In response to tonight's State of the Union address from President Barack Obama, Independent Women's Voice President & CEO Heather R. Higgins released the following statement:
"In tonight's State of the Union address, we heard President Obama detail what he believes to be the accomplishments of his administration over his first three years in office.
"You might have noticed one major 'accomplishment' that the President chose not to highlight and, in fact, barely mentioned at all: ObamaCare.
"As he heads into a reelection campaign, it is not surprising why the President chose to omit almost entirely the major, signature legislative travesty of his Presidency. According to the most recent Rasmussen Reports poll, 54% of the American people oppose ObamaCare. ObamaCare was unwanted before it was passed, it was unwanted at the time of its passage, and it remains deeply unpopular with and unwanted by the American people today.
"President Obama knows that if he runs on ObamaCare, he'll lose. The President can run from ObamaCare, but he can't hide from the reality of its deep unpopularity, its stifling effect on an already-suffering economy, and the mountains of debt it will heap on to the country's already staggering $15 trillion national debt.
"Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously stated that Congress would have to ‘pass the bill so you could find out what’s in it.’ What's in it are unconstitutional mandates and crushing taxes and fees. What’s in it are abridgements of personal freedom and individual choice, and even the loss of 1st Amendment-protected religious freedom for faith-based organizations that object to contraception but are now faced with ObamaCare–created mandates to provide it as part of their health insurance coverage.
“Because the American people are finding out just exactly what is in ObamaCare, the movement for repeal continues to grow.
"Health care in American is in need of reform — but real reform that empowers individual people with choice and control in their private health care decisions. And the road to achieving that real reform begins with repealing ObamaCare."