Partnership for America Cheers Rep. Sam Johnson's Bill to Freeze and Investigate Health Care Law

Measure Would Give Congress Time to Evaluate Law's Impact

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Partnership for America, a new grassroots group devoted to protecting American independence, today hailed Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) for introducing a bill to freeze implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act until its full impact can be investigated. Johnson introduced the Freeze and Investigate Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3095) on Wednesday.

Once enacted, the Freeze and Investigate Act would immediately suspend implementation of President Obama's health care law and require Congress and the President appoint an Affordable Care Evaluation Commission to study the measure's impact on patient care, the economy and private-sector job creation.

James Wootton, chairman of Partnership for America, said Rep. Johnson's bill simply makes sense. The measure would dramatically reduce many of the health care law's burdens on the federal budget and halt its most onerous provisions, he said. "The most important rule of reforming health care should have been 'First, do no harm,' but the Affordable Care Act failed that test," Wootton said.  "With Congressman Johnson's leadership, we're hopeful that the harm this law is causing can be stopped and a better way address the real problems of our health care system can be addressed."

In a statement, Rep. Johnson said: "The current health care law and its adverse consequences are not what Americans asked for.  The Freeze and Investigate Affordable Care Act would halt the costly and harmful implementation of this law until its full impact is studied.  Americans want, need and deserve access to affordable, patient-centered health care – not a 2,000-page law full of policies that hamper the economic recovery of our nation."

James Capretta, fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and Policy Director of Partnership for America said that the American people were assured that the Affordable Care Act would strengthen Medicare, cut insurance premiums, promote job growth and let them keep the coverage they have today. "It's now clearer than ever that Obamacare will have exactly the opposite effect - weakening Medicare, raising premiums, killing jobs, and undermining employer plans," Capretta said. "Congressman Johnson is to be commended for proposing what is absolutely necessary at this point, which is a freeze of Obamacare until all of the facts are clear and no permanent damage is done."

Rep. Johnson, chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security, has been a leader on health care issues on Capitol Hill. He is currently distributing a Dear Colleague letter to build support among his colleagues for the Freeze and Investigate Act. The full text of the letter can be found here: http://www.samjohnson.house.gov/UploadedFiles/Freeze_and_Investigate_Dear_Colleague_No_Sig.pdf

Partnership for America is a new grassroots organization dedicated to finding policy solutions which are consistent with America's founding principles.   For more information, please visit www.partnership4America.org.

SOURCE Partnership for America