Republicans Divided: Conservatives Against the House GOP’s ACA Repeal Bill
Mariel Saez 202-225-3130
President Trump promised that Republicans would put forward a plan that would “have insurance for everybody” and that it would be “far less expensive and far better” than it is now. Last night, House Republicans released their bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and it breaks those promises. Already, Republicans in Congress and conservative groups are criticizing the bill, which would make Americans pay more for less coverage.
Republicans in the House oppose the bill:
Rep. Raúl R. Labrador (R-ID): “If we don’t repeal Obamacare, then what was our fight about for the last six years? … If our party was only opposing it because it was proposed by Obama and Democrats, the base is going to leave the party.” [Washington Post, 3/7/17]
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): “It’s Obamacare in a different format.” [The Atlantic, 3/6/17]
Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA): “It doesn't matter who comes to us and asks us to go along with this devastating program…The answer will be no.” [Washington Examiner, 3/7/17]
Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI): “Obamacare 2.0.” [Tweet, 3/6/17]
Republican Study Committee: “This is a Republican welfare entitlement…Writing checks to individuals to purchase insurance is, in principle, Obamacare.” [Politico, 3/6/17]
The bill’s passage in the Senate is doubtful:
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY): “It won’t work…bailout for the insurance companies… think it’ll be a real mistake to go for this… It won’t pass, and conservatives won’t take it.” [The Atlantic, 3/7/17]
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT): “This is not the Obamacare repeal bill we’ve been waiting for… It is a missed opportunity and a step in the wrong direction.” [Business Insider, 3/7/17]
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “I've always been concerned that the public needs to absorb this…. We're not going to be judged by when we did it but how we did it…. I'm not worried about the recess. I'm worried about doing it right…. I don't feel a need for speed.” [Politico, 3/7/17]
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO): “What I don’t like is, it may not be a plan that gets a majority [of the] votes and lets us move on. Because, we can't stay where we are with the plan we’ve got now.”[The Hill Extra, 3/7/17]
Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV): “We will not support a plan that does not include stability for Medicaid expansion populations or flexibility for states.” [The Hill Extra, 3/6/17]
A Republican governor has expressed his disappointment with the plan:
Maine Governor Paul LePage (R): “Right now, I am very, very discouraged and disappointed with what the House Republicans are introducing… I think what they need to do is rethink what they’re doing. Because we’ve already lived it. We’ve lived through ObamaCare. We’ve learned some lessons, and they ought to be watching and listening and using the data that we have.” [The Hill, 3/7/17]
And conservative organizations have universally panned the bill:
Tea Party Patriots: “This is not what we meant or expected when we voted for Congress to repeal Obamacare.” [AP, 3/7/17]
Club for Growth President David McIntosh: “If this warmed-over substitute for government-run healthcare remains unchanged, the Club for Growth will key vote against it.” [TIME, 3/7/17]
Freedom Partners and Americans for Prosperity: “As the bills stands today, it is Obamacare 2.0... We urge you to keep your promise, reject the House bill.” [Letter, 3/7/17]
Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham: “Many Americans seeking health insurance on the individual market will notice no significant difference between the Affordable Care Act (i.e., Obamacare) and the American Health Care Act… That is bad politics and, more importantly, bad policy.” [Washington Examiner, 3/7/17]
Freedom Works: “It creates a new entitlement through the refundable tax credits…It allows insurance companies to assess a 30 percent penalty on those who don’t keep continuous coverage for 63 days, which is an individual mandate by another name.” [Washington Post, 3/7/17]
Republicans continue to cause great uncertainty and instability in the health care system, and they alone will be responsible for increased costs or loss of coverage that occurs as a result.
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