Representative Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) joined KARK Wednesday morning to respond to President Obama’s State of the Union, saying the president should have apologized for the harm Obamacare has done to many Americans, and that the president should focus his use of executive action on a rapidly deteriorating situation in the Middle East.
"The one thing I thought missing, more than anything from the speech, was an apology by Barack Obama for what Obamacare has done to Arkansans," Cotton said, citing canceled plans, rising premiums and deductibles, and loss of doctors for many of his constituents.
Asked about the president’s proposed "Year of Action" through executive orders, Cotton responded, "The only surprising thing about the president’s call for more unilateral executive orders and decisions is the fact he thinks he hasn’t done enough of it." Cotton noted the president’s changes to the Affordable Care Act through executive orders and his reluctance to enforce parts of the both the healthcare law and immigration law.
"Unfortunately, the one place he could take executive action more effectively, overseas, he continued to sound the bell for retreat and defeat in the world," Cotton said.
As for what he would like to see in 2014, Cotton focused on protecting Americans from various facets of Obamacare. Cotton listed initiatives passed by the House that would allow Americans to keep their insurance plans cancelled by Obamacare, and would eliminate the penalty if they could not afford a new Obamacare plan.
"There’s a whole host of ways that we can try to solve the problems Obamacare has created," Cotton said. "If only President Obama and the Senate Democrats would realize Americans do not want this law."