Ellmers talks health care with students

U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers proposed an alternative to the Affordable Care Act during her visit to a UNC College Republicans meeting on Monday.

Ellmers, a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives who represents Wake County, has made national news recently as a strong opponent of the Affordable Care Act.

Earlier this month she released a replacement plan entitled the American Health Care Reform Act in collaboration with colleagues in the Republican Study Committee.

Ellmers’s commitment to repealing Obama’s health care plan was the main focus of her speech to the College Republicans.

Her speech emphasized the shortcomings of the health care law and detailed her plan to remedy the problems.

“You can’t just take a law away because you want it to go away,” she said.

“It’s not a good law, but it is law.”

Ellmers argued that the law passed by President Barack Obama in 2010 is not in the best interest of the American people.

“There is so much within Obamacare that really is wrong,” Ellmers said. “We need it off the book. We need a fresh start.”

Ellmers’s promise to replace the Affordable Care Act with an alternative health care plan was well-received by the students in attendance.

“I was really glad to see that she honestly noted that health care is being driven into the ground,” said Trent Gabriel, a junior exercise and sport science major.

Ellmers spoke to the group in an informal question-and-answer dialogue while perched comfortably on a desk at the front of the classroom.

Her comments elicited laughter from the audience several times.

The 40-seat classroom in which Ellmers spoke was filled beyond capacity. She began by describing her current focuses in Washington and then took questions from the audience.

Before closing out the discussion, Ellmers encouraged the UNC College Republicans to keep fighting in a year of deep budget cuts from Student Congress.

Earlier this month, Student Congress cut the group’s fall budget request from $8,180 to $3,090.

“We think that she’s a great example and a rising star,” said senior Ben Smith, the executive vice chairman of the College Republicans.

“She’s one of the only women in the House. We thought it would be a great way to show that there are women voices in politics.”

Sophomore information science major Tulley Dominguez, who attended the event, said he was pleased that Ellmers made herself available for future help with the students’ political aspirations.

“I thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Dominguez. “The vibe I got from her, I thought that’s how a representative should be.”

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