{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140301061406/http://butterfield.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=22&itemid=688", "Butterfield Outraged by Republican Investigation to Delay Enrollment in Healthcare Marketplace", "2013-09-19", "2013", "2013-09", "Democrat", "House", "NC", "G. Butterfield", "B001251", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 During an Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigation subcommittee hearing today, Congressman G. K. Butterfield again blasted Committee Republicans for launching an unwarranted investigation into 51 community organizations that received Navigator grants to help enroll people in health insurance plans made possible by the Affordable Care Act.\n\n\t\u201cThe chairman of this committee has abused his investigatory authority by launching a fishing expedition into Navigators who received federal funding solely for the purpose of discrediting the President,\u201d said Butterfield. \u201cThis sideshow only served to distract the Navigators attention from their mission of helping the poor and indigent to access health insurance.\u201d\n\n\tNavigators will be essential guides for uninsured Americans who may require help understanding their benefits and gaining coverage through the healthcare marketplaces. Navigator grantees are preparing for October 1 when open enrollment for the health marketplaces begins. In North Carolina, one million people are expected to qualify for a subsidy under the Affordable Care Act.\n\n\tCommittee Republican Congresswoman Renee Ellmers confirmed that she was unconcerned by the possibility of enrollment delays caused by committee\u2019s requests.\u00a0 Congressman Butterfield called the reaction an \u201coutrage.\u201d\u00a0\n\n\tButterfield\u2019s full statement follows.\n\n\t\u00a0\n\n\tThank you Mr. Waxman for yielding.\u00a0 Already hundreds of thousands of my constituents in North Carolina\u2019s First Congressional District have benefited from the Affordable Care Act.\u00a0 130,000 seniors are now eligible for Medicare preventative services, 41,000 children can no longer be denied coverage based on preexisting conditions, and 8,200 young adults now have coverage on their parents\u2019 plans.\u00a0 It has been a long path to help the 137,000 uninsured individuals who live in my district, but we are almost there.\u00a0 \n\n\t\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 With the beginning of open season on October 1st we will be one step closer to helping many of my constituents in eastern North Carolina receive affordable and quality health care.\u00a0 The opening of the Marketplace, the education and support provided by the Navigators, and the outreach efforts by the Department of Health and Human Services will help directly enroll 1.1 million uninsured people and assist an additional 7.3 million uninsured people to receive health insurance.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\n\t\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But instead of touting the success of soon having nearly every American insured, my Republican colleagues have forced more than 40 votes to dismantle and defund the Affordable Care Act.\u00a0 The chairman of this committee has abused his investigatory authority by launching a fishing expedition into Navigators who received federal funding solely for the purpose of discrediting the President.\u00a0 This sideshow only served to distract the Navigators attention from their mission of helping the poor and indigent to access health insurance.\u00a0 The Charlotte News and Observer reported that Ms. Ellmers, one of my North Carolina colleagues said of the baseless investigation that \u201cshe would be pleased if the congressional navigator inquiry stymies the nonprofits planning navigator work.\u201d\u00a0 And she is quoted as saying \u201cif this ended up resulting in a delay, I wouldn\u2019t be unhappy about it.\u201d\u00a0 This is an outrage!\n\n\t###", 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://web.archive.org/web/20140301061406/http://butterfield.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=22&itemid=688"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9618080221116543, "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"}