{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/floor-statements?ContentRecord_id=e3a63c56-b621-40c6-852d-adf99cb37abc", "FLOOR STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN SUPPORTING OBAMACARE REPEAL", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "AZ", "John McCain", "M000303", "www.mccain.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) delivered the following statement on the floor of the U.S. Senate in strong support of the Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act that would repeal Obamacare, which the Senate will vote on later today:\r\nIt has now been over five years since President Obama signed into law the so-called Affordable Care Act, a sweeping health care overhaul that passed this chamber without a single Republican vote. While legislation as important as this should have been held to the highest standard and included broad bipartisan support, President Obama and Congressional Democrats relied on fuzzy math and false promises to jam through this enormous, unwieldy health care measure that the American people overwhelmingly oppose. Such unilateral action has become President Obamas signature domestic policy legacy.\r\nBut today, all that bullying and brinksmanship comes to a screeching halt.\r\nThe legislation we will vote on today takes a critical step forward in lifting the burden that Obamacare has placed on hardworking citizens across the country who have been saddled by rising premiums, increased health care costs, and reduced access to doctors and hospitals. It continues our long fight to repeal this harmful law and build a bridge to health care solutions that work.\r\nSince Obamacares enactment, Americans have been left wondering: What happened to all of the presidents promises? His promise to remove obstacles to obtaining coverage? His promise to reduce yearly premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family? His promise to maintain existing provider networks for those who liked their doctors? His promise to prevent any form of new tax increases? His promise to increase competition and provide greater choice?\r\nDespite all of the presidents assurances, Obamacare has been full of empty promises that have only made our nations health care problems worse.\r\nOne of the many reasons I voted against Obamacare was because despite being portrayed as affordable, there were numerous predictions that Americans across the country would be faced with increased health care costs. Unfortunately, such predictions have become a reality. Just as recently as this past summer, the president promised that under Obamacare, health insurance premium increases would be modest. This is despite the fact that state insurance regulators and actuaries were predicting the exact opposite outcome.\r\nLets take a look at just how modest these cost increases will be for my home state of Arizona. Data released last month by the Department of Health and Human Services shows that Americans enrolled in the federal marketplace will see an average premium increase of at least 7.5 percent for the second-lowest cost silver plans, known as bench mark plans. In Arizona, 24 exchange plans will see double-digit rate hikes in 2016. In Phoenix, premium increases are projected to top 19 percent. The highest average premium increase in my home state is projected to reach a whopping 78 percent.\r\nMy constituents in Arizona call and write me daily, daily, begging and pleading that something be done to alleviate the financial hardship of Obamacare.\r\nFor example:\r\n \r\nThomas from Flagstaff wrote to me that his monthly premiums jumped from $200 a month to $600 a month;\r\nJim, a resident of Arizona for over 25 years, will soon pay an additional $160 per week;\r\nGlen from Lake Havasu City has seen his premiums increase 50 percent per year since signing up for Obamacare and as a result, has quote: had to change to a lower plan AND settle for much less coverage.\r\n \r\nBut it is letters like the one I received from Len from Litchfield Park, Arizona that epitomize just how dire the situation actually is. In his letter, Len wrote, quote:\r\nDear Senator McCain  I'm writing because my wife and [my] health care costs have gotten out of control. Our monthly premiums have increased 110% while our deductible has sky rocketed. Last year I had a small medical procedure that we had to pay out of our pocket because the deductible wasn't met. We can't afford this. Our choice now is, buy health care and not go to the doctor because we can't afford it, or just be ill and pay health premiumsIn short, health care is going to drive us to be broke.\r\nStories like Lens and so many others are unacceptable. While my the president and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle continue to describe Obamacare as a success, families, patients, doctors and small businesses across America continue to suffer from the disastrous effects of the presidents failed health care law.\r\nToday, I am proud to once again stand with my Republican colleagues as we continue the fight to repeal and replace Obamacare. From the start I opposed the sweeping scope of this healthcare law and proudly proposed the first Republican amendment to Obamacare in 2009, which would have prevented the president from slashing Medicare by half-a-trillion dollars.\r\nSince then, I have continued my efforts by sponsoring numerous other pieces of legislation that would lift the burden that has been placed on individuals and small businesses alike. Most recently, I reintroduced the Obamacare Opt-Out Act with Senator Barrasso this Congress, which would give Americans the freedom to opt-out of the individual mandate for health insurance coverage required by Obamacare. It is critical that we eliminate this costly mandate, which is estimated to cost Americans who decide not to enroll in Obamacare at least $695 per adult and $347 per child in 2016, and even more in the years ahead.\r\nThe legislation we will vote on today takes an even bigger step forward in freeing Americans from the harmful effects of this law:\r\n \r\nIt provides relief to individuals and employers alike by eliminating costly penalties for those who fail to comply with Obamacares mandate;\r\nIt repeals draconian tax increases, like the medical device tax and the Cadillac tax, that have made health care more expensive and driven innovative companies to move critical operations and research and development overseas;\r\nIt ensures Americans will not experience any disruption in their health care coverage by delaying the implementation date by two years; and most importantly,\r\nIt gets the government out of the way and puts patients in charge of their health care decisions and needs.\r\n \r\nThe fact is, we can repeal and replace Obamacare with health care policies that work. For years, I have underscored common-sense policy alternatives such as providing Americans with a direct, refundable tax credit to help them pay for private health care; expanding the benefits of Health Savings Accounts; passing medical liability reform or tort reform; and extending the freedom to purchase health care across state lines. These are proposals that would provide immediate relief to Americans like Len from Arizona who have been left to choose between buying groceries or paying for health insurance under Obamacare.\r\nPerhaps the greatest flaw in President Obamas health care law is that it has severely limited consumers access to quality care. Today, limited access is now commonplace, costs are increasing, and government bureaucrats remain at the center of an individuals health care decisions. Its clear that any serious attempt to improve our health care system must begin with a full repeal and replacement of Obamacare  a mission I remain fully committed to fighting on behalf of the people of Arizona.\r\nI urge my colleagues to vote yes on this critically important bill today that will build a bridge from the presidents broken promises to a better health care system for hardworking families in Arizona and across the country.\r\nThank you.\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.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/floor-statements?ContentRecord_id=e3a63c56-b621-40c6-852d-adf99cb37abc"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.443427987396717, "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"}