Op-Ed

Obama doubling down on health care reform; time to call his bluff

Rep. Joe Barton Chairman Emeritus, House Energy and Commerce Committee
Font Size:

The president recently renewed his efforts to pass his version of health care reform and called on America to “make your voice heard.” Apparently he hasn’t been listening for the past year or just didn’t like what he heard.

From Town Halls to Tea Parties—people all over the nation stood up against the Democrats’ plan for a government take over of health care. You packed auditoriums and church halls and flooded congressional offices (including mine) with phone calls and letters—thousands of voices with one message, “hands off our health care!”

We turned that passion into results and the legislation stalled in Congress.

The victory appears to have been short lived.

Despite polls showing that an overwhelming majority of Americans want Congress to ditch the current reform plans and start over with a clean sheet of paper, this week the president began pushing Congress to move forward with his $1,000,000,000,000 (trillion) health care plan.

Democrats are currently cutting deals behind closed doors in the Capitol. Their plan is to abuse the legislative process by skipping regular order to pass this monstrosity by turning to a parliamentary trick called reconciliation. It has been used by both parties in the past, but never on anything as important or far reaching as health care.

To justify the move, the president and his Democratic cronies have flooded the media with half-truths and exaggerations, each designed at convincing people this isn’t a government take over of the health care system. But let’s look at the facts:

It will mandate private citizens purchase health care, whether they need it or want it.

It will cause millions of employers to cancel the health insurance they currently offer employees and force tens of millions of Americans into a government-run exchange.

It will create a health care czar to impose price controls on private health insurance that will lead to shortages and force even more people into government-run care.

I don’t doubt the president’s sincerity about the need to change health care in America, but despite his claims of compromise he has just paid lip service to Republican ideas.

There is a more effective and more affordable way to reform health care.

Instead of government intervention, we need to look to the marketplace—free choice, not mandates.

I believe we can improve competition and choices through increased price transparency that empowers providers and patients with the information they need to make the best possible health care decisions. We should look for ways to increase pooling opportunities to encourage more small businesses to offer insurance to their employees. Allowing competition across state lines would also lower premiums and increase choices. I believe we should demand tax equity for the self-employed and those who buy health insurance in the individual market.

These are solutions that don’t cost us a trillion dollars, but will make health insurance more affordable without jeopardizing the current coverage that people like. I will continue to do everything I can to prevent the radicalization of our health care system and fight for true health care reform.

Political pundits have said recently the president is doubling down on health care, well I think it is time to call his bluff.

The Democrats think they can roll over the American people, but I think they have underestimated you. It is time for you to stand up once again. Flood congressional offices with phone calls, attend rallies, stay engaged and let Washington know you won’t sit quietly while Democrats try to take control of your health care.

Together we can stop this bill once and for all.

Rep. Joe Barton represents the 6th District of Texas. He is the ranking member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel