Fries with that? Fast-food giant chokes on Obamacare

The company that owns the burger chains Carl's Jr. and Hardee's fears what the new health-care law means for its bottom line.

CKE Restaurants runs more than 3,200 restaurants and has created 70,000 jobs, 21,000 directly and 49,000 with franchisees.

However, CEO Andrew Puzder says the company has stopped opening restaurants in California, where the process can take up to two years because of regulations, and plans to open 300 in Texas, where a new place can debut in just six weeks.

Puzder says Obamacare is creating similar roadblocks against job creation.

Columnist George Will writes: "When CKE's health care advisers, citing Obamacare's complexities, opacities and uncertainties, said it would add between $7.3 million and $35.1 million to the company's $12 million health care costs in 2010, Puzder said: 'I need a number I can plan with. They guessed $18 million – twice what CKE spent last year building new restaurants. ...'"

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Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, a practicing medical doctor and a sitting member of the House is working closely with House leadership on overturning Obamacare.

Burgess says the employer mandate in the health-care law is creating uncertainty for business.

"Doctor in the House: A Physician-Turned-Congressman Offers His Prescription for Scrapping Obamacare ... And Saving America's Medical System," published by WND Books and autographed by the author, is available through the WND Superstore. Dr. Burgess tells the inside story of how "the fix was in" on the legislation from the start and how "even the very worst aspects" of the plan to "fundamentally transform" health care got jammed through Congress.

"My own pizza shop I go to every Friday night, the man who owns it has four franchises and he's, he's at his wit's end. He does provide a lot of employment ... and he's looking at all these requirements ... it is a real problem in my district and he's not alone," Burgess tells WND's Greg Corombos.

Click here to listen to Michael Burgess discuss in-depth the impact of the Obamacare mandates on business.