U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio brought his campaign to head off implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act to Jacksonville on Monday.
Speaking to the Rotary Club of Jacksonville, Rubio said he considers uncertainty over the effects the health care reform plan set forth by President Barack Obama, often referred to as "Obamacare," could have on the economy.
"I think one of the largest drivers of uncertainty in our economy today is the cloud of Obamacare hanging over it," said the Florida Republican.
"Meeting with businesses that are having to comply with this law, they're telling you they're in a holding pattern until they figure out how to comply with it, or even what it's going to look like," he said.
The debate in Congress over whether to eliminate the Affordable Care Act from the federal budget is set to begin in September and Rubio said he hopes Obama accepts counsel from his own constituents and delays, if not cancels, implementation of the law.
The federal fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
"I would hope the president would listen to his own supporters — the unions, the Teamsters, the union for the IRS. They're all saying to, at a minimum, delay this thing," he said.
Improving the economy and reducing the national debt will require a new confidence level on the part of businesses and investors, and government regulation can aid or hinder job creation and economic growth, Rubio said.
"The economy grows when people who have access to money decide they are going to risk that money for an idea. You open a business and it works and then you're hiring people.
It's not a complicated equation. Government has a role to create an environment where people will take that risk," he said.
The current federal tax code is "fundamentally broken," Rubio said, but he doesn't anticipate measurable change, much less a "fair tax" based on consumption, to be in place in the next four years.
"The problem is, in Washington, we can't even do simple tax reform. The political will is not there," he said.
Club President Bill Mason said Rubio was the latest on a long list of U.S. senators who have spoken at the club's meetings in its 101-year history.
Mason said talks are underway to bring U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson to Jacksonville to address the club, possibly later this month.
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