlighted the court’s ruling as an indication that Democratic arguments in favor of the law have been tarnished.
“Obamacare has already produced a lengthy trail of broken promises even before the Supreme Court blew the cover on what may be the biggest howler of all: that the penalty incurred for not obtaining health insurance was somehow not a tax,” McConnell wrote.
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