WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor on Thursday regarding the Obamacare ‘train wreck’:

“Last week, one of our most senior Democrat colleagues – a primary author of Obamacare – referred to the law’s implementation as ‘a train wreck.’

“’Small businesses have no idea what to do,’ he warned. They have no idea ‘what to expect.’

“He also expressed concern that the health insurance exchanges for consumers and small businesses could turn into a fiasco.

“Well, I agree with him. I think just about everyone in my conference agrees with him. But here’s the difference. This is not some grand revelation to Republicans. We’ve been saying this since day one.

“We said a government takeover of healthcare would raise health costs and premiums.

“We said it would raise taxes on the middle class.

“We said it would force millions of Americans to give up insurance plans they liked and wanted to keep.

“We said it would bury families and small businesses in a literal mountain of regulations.

“And we said it would cost our country jobs.

“We shouted these things from the rooftop throughout the health care debate. A few of us may have even said it would be a ‘train wreck.’

“Until now, the President’s allies mostly ignored or brushed off our concerns. But you know what? With each passing day, it appears clearer and clearer that we were right to sound the alarm.

“Only now are Washington Democrats starting to come around to the reality of what they passed.

“Perhaps they thought a ‘Yes’ vote on this bill would somehow magically cure our country’s health care challenges. Without any cost increases. Without hurting the middle class. Without the massive, unnavigable bureaucracy that’s being erected literally as I speak.

“But, really, that’s the problem. That’s why we’re stuck in this mess. Our constituents did not send us here to robotically fall in line behind bad legislation and then pat ourselves on the back for ‘doing something.’

“They sent us here to eventually evaluate public policy, and to think about the medium- and long-term consequences of our actions.

“Look: Obamacare’s mounting challenges shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. It’s not just that Republicans have warned about them for so long, or that experts echoed our concerns. A lot of the problems in this 2,700-page bill should’ve been pretty self-evident from the beginning.

“In some ways, I’m glad to see more and more Washington Democrats and their allies come around to the reality of what they’ve done.

“Earlier this year, Democrats helped us repeal the CLASS Act, for instance.

“Last month, the Senate voted – 79 to 20 – to repeal the law’s job-killing medical device tax.

“And just last week, we saw a union reverse course and come out for repeal of the law. I hope more will join us in repealing it in its entirety, root and branch.

“I am optimistic we’ll see more common sense take root in the days to come. As the country learns more about this law and the harm that it’s causing families, businesses, and taxpayers, I suspect we will.

“Because when Administration officials are reduced to hoping that the law’s implementation will not amount to – and I’m quoting here – ‘a third world experience,’ then you know there’s trouble on the way.

“And that’s why I’ve also called on the President to address the nation and give an honest accounting of what many Americans can expect as this law starts to come online: the higher costs, the premium increases, the taxes, the loss of health care plans they like and want to keep.

“We asked him to do this in his State of the Union speech. He really should have, because the longer he waits to lay out the truth for the American people, the more people there are who are going to get blindsided by all of this.

“And that’s not right. So he shouldn’t waste any more time.

“In the meantime, Americans can rest assured that Republicans will keep working to repeal this law. I hope more of the President’s allies will join us in that fight too. Because we all owe our country better than this.

“So, for the sake of my constituents in Kentucky and for the sake of Americans across the country, I urge my friends on the other side to join with Republicans and stop this ‘train wreck’ before things get even worse.

“Now on an entirely different matter.

“I’d like to just make this observation about the Internet sales tax bill.

“Earlier this week, I announced my opposition to this bill, which I don’t think is in the best interests of Kentuckians, or of taxpayers in general.

“But I know not everyone in this chamber feels that way.

“This bill may pass. But before it does, the Senate ought to at least have the chance to amend it.”