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House Schedules January 12
for vote to Repeal ObamaCare Part One of Three By Dave Andrusko A promise made will be a promise kept, as of January 12. Yesterday Majority Leader-elect Eric Cantor announced a timetable that will culminate a week from tomorrow with a vote in the soon-to-be Republican held House to repeal ObamaCare.
Throughout the 2010 election cycle, Republicans, up to and including top leadership, campaigned on a promise to "repeal and replace" ObamaCare. According to Cantor's office, the immediate chronology began Monday when the "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act" was posted on the website of the House Rules Committee, which will be followed by a meeting Thursday of the House Rules Committee. On Friday the rule for the debate will be considered on the House floor, followed by the actual repeal vote January 12. A separate resolution will initiate the "replace" portion of the promise. With 242 Republican votes, repeal in the House is assured. That, of course, is only phase One--Democrats still control the Senate and an Obama veto would provide the backstop for supporters-- but it is an important substantive and symbolic first step. It is no accident that the bill is only two-pages long. Republicans talked extensively about an over 2,000 page bill that few, if any, Senators and Members of the House read. Outgoing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi once famously explained, "[W]e have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it." According to POLITICO, "The Republican legislation states that it would restore statutes to what they were before the health care law passed. It would also repeal the health care provisions in a companion piece of legislation, known as the reconciliation act, that fixed elements of the main health care law. The repeal bill would leave intact an overhaul of the student loan industry that was passed as part of the reconciliation measure." The Hill's HealthCare blog reports that lawmakers will consider a Republican resolution that "instructs [four] committees to report healthcare legislation." The resolution addresses 12 healthcare goals. As noted previously, Rasmussen Reports has twice found 60% of likely voters saying they support repeal versus 36% saying they oppose repeal (http://www.nrlc.org/NewsToday/RepealObamaCare.html). Since ObamaCare was passed last March, support for repeal has been no lower than 53% and as high as 63%. But what was different about the results, reported December 27, was that "[L]ast week also marked the first time a majority of voters believe the measure is likely to be repealed." Although not our objection as pro-lifers, among the most important grounds on which ObamaCare was passed was the assurance that it would reduce costs, a proposition the public has never bought. "Sixty-one percent (61%) of voters nationwide believe the law will cause health care costs to go up, which ties the highest level measured on the question since the bill was passed," according to Rasmussen Reports. "Only 17% now expect costs to go down while the same number (17%) says costs will stay about the same." Please send your comments on Today's News & Views and National Right to Life News Today to daveandrusko@gmail.com. If you like, join those who are following me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/daveha. |
