Abraham Votes No on the Pelosi Obamacare Authority Rule

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 -- Rep. Ralph Abraham, R-Louisiana, issued the following news release:

Congressman Ralph Abraham, M.D., R-Alto, today voted against giving Speaker Nancy Pelosi authority to use the House of Representatives to argue in support of Obamacare in court.

In December, a Texas federal judge ruled Obamacare unconstitutional. Democrats have sought to use the House of Representatives as a platform to defend Obamacare in an appeal.

"Obamacare has proven to be a broken system, one that comes between patients and their doctors while doing nothing to control the rising cost of health care," said Dr. Abraham. "This vote was all about politics and had nothing to do with fixing our broken health care system. Obamacare is not a law worth defending, and Nancy Pelosi certainly does not speak for me in these matters."

The vote was included in Title III of the Democrat Rules Package and "authorizes the Speaker, on behalf of the House, to intervene, otherwise appear, or take any other steps in Texas v. United States." The same language was included in an earlier vote this week, making today's vote duplicative and deceptive.

Dr. Abraham has been a rural physician for more than 20 years and he has witnessed first-hand how Obamacare has failed patients. He is also one of 15 doctors in Congress and sits on the Doctors Caucus.