U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today joined Senators Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) on the Senate floor to discuss the cost to states of the new health-care law. "During the debate, I suggested to our colleagues on the other side of the aisle who were supporting the health care law—which I thought was an historic mistake because it expanded a health care delivery system that we already know is too expensive instead of taking steps to reduce it—that they ought to be sentenced to go home and run for governor if they vote for it and see if they can implement it over an eight-year period of time."

During the debate over Obamacare, Democrats and the president claimed that the law would lower health care costs, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, protect Medicare, and allow Americans to keep their health care plans. Two years later, it's clear that not one of those promises will be kept. Instead, the health care law will drive up families' premiums by more than $2,000, force cash-strapped state governments to shoulder more than $100 billion in new Medicaid costs, take more than half a trillion dollars from Medicare, and encourage employers to drop health care coverage for up to 35 million Americans. And far from creating jobs, the health care law will actually result in 800,000 fewer jobs over the next decade. It's time to repeal Obamacare and replace it with commonsense, step-by-step reforms that will actually lower costs.

To mark the second anniversary of Obamacare, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) delivers the Weekly Republican Address, calling for repeal and replacement of the Democrats' health care law. On the eve of next week's historic Supreme Court arguments on the constitutionality of the law, McConnell says it's time to replace Obamacare with common-sense reforms Americans want, reforms that lower costs and which put health care back in the hands of individuals and their doctors, rather than Washington bureaucrats.

Leader McConnell says, "[T]wo years have gone by and this is what we know: the President was certainly right to join a call for health care reform. But the giant bill that he and others rammed through Congress has made things worse. That's why, as we mark the two-year anniversary of the signing of Obamacare this week, Republicans in Congress are more committed than ever to repealing this unconstitutional law and replacing it with the kind of common-sense reforms Americans really want, reforms that actually lower costs, and which put health care back in the hands of individuals and their doctors, rather than unaccountable bureaucrats here in Washington.

"As it happens, this year's anniversary happens to fall on the eve of historic Supreme Court arguments on Obamacare. Beginning on Monday, the nation's highest court will hold three days of arguments to decide, among other things, whether the law's mandate that Americans must buy government-approved health insurance is consistent with the U.S. Constitution. As one of many public officials who filed a brief before the court opposing this bill, I believe it isn't. But even if the court disagrees with me, the consequences of this bill are reason enough to make repeal a top priority."

He adds, ""As we look back at how we got to where we are today, most people would probably agree that America's health care system has been in critical need of reform for years. Among other problems were the rising costs of health care for families, job creators and taxpayers, the exposure of too many families to potentially catastrophic health care costs, and the lack of coverage for millions of Americans.

"Yet rather than solving the most pressing problems in the old system, the Democrats' partisan health care law has made many of those problems far worse. Costs and premiums are rising, Medicare has been raided, states now struggle to keep pace with even costlier federal mandates than before, and the economy is being sapped as new mandates hold back employers from creating new jobs. What's more, Americans continue to oppose Obamacare in large numbers. A recent USA Today/Gallup poll showed that 72 percent of Americans, including most Democrats, believe the government mandate to buy health insurance violates the Constitution. This, along with a growing list of unintended consequences and broken promises, are causing many of its original supporters to take another look."

Leader McConnell concludes, "President Obama was right to attempt a reform; he joined a long list of members of both parties who want to see our health care system improved. But Obamacare clearly isn't the answer. And two years after its passage, Americans have now come to their own conclusion. They don't like it, they think it's unconstitutional, and they want it repealed. The time has come to clear the way and start over, to replace this unconstitutional law with common-sense, step-by-step reforms that lower costs and Americans support."