House Republicans Celebrate Groundhog Day
Mariel Saez 202-225-3130
In Punxsutawney today, Phil the Groundhog emerged from his burrow and determined that the next six weeks will be mostly a repeat of the last. Similarly, the House Republican Majority has already made it clear that they intend the 114th Congress to be a repeat of the last two partisan Congresses. Here are some examples of House Republicans’ déjà vu dysfunction:
ISSUE | PAST | PRESENT |
The Affordable Care Act | January 6, 2011: When Republicans took over the majority in the House, Speaker Boehner said, “We are going to repeal it, and we’re going to do everything we can over the course of however long it takes to stop this." [ABC News] January 19, 2011: Speaker Boehner also said, "The Congress can do better in terms of replacing Obamacare with common-sense reforms that will bring down the cost of health insurance and expand access for more Americans," but four years later, they have failed to introduce any alternatives. [Fox News] | February 2, 2015: This week, House Republicans will hold their 56th vote to repeal or undermine the patient protections and cost savings that the Affordable Care Act has brought to millions of American families. |
Budget | October 2013: House Republicans shut down the government for sixteen days, holding government funding hostage to their effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. | February 2, 2015: Republicans in the House are still holding critical funding hostage in order to appease the far-right wing of their party. As we approach the February 27 deadline for Department of Homeland Security funding, Republicans have yet to remove their draconian, anti-immigration amendments from must-pass legislation to keep our families and communities safe and secure. |
Partisan Lawsuits | April 19, 2011: "House Republicans have hired a prominent conservative attorney to defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act in a pending lawsuit, legal sources say, and will make an effort to divert money from the Justice Department to fund its high-profile fight." [CNN] House Republicans ended up wasting $2.3 million defending the discriminatory DOMA, which was struck down as unconstitutional. November 21, 2014: "House Republicans filed a long-threatened lawsuit Friday against the Obama administration over unilateral actions on the health care law..." [New York Times] House Republicans are wasting hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars in their lawsuit against the President over the Affordable Care Act. | January 28, 2015: "House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday confirmed House Republicans are filing a lawsuit against Obama's executive action delaying deportations for millions of immigrants here illegally." [CNN] |
Tax Extenders | In the 113th Congress: House Republicans reported fourteen tax extenders out of committee without any offsets, which would have added $824.8 billion to the deficit. | Week of February 9, 2015: House Republicans are expected to schedule votes on more permanent, unpaid-for tax extender bills that would balloon the deficit and undermine prospects for bipartisan, comprehensive tax reform. |
Women's Health Care Choices | January 28, 2014 and May 4, 2011: In the 112th and 113th Congress, House Republicans passed an extreme bill to roll back women’s health care choices. | January 22, 2015: House Republicans passed the exact same bill rolling back women's health care choices. |
Voting Rights | June 30, 2013: Rep. Goodlatte said that there is no guarantee House Republicans will move to protect voting rights, although there is bipartisan support for the Voting Rights Amendment Act. [The Hill] | January 14, 2015: Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) said that it was not "necessary" to restore the protections of the Voting Rights Act that were struck down in the Shelby v. Holder Supreme Court case. [Huffington Post] |
Click here to read the PDF.