In March, soon after Congress passed and President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, opponents began suggesting that a future Congress could repeal the legislation before 2014, when it fully takes effect.

Health care reform has drawn notable fire from Tea Party activists. The North Carolina chapter of the grass-roots group Americans for Prosperity, targeted the law in both of its recent North Carolina tours.

In light of such vocal opposition, the issue of repeal has been elevated in the upcoming midterm election. Carolina Journal asked candidates running for the U.S. House and Senate (and Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, who is not running in this cycle) whether they would vote to repeal the recent legislation in the 112th Congress and how they would justify their decision.

Of the 33 House members, senators, and candidates contacted, 19 vying for a seat in the House responded. Fifteen said they would support repeal. Four said they would not.

To read the full responses from every candidate, and how their websites dealt with health care reform, click here (PDF download).

In the comments of those who supported repeal, several common themes emerged.

Not the ‘will of … Americans’

Immediately after the bill passed, Rep. Sue Myrick, R-9th, said, “Never in my time in Congress have I seen such blatant disregard for the voice of those whom we represent.” Harold Johnson, the Republican candidate in the 8th Congressional District, said that passing the health care bill showed that Congress was “completely ignoring the will of the majority of Americans.”

Lon Cecil, Libertarian candidate for House in the 12th District, says the law “represents the federal government demanding that every person purchase a product, whether they want it or not. … At least in early Boston,” he continued, “the tax on tea drinkers did not apply to people drinking rain water that fell on their homes.”

“The bill is not sustainable and will be collapsed by those who believe in liberty,” commented Greg Dority, Republican candidate in the 12th District. Dority also noted that the bill imposes new mandates on businesses, some not related directly to medical or health issues. He said the bill’s true intent is a government takeover of the private sector.

Repeal and replace

The “dirty details” of “ObamaCare” make the case for its repeal, said Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-10th. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th, said “ObamaCare is not health care reform; it is an expensive government power grab. That is why we need to repeal it and replace it with reforms that will give patients lower costs and greater choice.”

McHenry has announced his own version of a plan “replace and repeal” the law — “replace these folks that voted for this horrible bill, and then we’ll have the votes we need to repeal it.”

While Darryl Holloman, Libertarian candidate for the 3rd District, said he would support a “total repeal,” he also made clear that he would not support a Republican replacement bill if he also considered it socialist in nature.

Ilario Pantano, the 7th District’s Republican candidate, says that the bill “must be repealed now.” If repeal efforts fail, he said, then it “must be defunded immediately.”

Selling insurance across state lines

One reform mentioned as an alternative to the health care law would allow insurance companies to compete across state lines. Three Republican candidates specifically mentioned this: Ashley Woolard, running in the 1st District; B.J. Lawson, running in the 4th District; and Bill Randall, running in the 13th District. Libertarian candidate Thomas Hill, who is running in the 8th District, also supports this idea. Though he did not respond to e-mails from CJ, incumbent Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-7th, states on his website that he supports an interstate market for health insurance.

Tort reform

Several candidates suggested tort reform as another option for restraining health care costs. Though there are different avenues tort reform could take, those pushing tort reform say it would lead to fewer frivolous lawsuits.

Randall, Lawson, and Tom Rose, Libertarian candidate in the 2nd District, all support it. Rose believes that coupling tort reform with a national sales tax to replace the personal and corporate income tax would enable a market to emerge for individually tailored health insurance coverage that would be affordable for all working Americans. Charities could help those who could not afford their own insurance, Rose said.

Medical tax breaks

Allowing medical expenses to be “100 percent tax deductible” is one of Hill’s ideas. Lawson also supports this proposal. He adds that individuals should be allowed to “purchase insurance with pre-tax dollars like businesses.”

Though McIntyre and Republican Sen. Richard Burr do not mention the full tax deductibility of health insurance or medical expenses on their websites, both say individuals should receive tax credits to help them purchase insurance. Neither responded to CJ inquiries.

Support remains for ‘landmark achievement’

Though a majority of candidates running this election cycle oppose the new health care law, others support it, or would not vote to repeal it.

In the latter category are Democratic candidates Johnny Rouse, running in the 3rd District, and Sam Turner, running in the 6th District. Turner favors a single-payer system. Rouse, on the other hand, believes that working to repeal the law is a “waste of time” since Obama would veto such a move. Rouse considers the campaign to repeal the law mere “political grandstanding” that would “ensure failure” and cause “great damage to our nation.” His main concern is for combat veterans and those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Rep. David Price, D-4th, fully supports the current legislation, saying that most of the information opponents have presented about the new bill is incorrect. He said the enactment of health care reform provides “stable coverage, quality care, and affordable premiums and co-payments — without adding to the deficit.” Price calls the law a “landmark achievement.”

Rep. Mel Watt, D-12th, has offered no indications that he would change his support or vote for the health care law or vote to repeal it, according to Communications Director Keith Kelly.

Amanda Vuke is an editorial intern for Carolina Journal.