Default Prevention Act of 2013--Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

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Mr. LEE. Mr. President, here we are again: Another unnecessary crisis; a proposal that maintains the status quo; very little time to read and evaluate the bill. In fact, we still don't have a final version of the text. No time to explain it to our constituents.

This is Washington at its worst. It is exactly the kind of thing the American people are fed up with and exactly why several colleagues and I began this effort to delay and defund ObamaCare back in July.

It appears this particular fight will end much the same way ObamaCare began: in a last-minute deal, negotiated in back rooms, then forced on Congress and on the American people.

The Washington establishment can't bring itself to believe this is why Congress's approval rating is so low--because Washington doesn't listen to the American people. It ignores them. And when the American people can no longer be ignored, the administration shuts down national parks, blocks veterans from going to their own memorials, uses the IRS to target certain groups, and holds hostage critical funding for cancer research, low-income women and children, veterans' health benefits, border security, and our National Guard. It is shameful how Washington treats the American people, and the people are right to be upset about it.

The media keeps asking, was it worth it? My answer is it is always worth it to do the right thing. Fighting against an abusive government in defense of protecting the individual rights and freedoms of the American people is always the right thing.

Some say we shouldn't have fought because we couldn't win. But this country wasn't built by fighting only when victory was absolutely certain. In fact, some of the most important victories in our history were the result of fighting battles against significant odds. And even if victory seemed difficult or impossible, that wouldn't excuse me or anyone else from doing the right thing. Avoiding difficult battles, after all, is how we ended up in this kind of mess--a government with $17 trillion in debt which we add to at a rate close to $1 trillion a year, out-of-control spending, a broken entitlement system, a Tax Code no one understands--all because Washington is willing to act only when there is guaranteed political gain. When the avoidance of political risk becomes our dominant motivation, only the Washington establishment wins the American people lose.

Furthermore, in Washington, victories are rarely immediate and very few end up being permanent. ObamaCare wasn't enacted overnight and it won't be repealed overnight. We must remind the American people of the harmful effects of this law at every opportunity if we are ever going to see it repealed. We have repeatedly warned the American people will be shocked when they realize the way the President has misled the American people about ObamaCare.

The embarrassing rollout of the exchanges doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. Every day brings a new story of a family whose deductible has doubled or a married couple who can't keep the plan they have or a business that can no longer provide health insurance for its employees or workers who are seeing their hours cut or losing their jobs altogether.

The realization that the administration has either been dishonest or incompetent--or perhaps a combination of both--is just starting to dawn on the American people. Even the President's friends in the media are watching this slow-rolling train wreck and are demanding the President do something to stop it. The Chicago Tribune, the President's own hometown newspaper, puts it this way:

Last spring, President Barack Obama said, ``there will still be, you know, glitches and bumps'' in the rollout of the new system. But what we're seeing now is no glitch or bump. There is a growing mountain of evidence that Obamacare has fundamental problems in design and implementation.

The Tribune goes on to say:

We encouraged a one-year delay in the law. We recognize that's not going to happen. Obamacare is here. It's time, though, for the Obama administration to level with Americans about what's happening here. It's time to stop blaming Republicans and start talking about what needs to change.

So it is interesting to see that the Chicago Tribune, the President's own hometown paper, is calling to a significant degree for exactly what I have been calling for since July--for a 1-year halt, a 1-year delay, a 1-year timeout to protect the American people from the harmful effects of this law, a law the President himself has acknowledged isn't ready for prime time, a law the President himself has indicated he is not willing to follow as was written. Incidentally, this again was exactly what we were arguing for all the way back in July and it now appears that the President's hometown paper was with us.

Almost everyone but the President seems to recognize this law is going to be terrible for the American people. It is costing jobs. It is hurting families. It is making people's health care situation worse, and it won't solve the problems in our broken health care system. And let me be clear. There will be very real consequences for people in both parties as a result of the implementation of this law.

Today Washington has the upper hand, but the American people will always have the last word. This is not over. We have an obligation to fight for the American people, and I do not intend to let the American people down.

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