The ability of Congress to repeal Obamacare’s individual mandate penalties will hinge on whether the Senate can pull it off, House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday.
“It really is whether or not the Senate has the votes for this or not,” the Wisconsin Republican said Wednesday on CNBC.
If the upper chamber can repeal the individual mandate penalties, “we’ll meet them in conference and assess at that time,” Ryan added, noting that his chamber has voted several times to undo the mandate.
Senate Republicans amended their tax package late Tuesday night to include repeal of the individual mandate penalties, a change that would, on paper, free up $318 billion over a decade to dedicate to other tax cuts.
The attack on Obamacare’s requirement for people to buy health insurance is supported by President Trump, but isn’t a part of the House bill, which is scheduled for final passage Thursday.
However, changes are still possible when the House and Senate meet in a conference to work out differences in the tax bill. The Obamacare mandate would be just one of many differences to work out.
