This week, using a complicated legislative procedure known as budget reconciliation, Senate Republicans successfully advanced a bill that would in large part pull government funds away from abortion providers like Planned Parenthood, as well as repeal much of “Obamacare”.
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In regards to the decision that the bill presents Obama with, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that the president has a choice, “He can defend a status quo that’s failed the middle class by vetoing the bill, or he can work toward a new beginning and better care by signing it”. He compared the law to a tangled fly fishing line. And since Obamacare became law, the House has made 61 attempts to repeal it. Until recently, the House attempts had not gotten approved in the Senate due to the 60 votes that were required for a measure to be approved. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., did not vote. He called the proposal a “waste of time” this week.
The legislation would repeal the individual and employer mandates, Cadillac tax, medical device tax, and eliminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board. In addition, it would repeal the expansion of Medicaid, which 30 states have adopted.
Democrats have been able to block past repeal attempts. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told the National Journal. Without their votes, the bill could not have passed. The amended version will now head back to the House for the changes to be approved before it can be sent to the White House, according to USA Today. The measure also cuts funding for the Prevention and Public Health Fund and scraps risk adjusted programs from insurance companies, according to the report.
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Operation Rescue is grateful to all the Senators who were instrumental in this successful vote, including GOP leadership that came through on their promise to bring the defunding of Planned Parenthood to the floor for a vote. To help people who don’t have insurance, the president should not have had to hurt so many people who already had insurance.
