The House Freedom Caucus, made up of the most conservative GOP lawmakers in the lower chamber, isn’t ready to back a budget resolution that will allow the House and Senate to quickly repeal the Affordable Care Act.
The group met Monday night at a restaurant near the Capitol to weigh the pros and cons of a Senate resolution that would serve as the legislative vehicle for repealing Obamacare.
The Senate is expected to pass the measure by the end of the week and will then send it to the House, where Republican leaders hope to approve it quickly so lawmakers can begin formulating final repeal legislation.
But members of the HFC want to know whether the resolution will leave open a door for keeping up to $500 billion in Obamacare taxes in place. Many Freedom Caucus members are also insisting the final repeal resolution that will come later this year include a replacement for the law, and some are even worried the budget resolution doesn’t show a balanced budget after 10 years.
“The general consensus is that we are undecided on the budget [resolution] and will need clarity on reconciliation, timeframes and what replacement entails,” an aide to the group told the Washington Examiner.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, addressed the group, which met about an hour after the Senate nearly unanimously rejected an amendment by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., that would have required the resolution to balance the budget.
Meadows, R-N.C., told the Washington Examiner last week he is unlikely to support the resolution poised for passage in the Senate next week because of his worries about Obamacare taxes. He said his members could block it in the House by using their roughly 40-member caucus to deny the GOP majority that’s needed to pass it.
