Obamacare Repeal Bill 'Earned My Veto,' Says President

President Obama predictably vetoed an Obamacare repeal bill, arguing it would return healthcare “to being a privilege for a few.”

“The legislation’s implications extend far beyond those who would become uninsured. For example, about 150 million Americans with employer-based insurance would be at risk of higher premiums and lower wages. And it would cause the cost of health coverage for people buying it on their own to skyrocket,” Obama added in the veto message to the House of Representatives.

He also objected to the fact that the bill “would also effectively defund Planned Parenthood.”

“Republicans in the Congress have attempted to repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act over 50 times,” Obama continued. “Rather than refighting old political battles by once again voting to repeal basic protections that provide security for the middle class, Members of Congress should be working together to grow the economy, strengthen middle-class families, and create new jobs.”

“Because of the harm this bill would cause to the health and financial security of millions of Americans, it has earned my veto.”

Republicans Study Committee Chairman Bill Flores said Obama “cemented his legacy as the president whose unstainable policies inflicted higher costs, more anxiety and a dimmer economic future on American families” with the veto.

Still, Flores said, “Congress has proven that Obamacare will be repealed.”

“It is now our task to craft a new solution that will lower costs and improve access to care for all,” he said.

House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) declared that “with his veto, President Obama has single-handedly denied the American people the relief they seek from a law that is driving up the cost of healthcare, while driving down the quality.”

“The president has shown he is willing to pull more money out of the pockets of hardworking Americans, limit access to care, tax innovation, burden job creators and undermine the doctor-patient relationship in order to protect his legacy,” Price said. “While no one will be surprised by the president’s decision, many Americans will continue to be harmed by it.”