A top Republican lawmaker defended the party’s decision to send legislation repealing major parts of Obamacare to President Obama’s desk for a veto, saying on Wednesday that it demonstrated that the party would carry out a repeal under a GOP president.
“The American people now know, without doubt, that if one individual in this town were changed, we could repeal the Affordable Care Act, repeal Obamacare and replace it with something else,” said Rep. Tom Price, the chairman of the House Budget Committee.
Speaking at an event at the Brookings Institution, the Georgia Republican also said the vote was needed to provide freshman senators with an opportunity to vote against Obamacare.
Using the legislative tool known as reconciliation to pass the Obamacare repeal measure was a source of controversy within the GOP. Many wanted to use reconciliation, which has limited availability but allows Congress to pass legislation with fewer than 60 votes in the Senate, to advance policies that might be signed into law, rather than a measure that Obama would veto.
Price, who succeeded current House Speaker Paul Ryan as the head of the House committee responsible for drawing up budget plans, is a former orthopedic surgeon who has long advocated conservative alternatives for Obamacare. The party has not voted for a replacement plan in the six years since the law’s passage, but Price noted Wednesday that he has introduced reform plans even before Obamacare was drafted.
On Wednesday, Price suggested that his committee is working on ideas for reforming the 1974 law that spells out how Congress drafts its budget. That budget process provides for the reconcilition tool that allowed Republicans to pass the Obamacare repeal. Price said that he would explore options for improving the budget process after the current budget season.
