Representative Lipinski: Supreme Court Decision Doesn't Change Opposition to Obamacare

(IL-3) released a statement Thursday on the U.S. Supreme Court’s :  

“More than two years have passed since I voted against the health care law because it is unaffordable, cuts Medicare, does not do enough to lower the soaring cost of health care, and would allow federal funding for abortion,” Lipinski said. “The details about the law that have emerged in the meantime have only added to my concerns, and I have continued to work to fix the many problems with it. The Supreme Court’s decision does not change my opposition to the law or my dedication to changing the law. As I said at the time of my vote, there can be no doubt that our health care system is in serious need of reform. Today, that remains the case. The soaring cost of health care is a very serious problem, and is among the biggest contributors to the budget deficits our nation faces. Amid the partisan reactions to this news, we should remember the real problems with our health care system and the need to address them in a sensible and fiscally sustainable manner. The court’s decision may divide us, but the need for high-quality, affordable medical care unites us all.”

- Provided to Patch by Congressman Daniel Lipinski of Illinois 3rd Congressional District.

Lipinski was the only House Democrat from Illinois to vote against the act in 2010. His vote hinged on the cost of the act and a provision that allowed for the funding of abortions, according to an article published in the Chicago Tribune in March 2010.

Last year, Lipinski won the Democratic primary by voters in the 3rd District. In response to a Tribune election questionnaire, Lipinski said the Affordable Care Act included many provisions he supported, but he could not vote for an act that, in sum, he called "deeply flawed."

At the time of his primary campaign this year, Lipinski said he did not favor repealing the act without making major changes to the county's health care system. At the time, Lipinski told the Tribune he felt it would leave the country back where we began, "with a system in dire need of improvement and little chance of action in a gridlocked Congress."

Richard Grabowski, of Hometown, who won the Republican primary for the 3rd District seat in March said this today about the Supreme Court's ruling:

"It was a smart decision in the way it was done, otherwise it would have opened Pandora's boxes," Grabowski said. "By the way he thought it out and looked at what the Constitution said, [Chief Justice John] Roberts put it back into the hands of the states. It’s no longer a federal mandate.  By what Roberts stated in his decision, he passed it back to Congress to tax and defund Obama-care. The only downside is that ordinary taxpayers will look at this as a defeat but it’s up to the Congress now to repeal and defund it. It’s a positive."