{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=1a81abf9-4b6b-43aa-8e2f-f8c016b75523", "COCHRAN VOTES TO DEFUND OBAMACARE, PLEDGES CONTINUED FIGHT TO REPEAL UNPOPULAR LAW", "2013-09-27", "2013", "2013-09", "Republican", "House", "MS", "Thad Cochran", "C000567", "www.cochran.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today stressed his continued opposition to President Obama\u2019s unpopular and troubled healthcare law, which was the subject of several Senate votes on a short-term funding bill to avoid a government shutdown.\r\nCochran voted for a procedural motion allowing the Senate to move forward on a House-passed funding measure that eliminates funding for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare.\u00a0 He also voted against the amendment sponsored by Majority Leader Harry Reid to restore funding to implement Obamacare and opposed final passage of the bill.\u00a0 The short-term continuing resolution to fund the government through Nov. 15 now goes back to the House of Representatives.\r\nIn a statement entered into the Congressional Record,\u00a0Cochran noted his agreement with Mississippians, who strongly oppose the Affordable Care Act.\u00a0\r\n\u201cI have voted to dismantle, defund, delay and reverse this law every chance I\u2019ve been given,\u201d Cochran said.\u00a0 \u201cI will continue to fight for our shared end goal\u2014to fully repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.\u201d  \u00a0  \u201cAs the negative impacts of this law become more apparent, people in my state of Mississippi have expressed a great deal of concern about how the law is affecting their families and businesses.\u00a0 They have articulated a pronounced unease about the costs of the law, and the extent to which the federal government will be involved in their personal healthcare decisions.\u00a0 I share their concerns,\u201d he said.\r\nCochran explained his belief that a vote that would have likely led to a federal government shutdown would have setback the ultimate goal of overturning Obamacare.\r\n\u201cShutting down the government to show how much we dislike the law won\u2019t stop Obamacare.\u00a0 The mandates in Obamacare don\u2019t go away if we don\u2019t fund the rest of the government.\u00a0 Most of the funding to implement Obamacare does not depend on us passing this appropriations bill; that funding is mandatory spending that has already been provided in law,\u201d Cochran said.\u00a0\r\n\u201cTo stop Obamacare we have to enact a law that does just that.\u00a0 That requires a sufficient number of votes in the House and in the Senate, and it requires either the President\u2019s signature or a veto-proof majority in both houses.\u00a0 Republicans don\u2019t currently have the votes in the Senate to pass such legislation. But more importantly, I don\u2019t think voting to stall the very language that we opponents of Obamacare wish to see enacted\u2014and risking a government shutdown as a result\u2014will get us closer to the goal of stopping Obamacare,\u201d he said.\r\nA copy of the full text of Cochran's Record statement is available below.\r\nMAKING CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2014 -- (Senate - September 27, 2013)\r\nMr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I have opposed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act since it was forced through a Democratic-controlled Congress without the support of a single Republican in the House or Senate. I have voted to dismantle, defund, delay and reverse this law every chance I have been given. I will continue to take every possible action that might be effective in achieving its repeal.\r\nAs the negative impacts of this law become more apparent, people in my State of Mississippi have expressed a great deal of concern about how the law is affecting their families and businesses. They have articulated a pronounced unease about the costs of the law, and the extent to which the Federal Government will be involved in their personal healthcare decisions. I share their concerns.\r\nMy constituents recognize that the law is not working as promised. The administration has delayed implementation of several of the law's key provisions. These special exceptions and exemptions are clear indications that the law is overly complex and ill-conceived.\r\nAs their representatives in Washington, we should respect the fact that the majority of Americans do not support this law, otherwise known as ``Obamacare.''\r\nI dislike Obamacare as much as any of my colleagues. I strongly support the provisions in this appropriations bill that would bring implementation of Obamacare to a halt. However, to now vote to stop that very bill in its tracks makes little sense to me.\r\nShutting down the government to show how much we dislike the law would not stop Obamacare. The mandates in Obamacare do not go away if we do not fund the rest of the government. Most of the funding to implement Obamacare does not depend on us passing this appropriations bill; that funding is mandatory spending that has already been provided in law.\r\nTo stop Obamacare we have to enact a law that does just that. That requires a sufficient number of votes in the House and in the Senate, and it requires either the President's signature or a veto-proof majority in both houses. I suspect that we do not currently have the votes in the Senate to pass such legislation. But more importantly, I do not think voting to stall the very language that we opponents of Obamacare wish to see enacted--and risking a government shutdown as a result--will get us closer to the goal of stopping Obamacare.\r\nI think a government shutdown might have the opposite effect. It will\u00a0 shift public and media focus away from the costly and damaging aspects of the health care law just as it is being fully implemented, and it will detract from the ability of the American people to clearly express their discontent about the law. It is only such expressions of discontent that will either change the minds of a sufficient number of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, or send new representation to Washington to aid in the fight against Obamacare.\r\nIt is shortsighted for those of us who oppose the Obamacare law to take actions that would not reverse the law's potentially devastating impacts, and will likely damage our prospects of achieving that goal in the future. The stakes are too high.\r\nI will continue to fight for our shared end goal--to fully repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.\r\n\u00a0\r\n###", 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://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=1a81abf9-4b6b-43aa-8e2f-f8c016b75523"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.1356509532779455, "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"}