Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-3rd, said in a commentary published Wednesday by the Washington Times that his teenage mother had considered terminating her pregnancy with him.The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the health care law failed to sway the opinions of Hoosier congressmen and congressional candidates.
Democrats cheered the ruling issued Thursday, while Republicans condemned it.
"This is the largest tax hike in American history and will only harm families and small businesses during the weakest recovery since the Great Depression," Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-3rd, said in a statement.
"My colleagues and I in the House will vote to repeal the entirety of the President’s regulatory nightmare and then offer patient-centered solutions in the full light of day. Our Founding Fathers created a system that allows the American people, acting through their representatives in Congress, to set this right."
Stutzman's challenger in the Nov. 6 election saw it differently.
“The Supreme Court today let stand a law that is a positive step forward in providing necessary health care to all Americans,” Democrat Kevin Boyd said in a statement. “The Affordable Care Act has already helped many, and will soon provide health insurance rebate checks to 12.8 million people. The court's action today will allow the positive movement of health care reform to continue.”
Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-2nd, the Democratic candidate for Senate, voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2009.
“Hoosiers will be pleased to learn that many positive aspects of this law, such as lower prescription drug costs for seniors, making sure people cannot be dropped by insurance companies if they get sick, and making healthcare more affordable and accessible, remain law,” Donnelly said in a statement. “Yet this law is far from perfect, and I will work with both parties to improve it and protect Medicare.”
Donnelly, like GOP congressmen from Indiana, opposes the 2.3 percent tax the health care law imposes on the sale of medical devices. More than 21,000 people work for medical device producers in Indiana – about 13,000 of them in Warsaw, the home of orthopedic device manufacturers Biomet, DePuy Orthopaedics and Zimmer Holdings.
The House voted June 7 to repeal the tax, which takes effect Jan. 1. The Democratic Senate has indicated it will not consider the bill, and President Obama has threatened to veto it.
Donnelly's election foe, Republican state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, said this month that the health care law would be "the dominant theme" of his campaign.
Reacting to Thursday's ruling, Mourdock said in a statement, "ObamaCare will add trillions to our national debate, deter future job growth, and force thousands of individuals out of their existing health care coverage."
Mourdock defeated six-term Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., in the May 8 GOP primary election. Lugar also issued a statement expressing his displeasure with Thursday's Supreme Court decision.
"The reality is ObamaCare has presented additional burdens to small businesses and levies new taxes that will hit American families and job creators in the years to come," Lugar said. "The law also fails to keep the President’s promise to let Americans keep the coverage they already have and enjoy."
Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., said the Affordable Care Act "remains an unpopular, massive intrusion of the federal government into the individual lives of Americans. The Supreme Court’s decision today confirms that President Obama broke his promise to Americans that his law would not raise taxes on the middle class."
Coats also said: “Obamacare has made the nation’s health care system worse, not better. Hoosier families and businesses will be faced with higher taxes, increased costs and burdensome mandates under this law."
Rep. Mike Pence, R-6th, the Republican candidate for governor, said in a statement, "This ruling erodes the freedom of every American, opening the door for the federal government to legislate, regulate, and mandate nearly every aspect of our daily lives under the guise of its taxing power."
Pence added, "Today’s decision affirms a massive tax increase on Hoosiers and is wholly inconsistent with the principles of personal responsibility and limited government that are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution."
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