OXON HILL, Md. — Republicans are working in earnest to repeal and replace the previous administration’s sweeping healthcare law despite Democrats who claim otherwise, Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday.
Pence marked his ninth appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference with a fiery speech to grassroots conservative activists in the crowd, assuring them President Trump and GOP lawmakers are committed to developing an Obamacare replacement that suits Americans’ needs and budgets.
“Despite all the fear-mongering from the left, make no mistake about it: we’ll have an orderly transition to a better healthcare system that finally puts the American people first,” Pence said, drawing cheers from the crowd.
“And after we repeal and replace Obamacare, we’re going to do a whole lot more,” he added.
Pence himself has made weekly visits to Capitol Hill to discuss the administration’s agenda and to work with Congress to develop a market-based solution that ends exploding healthcare premiums and reduced quality of coverage. He told reporters before taking office that the administration hoped to have a replacement ready by April.
But some conservative leaders are beginning to worry that a Republican replacement is still months away, and that such a delay is giving Democrats fodder,
“I think the Trump team is doing a good job. Congress has been moving too slow, too cautiously. They need to get some things done,” former Sen. Jim DeMint, who serves as president of the Heritage Foundation, told the Hill after his own CPAC speech on Thursday.
“Congress has some catching up to do. They need to stop taking weekends and recesses right now,” he said.
