Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, issued the following statement on the House of Representatives’ passage of the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 to halt funding to Planned Parenthood and repeal substantial portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

“Today the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate sent a bill to the President’s desk that would repeal the vast majority of Affordable Care Act—this marks the first time legislation dismantling the ACA will have come before the President since it was signed into law. H.R. 3726, would also establish a moratorium on federal funding to Planned Parenthood while that organization’s compliance with legal and ethical standards is under investigation. 

“We, in Congress, have done what the American people have demanded—we have acted on our word and executed on our promises to eliminate the most oppressive, harmful components of the ACA. The failed promises of the ACA have cost the American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in failed experiments on the nation’s healthcare system. Furthermore, this bill would reduce the national deficit by $516 billion over the next decade—an opportunity that should not be summarily dismissed at a time when our nation is crippled by debt.

“As a former practicing OB-GYN for over 30 years, I know from firsthand experience that Americans do not want Washington dictating their healthcare decisions and physicians should not be told what is best for their patients. The American people deserve a President that will work with Congress to drive higher quality health care options and access to care—this law has clearly failed to do so.”