House Republicans on Friday passed legislation that would eliminate some of the most contentious parts of Obamacare, and sent it to a Senate that, for a change, should be able to pass it and send it to President Obama’s desk.
Lawmakers approved the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act in a 240-189 vote that saw all but one Democrat vote against the measure, along with seven Republicans.
The bill would eliminate the individual and employer health insurance mandates, the 2.3 percent medical device tax, and the tax on “Cadillac” health care plans. It would kill off a public health fund under Obamacare that the GOP has said is a “slush fund” for the Obama administration.
And, importantly for many Republicans, it would also impose a one-year moratorium on federal funding for Planned Parenthood. That group is being investigated after a series of videos suggesting that the group may be profiting from the sale of fetal remains.
The House has passed anti-Obamacare legislation more than once over the last few years, but most of it has been blocked by a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.
This time, however, it’s a little bit different. The House passed its latest repeal bill under the budget reconciliation process that lets members create privileged legislation in the name of meeting key budget goals, which is also legislation that can’t be filibustered.
That means the Senate should be able to pass the bill with a simple majority vote, an easy proposition with 54 Republicans in the upper chamber.
A Senate GOP aide said senators would consider the House’s Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act in the near future, and would even be given the chance to take up amendments.
House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price, R-Ga., said Friday that the latest bill will let the GOP get further on the repeal of key Obamacare provisions than ever before.
“Under reconciliation, we are able to move legislation through the House and the Senate in an expedited manner and put a bill on the president’s desk,” he said. “With the legislation before us today, the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act, we are using this powerful budgetary tool to help end Obamacare’s attack on Americans health care and its attack on our economy.”
But while Republicans are using reconciliation to get closer to ending some of the Obamacare provisions they dislike the most, it’s still just a bill, and once it’s passed by the House and Senate, it can be vetoed by President Obama.
On Wednesday, the White House said Obama would do just that.
“By repealing numerous key elements of current law, H.R. 3762 would take away critical benefits and health care coverage from hard-working middle-class families,” the White House said. “The bill also would remove policies that are expected to help slow the growth in health care costs and that have improved the quality of care patients receive.”
“If the president were presented with H.R. 3762, he would veto the bill,” the White House concluded.
The White House message means Republicans would need a two-thirds majority vote to override Obama’s veto, and Friday’s vote shows the votes aren’t there for an override in the House. A two-thirds majority in the House means around 290 votes are needed, and the House fell well short of that with Friday’s 240-189 vote.
