THE DAILY WHIP: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015

H.R. 3762 – "GOP Reconciliation Act" (Rep. Price (GA) – Budget/Ways and Means/Energy and Commerce/Education and the Workforce) (Two hours of debate). In the Republicans’ Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Resolution, the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Workforce Committees all received “reconciliation” instructions to each achieve $1 billion in deficit reduction over the next ten years. The committees have now provided their reconciliation recommendations, and the Budget Committee has packaged them together into this bill. The Reconciliation Bill is focused on repealing significant provisions in the Affordable Care Act, as well as defunding Planned Parenthood. If the House is able to pass this package, the reconciliation process may allow for it to be considered under expedited procedures in the Senate, including bypassing many regular order 60 vote thresholds.

The Reconciliation Bill follows the lead of the GOP Budget by repealing several components of the Affordable Care Act, including repealing the individual and employer mandate requirements, medical device tax, Cadillac tax and the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). It would also end the Prevention and Public Health Fund, prohibit funding to Planned Parenthood for one year and eliminate the Affordable Care Act’s employer automatic enrollment requirement. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has found that by repealing the individual mandate, premiums in the individual market would increase by 20% and 14 million people would lose health insurance coverage. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, repeal of the employer mandate would increase the deficit by $167 billion over ten years and repealing the medical device tax for future sales would increase the deficit by $24.4 billion over the 2015-2024 period.

Additionally, the latest CBO estimate indicates that full repeal of the Cadillac tax is a $91 billion deficit increase over ten years and that IPAB repeal would increase the deficit by $7 billion over ten years. Despite the fact that reconciliation bills may receive fast-track consideration in the Senate, they also have limits on what can be included, known as the Byrd Rule. This package likely contains Byrd Rule violations: it would cause an increase in the deficit outside the ten year budget window and the budget effects of defunding Planned Parenthood language may be considered as “merely incidental” to the overall policy goal. These potential Byrd Rule violations make it unlikely that the Senate can pass the package in its current form, and beyond that, this measure has no chance of becoming law as it will face a certain veto if it reaches the President’s desk.

This Reconciliation Bill is not a serious proposal. It marks the 61st time that Republicans have voted to repeal, defund or undermine the Affordable Care Act, while also attacking women’s health providers such as Planned Parenthood. Despite the Supreme Court’s upholding of the law’s constitutionality, the reelection of President Obama, and Speaker John Boehner’s declaration that “Obamacare is the law of the land,” Republicans refuse to stop wasting time and taxpayer money on their efforts to take away the patient protections and benefits of the Affordable Care Act. 

Instead of spending time on this measure, the House needs to take action on pressing issues that have bipartisan support, including providing certainty to American businesses by reauthorizing the Export-Import bank, developing a long-term solution to create a solvent Highway Trust Fund, and ensuring our nation can pay its bills and reach a budget agreement that invests in our nation’s future.

Democrats agree on the need to take serious action to reduce the deficit. This Reconciliation Bill does the opposite. It is another attempt to defund or restrict access to Planned Parenthood and repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act, while making our long term deficit problems worse, not better. The country needs a balanced deficit reduction plan that calls on all Americans to pay their fair share. This bill is yet another example of Republicans bringing a partisan bill to the Floor that has no chance of becoming a law. At this critical time for our economy, Republicans are continuing to pursue their extreme partisan agenda.

In the Statement of Administration Policy, the President stated that he would veto this bill.  Members are urged to VOTE NO

The Rule, which was adopted yesterday, provides for two hours of general debate.

Bill Text for H.R. 3762:
PDF Version

Background for H.R. 3762:
House Report (HTML Version)
House Report (PDF Version)