Post by bot on Jan 10, 2014 17:49:04 GMT -5
Hoyer Statement on the Passage of House Republicans' Latest Messaging Bill
WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today after the House passed the Health Exchange Security and Transparency Act, a political messaging bill, instead of taking action on critical issues, including renewing emergency unemployment insurance:
“In the first week of the new session, it is very disappointing that House Republicans have continued to waste time on legislation to undermine the Affordable Care Act. Democrats have long supported strong data security and breach notification, but the legislation considered today does nothing to improve the safety and security of the data collected by federal and state marketplaces. In fact, it could do just the opposite, potentially impeding law enforcement's ability to investigate security breaches. To date, there has been no successful security attack on healthcare.gov, making this bill nothing more than a scare tactic to dissuade Americans from accessing the quality, affordable insurance options provided through our new marketplaces, where 6 million Americans have already logged on and successfully enrolled in a private plan or in Medicaid coverage.
“Instead of continuing the political fight over health care reform, Congress should take immediate action to address the pressing issues of jobs, our economy, and keeping the most vulnerable Americans out of poverty. We should start by restoring emergency unemployment insurance for the 1.3 million Americans whose assistance was cut off on December 28. Democrats will continue to seek ways to work across the aisle in order to achieve solutions that create jobs, grow our middle class, and make sure the health reforms we enacted are implemented.”
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