House GOP wasting time on health care repeal

A Gazette guest column (“Focus should have been on the economy,” June 29) submitted by four Iowa small business owners, Charlie and Tom Giese of Giese Companies, Steve Kruck of Kruck Plumbing and David Greenspoon of Competitive Edge, states that “the extensive, controversial ObamaCare debate as wasted time and opportunity ... Obama's priorities were all wrong. His sole unwavering focus should have been on the economy.”

An Associated Press article, July 12, states that “Republicans pushed yet another bill through the House on Wednesday to repeal the nation's 2-year-old Affordable Care Act. By Republican count, the vote marked the 33rd time in 18 months that the GOP majority has tried to eliminate, defund or otherwise scale back the program since Republicans took control of the House.” The vote failed, 244-185.

Have the House Republicans focused their concerns on the economy 33 times in the past 18 months, in the form of any enacted or proposed legislation? Or have the House Republicans wasted time and opportunity to address the economy by proposing, instead, to stymie the Affordable Care Act 33 times in the past 18 months?

Perhaps these four Iowa small business owners should focus their frustration toward the House Republicans.

Ralph Cap

Iowa City