Hartzler: I remain committed to repealing Obamacare

In her latest report, Fourth District Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler once again rips into the Affordable Care Act.

This week, the Obama Administration announced yet another delay in the Obamacare employer mandate, giving medium-sized businesses with between 50 and 99 employees until 2016 to comply with the President’s health care law. The law as it pertains to these businesses was originally scheduled to take effect in January of this year but was delayed after business groups expressed concerns that unresolved issues about the law’s rules and regulations would cause havoc throughout the country.

This delay is further proof that the new health care law was not ready for launch and should, at the very least, be delayed until those responsible for implementation are fully prepared to move forward with this massive overhaul of our health care system. Sadly, while the Obama Administration grants this extension to businesses, it has still failed to delay the law’s mandates for individual Americans and their families.

I remain committed to repealing this onerous health care law and replacing it with a better health care proposal that guarantees all Americans access to affordable, quality coverage they want to purchase.

This winter has been a rough one for Missourians – hitting propane users very hard due to shortages and rising prices that have shot through the roof. This shortage has been caused by a number of factors. They include a 35 percent increase in domestic propane use due to the extreme cold temperatures we have had to endure, higher than normal use of propane to dry last fall’s crops, and the shutdown of a major pipeline to the northern Midwest during the month of December.

I support a number of ideas to address the situation in the short run, including a recent decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to temporarily prioritize the shipment of propane through existing pipelines to assist customers in the Midwest and Northeast who need it most. I urge FERC to extend this emergency order for the balance of the home heating season.

I am also encouraging removal of restrictions to allow more propane to be transported into Missouri to drive down prices. The long term solution, however, is to increase pipeline infrastructure and domestic energy production to ensure that this crisis situation does not repeat itself in the future. Missouri’s propane users are hurting and I am committed to finding a permanent solution to this problem.

Finally, the House voted this week to raise the debt ceiling. Sadly, the proposal did nothing to deal with the reason the debt ceiling had to be increased: the overspending in Washington. For this reason I could not support it. It would be irresponsible to continue the cycle of spending while jeopardizing our children’s future. When the good people of Missouri’s Fourth Congressional District sent me to Washington with the honor of representing them, I pledged to work for the common sense goals that include requiring the government to live within its means, just as families in our district must do. I remain committed to that pledge and that worthy goal. The financial future of our country depends on it.