Senate Republicans on Thursday led a successful vote to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding in a legislative package aimed at repealing significant parts of the Affordable Care Act. However, the White House has said that President Obama will veto any bill that eliminates funding to Planned Parenthood.
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Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who has been relentless in his efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, said the vote represented a “significant step towards repealing every word of Obamacare”. Though destined for a swift veto, the GOP views the fast-track process as a test run for the real thing in 2017, when it hopes to scrap the health law with a Republican president and a slim majority in the Senate. The bill also contains a provision that defunds Planned Parenthood, which has been a goal of Senate Republicans for several months. “This bill would rid Americans of the most harmful aspects of the law and empower consumers to make decisions that are best for them and their families”. They’re mounting pressure on the Department of Justice to investigate last week’s shooting at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado as Domestic Terrorism.
The U.S. House on October 23 passed a similar measure, which the Senate revised to conform with its rules and to gain enough Republican votes to pass it. The House measure would go further by repealing altogether Obamacare’s requirements that individuals acquire health insurance and that large employers provide it to their workers.
The White House insists that Obamacare is a much-needed law that prohibits insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions, saves money, and insures higher quality care. Mark Kirk of IL, who faces re-election in 2016, and Susan Collins of ME, were concerned about the bill’s Planned Parenthood cuts.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said: “Democrats are focused on doing something to stop the gun violence, and we will force amendment votes to that end today”.
The Senate’s beefed-up version would phase out the law’s exchange subsidies for private plans and the expansion of Medicaid in select states.
Murkowski, another sponsor of the amendment to protect Planned Parenthood funding, voted yes for the broader bill after declining to take a public position before the floor debate. Now, Republican senators are gearing up to introduce a reconciliation bill that would need only 50 votes to pass rather than the standard 60.
The fact sheet also shows that in 2013 abortions made up 94 percent of Planned Parenthood’s pregnancy services, while prenatal care and adoption referrals accounted for only 5 percent. The amendment was narrowly rejected, with 52 senators voting in opposition.
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The Senate bill also repeals the over-the-counter medicine tax, the prescription drug tax, an annual fee on health insurers and the tax on indoor tanning services.
