Acknowledging that the Senate GOP has not yet coalesced around his plan to stop a funding bill currently making its way through the Senate, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Thursday that the House still can be a buttress against funding Obamacare.
During a conference call with reporters and bloggers, the Texas freshman conceded that multiple Senate Republicans have publicly announced their intention to vote to advance a House-passed ‘continuing resolution’ (CR) that defunds Obamacare in its current form — but almost assuredly will fund the law fully once Senate Democrats have had an opportunity to amend the bill. That amendment process can occur only with the 60-vote approval of a procedural motion to end debate of the legislation scheduled for no later than Friday morning.
In the event that the motion is agreed to, Cruz said that the fight to defund Obamacare isn’t over, so long as the House continues to hold firm.
“Even if Senate Republicans have not shown the same strength of will that House Republicans have shown, that doesn’t mean the fight is over, because House Republicans can and I believe should stand their ground,” Cruz said. “If the House holds firm, Harry Reid has no ability to muscle the House of Representatives if they stand their ground.”
Though Cruz’s winding, 21-plus-hour speech on the Senate floor Tuesday and Wednesday was a rallying cry of sorts for the issue, he recognized his limitations in the fight to defund Obamacare.
“I think the most important role that I can play is to serve as a cheerleader supporting and encouraging the House Republicans to stand with the American people,” Cruz continued. “The CR that the House passed reflects the strong will of the American people, who understand that Obamacare isn’t working.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his top lieutenant, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), both announced earlier this week that they would support advancing bill, saying that they saw no sense in holding up legislation that defunded Obamacare. Many rank-and-file Republicans have followed suit.
Cruz has described such a stance as inadequate, since he argues it only will empower Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to make his preferred changes to the CR once it reaches the final stage of the legislative process. He said that a final vote on amended spending legislation that fully funds Obamacare — one that at this point appears all but inevitable — is little more than a ‘show vote’ and is not the one on which the GOP should target its focus.
“In my opinion, the vote tomorrow is the most important vote that I will have cast in the short nine months I have been in the Senate, and I think it’s the most important vote any of my colleagues will cast this year,” Cruz said. “Based on their public statements, a significant number of Senate Republicans currently intend to vote with Senate Republican leadership to support Harry Reid and the Democrats, and to allow Harry Reid to fund Obamacare. I hope by tomorrow that’s no longer the case.”
