House passes health care repeal -- again
By Billy House
July 11, 2012 - GovExec.com
The Republican-controlled House voted 244 to
185 Wednesday to fully repeal the health care reform law, a political move that
underscores conservative anger at the Supreme Court decision to uphold President
Obama's signature domestic legislative achievement.
No Republicans
opposed the bill, and just five Democrats crossed the aisle to vote in favor:
Democratic Reps. Mike McIntyre and Larry Kissell of North Carolina, locked in
tough re-election fights, Dan Boren of Oklahoma, Mike Ross of Arkansas and Jim
Matheson of Utah.
In the previous repeal vote, on Jan. 19, 2011, three
Democrats -- Boren, McIntyre and Ross -- joined 242 House Republicans to
completely undo the law. There have been other House votes to repeal or defund
parts of the law, too, more than 30 in all.
"Plain and simple, the bill
is a flawed effort that fails to address the critical issue of rising health
costs," Matheson said in a statement.
Boren said he voted for repeal
because the law "is too large and too costly" and "my constituents have urged me
to support the repeal."
The Democratic-led Senate will almost certainly
ignore this version of the full repeal bill - just as it did last year's. Taken
at its most meaningful, then, this latest vote was not so much a do-over, as an
emphatic messaging effort by Republicans to show the party's conservative base
they remain committed to undoing the Affordable Care Act.
And, given the
Court's ruling last month, Republican victories at the polls on Election Day may
be their best shot at that.
But in the debate leading up to the vote, House
Speaker John Boehner said on the House floor, "For those who still support
repealing this harmful healthcare law, we're giving our colleagues in the Senate
another chance to heed the will of the American people."
He added, "And
for those who did not support repeal the last time, it's a chance for our
colleagues to reconsider ...for all of us, it's an opportunity for us to do the
right thing for our country."
Majority Leader Eric Cantor said, "We have
said since day one that we must fully repeal this law. Today, we can start over
and we can tell the American people, we are on your side, that we care about
your health care, we want quality care and affordable costs. We listened and
we've acted."
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi characterized the bill in
remarks on the House floor as a useless "bill to nowhere." She said Republicans
need to stop trying to take away patient protections for
Americans.
Pelosi had earlier in the day said at a public event that she
was not worried many Democrats would jump ship to vote in favor of the
Republican repeal bill. She predicted that four or five might because of
political pressures, but she added, "Politics be damned. We came (to Washington)
to do a job."
Prior to the vote, Democrats failed to get through a motion
that would force lawmakers to give up their own tax-payer-subsidized benefits if
the repeal bill passed.
But as evidence that Republicans did not view
this latest measure as a serious stab at repealing the law, they proceeded
Wednesday without knowing its official budgetary effects if enacted. The
Congressional Budget Office had said last year's bill would add $210 billion to
the deficit over 10 years.
But the cost of repeal could be higher or
lower now, following the Supreme Court ruling that allows states to opt-out of a
major Medicaid expansion. At least a dozen Republican governors have said they
almost certainly won't do the Medicaid expansion. The CBO said it won't have a
new score of the health reform law until the week of July 23.
By Billy House
July 11, 2012
http://www.govexec.com/oversight/2012/07/house-passes-health-care-repeal/56737/