{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hartzler.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/hartzler-supports-repeal-individual-mandate-tax-reform", "Hartzler Supports Repeal of Individual Mandate in Tax Reform", "2017-12-07", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Vicky Hartzler", "H001053", "hartzler.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (MO-04) and over 70 conservative lawmakers are writing a letter to House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (TX-08) and Senate Ways & Means Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) asking them to include repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate within the final tax reform bill.\n\u00a0\n\u201cFor too long the American people have suffered from the perils of Obamacare,\u201d Hartlzer said. \u201cUnder President Obama\u2019s health plan, premiums have skyrocketed, deductibles have mushroomed, and the health exchanges have crumbled. In 2015 alone, 116,580 Missourians were fined $50 million for failing to comply with the individual mandate. I am proud to ask Chairmen Brady and Hatch to include repeal of this onerous mandate in the final tax bill.\u201d\n\u00a0\nThe full text of the letter:\n\u00a0\nDear Chairman Brady and Chairman Hatch:\n\u00a0\nAs you begin conference proceedings related to H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, we respectfully request that the final package include a repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate.\u00a0 Including language to repeal this harmful policy will return personal decisions about health care choices to patients, fulfilling a key promise we have made to the American people.\nUntil enactment of Obamacare, the federal government had never required individuals, as a condition of lawful residence in the United States, to purchase a product from a private company.\u00a0 Yet the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that the individual mandate will force approximately 13 million people, who would not voluntarily choose to purchase Obamacare-compliant plans without the threat of federal penalties, to do so.\u00a0 This raises an important question: If Obamacare provides Americans with great health insurance, why would they have to be forced to purchase it?\n\u00a0\nObamacare\u2019s coercive individual mandate represents perhaps the worst example of the federal government violating individual freedom and liberty \u2013 which is why we have repeatedly promised to repeal it.\u00a0 Repeal of the individual mandate was included in the Senate-passed bill and had earned robust support in the House.\u00a0 We urge you to help fulfill our promise to the American people and include this language in a final conference package.\n\u00a0\n-30-\nInterested members of the media may contact Anna Swick at anna.swick@mail.house.gov", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://hartzler.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/hartzler-supports-repeal-individual-mandate-tax-reform"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6909718979150057, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}