The Milwaukee Post

12 • Milwaukee Post • September 20, 2013 Ryan: Obamacare 'not ready for prime time' Discusses health care law, immigration, Syria and more By ARTHUR THOMAS Conley News Service Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan delivers the keynote address at the Waukesha County Business Alliance's 95th annual meeting last week. news &views you won't find in the big daily. Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. FREE In-Home Estimates On New Equipment We Service All Makes & Models 24hr Emergency Service Annual furnace tune-ups increase the life of your furnace, while reducing heating costs. RESIDENTIAL GAS FURNACE TUNEUP Milwaukee County's only weekly newspaper still mailed to subscribers. $69.95 Available FREE at almost 200 Southern Milwaukee County newstands! PARTS EXTRA IF NEEDED. Follow us on Facebook Read our e-edition online at www.gmtoday.com Click on Milwaukee Post front page icon under Week in Review. 234058137 414-423-0000 "Serving Satisfied Families Since 1968" 234058050 Don Weltzien/Special to The Post BROOKFIELD – Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan last week said there is too much uncertainty imposed by government and this fall's legislative battles will be about making "a down payment" on a number of issues. The Janesville Republican discussed Obamacare, immigration reform, the situation in Syria and more during a 30minute talk and question-and-answer session during the Waukesha County Business Alliance's annual meeting at the Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel. Ryan said the Affordable Care Act is "not ready for prime time" and Republicans will work to convince the Obama administration to delay full implementation of the president's signature law. The administration has already delayed the mandate requiring employers to offer insurance for a year, but the individual mandate remains in place. "We think that's fundamentally unfair," Ryan said. He said shutting down the government in an effort to defund the law would not work. "Some people say and are led to believe, , that we in the House could just unilaterally unfund or defund this law and it's all taken care of," he said. "I even see these ads on TV that say 'If only the people in the House would just defund Obamacare, problem solved.' I wish it were that easy Ryan said. ," He added that a shutdown wouldn't impact the funding for the law and to make any changes would require the president to sign off on them. "So let's delay this thing, that's the case we'll make," Ryan said. Assemblyman Job Richards, DMilwaukee, said he disagreed with Ryan's view on the implementation of Obamacare. "I do think that it's going to be something that will end up reducing health care costs, reducing insurance rates, expanding coverage and keeping quality high," Richards said after the speech. "Congressman Ryan, for all his criticism, has never come up with an alternative that would achieve those goals." He acknowledged that there is uncertainty about what will happen when the insurance exchanges go live on Oct. 1. "It's a big change in an industry that represents 20 percent of the American economy , so of course there are going to be some big changes," Richards said. "There might be some things that have to be changed along, but by and large, the Affordable Care Act is going to be a real success in expanding access to health care coverage and keeping costs under control." Ryan said he has tried to avoid commenting extensively on the situation in Syria. "I've been kind of biting my tongue all week, in deference to the office of the president," he said. He added that he believes the intelligence suggesting Bashar al Assad's regime used chemical weapons and understands "the drawing of a red line" by Obama, but said nothing has been done since the line was drawn. "We could have made a material difference early on in this," Ryan said. He said last week was an embarrassment for U.S. foreign policy, and the administration was telling people on both sides of the debate what they wanted to hear to get the necessary votes. Outside the Sheraton, Organizing for Action-Wisconsin and other groups held a rally to encourage Ryan to call for a vote in the House on immigration reform. Dennis Hughes of Organizing for Action said doing so would show leadership on Ryan's part. Inside, Ryan was quick to address a number of issues in his stance on immigration reform when asked. In particular, he said he is opposed to the bill passed by the Senate and is also opposed to any amnesty for illegal immigrants. He also said that even if it was possible, he didn't think the U.S. should try to deport all 11 million illegal immigrants currently in the country . "You know what kind of police state we would have to impose on ourselves to do that," Ryan said. He said past immigration reform efforts have failed because border security wasn't prioritized. "We want to flip it the other way around," he said, adding that a secure border would act as a trigger for other reforms. The changes should be made with a series of bills, not one comprehensive package as in the Senate, Ryan said. He added that experts have said the best way to secure the border would be to take pressure off it by reducing the number of people attempting to cross. Ryan said the country needs to address its legal immigration system to put it in line with what the economy needs. He noted that retiring baby boomers will present a problem for the employers. "After they've retired, we will have labor shortages," Ryan said. He believes the country needs a guest worker program to help address labor shortages in certain areas, including the dairy industry .

• Cover