WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made the following remarks on the Senate floor today regarding the need to repeal and replace Obamacare:

“Last night, in my home state of Kentucky, the President called for an end to Obamacare as Congress continues working to repeal this disastrous law and replace it with patient-centered solutions. In Kentucky, just like across the country, costs are spiking. Choices are dwindling. Insurance markets are edging closer to collapse. Listen to this wife and small business owner who lives in Shelby County. She wrote to my office about her problems with Obamacare.

“‘I have seen little if no success where Obamacare is concerned,’ she said. ‘[T]he current insurance available is causing working class Americans to choose between paying their bills and getting needed medical care... We need help.’ Kentuckians deserve better than Obamacare.

“The American people deserve relief from Obamacare. This law is failing right in front of us. It will continue to get worse unless we act. We have to act. This week, the House will continue working to advance the Obamacare repeal and replace legislation. The House has already done some great work on the bill, and I look forward to taking it up in the Senate soon.

“We will have an amendment process here in the Senate, and at the end of that process, we will send the bill to the one person who can sign it into law – the president. But the legislation before the House isn’t our only tool to help stabilize the health care marketplace. It is one prong of a three-part strategy.

“The second prong is the administration continuing to use its broad authority to bring relief. Officials like the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Tom Price, and the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Seema Verma, are already working to bring relief and to stabilize health markets that Obamacare has rattled. The third prong is further legislation to reform the health care market and make it more competitive for consumers.

“Taken together, these three prongs aim to restore power to the states and move more health care decisions out of Washington. They also represent the best way to bring relief to Americans who continue to suffer under Obamacare. The American people deserve better than this failing law. We promised we’d repeal and replace it in four straight elections. We’re working to fulfil that commitment right now."