Boehner on Obamacare Delays: ‘What the Hell Is This? A Joke?’
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — House Speaker John Boehner ridiculed the Obama administration for taking a loose interpretation of the Affordable Care Act’s deadlines as the law is implemented, a decision he says will render the reforms “meaningless.”
“[President Obama] hasn’t put enough loopholes into the law already. The administration is now resorting to an honor system to enforce it. What the hell is this, a joke?” Boehner incredulously asked reporters at his news conference in the Capitol on Wednesday. “This is part of a long-term pattern of this administration manipulating the laws for its own convenience and it’s not hard to understand why the American people question this administration’s commitment to the rule of law.”
On Tuesday, the administration announced individuals may obtain health coverage under Obamacare after the March 31 deadline as long as they claimed to have attempted to enroll before the deadline but could not complete the process.
Asked by ABC News’ Jeff Zeleny to expand on his characterization of the law as “a joke,” Boehner placed blame on the entire enrollment process.
“March 31st is the end of the signups for this year, but the administration last night came out and said, well, we’re going to give you till April 15th if you’ve started the process, but it’s under the honor system,” Boehner, R-Ohio, said. “Why don’t they just say, we’ve moved the date to April the 15th, because that’s in effect what they’ve done.”
Boehner recalled that the law was passed when Democrats reigned over the House, Senate and White House, and the vote passed without any Republican support.
“The law says that enrollment stops at the end of March. That’s what the law says,” he said. “You know, I’ve got to live by the law. You’ve got to live by the law. The American people have to live by the law and guess what? The president needs to live by the law as well.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, charged that the law is “unraveling before our very eyes.”
“The administration has now handed out so many waivers, special favors, and exemptions to help Democrats out politically, that the heart of the law — the individual mandate — may no longer even be viable,” he said during a speech on the Senate floor. “It’s basically become the legal equivalent of Swiss cheese.”
Asked whether Republicans intend to put legislation on the floor to replace the Affordable Care Act, the speaker said the Republicans’ goal “is to show the American people what we believe would work better when it comes health insurance and our health care system.”
“We’ve got a challenge to show people that we’re the party of better ideas,” he said. “We’ve got ideas.”
Still, Boehner indicated it could be some time before those ideas are worked into legislation.
“We’re going to continue to roll them out as we develop them,” he said.
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