WASHINGTON, D.C., September 19, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – After a strong push by conservatives in the House of Representatives, the Republican leadership has agreed to play hardball when it comes to defunding key portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), more commonly known as ObamaCare.
Speaker of the House John Boehner announced Wednesday that passage of a stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government running while Congress hammers out a new budget will be dependent on slashing funding for President Obama’s controversial new health care law, which Boehner called “a train wreck.”
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, the second most powerful leader in the House, said, “We aim to put a stop to ObamaCare before it costs one more job or raises a family's out-of-pocket expenses one more dollar.”
Since failure to pass the stopgap bill will result in a government shutdown when the current budget expires on September 30, the GOP has effectively given House members a choice: Defund ObamaCare or shut down the government.
House conservatives have slammed ObamaCare as a “job killer” that will dramatically increase employment expenses, forcing employers to lay off employees or reduce their hours in order to avoid the steep rise in costs. But the bill is also controversial for its lack of protections for religious freedom, such as a mandate requiring employers to provide full coverage for contraceptives, sterilizations and abortion causing drugs without a co-pay – regardless of their deeply held religious convictions against such actions – or face punishing fines.
If the Republican-controlled House votes to defund ObamaCare, the funding bill is likely to be stripped of any language that threatens the president’s health care law in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Senate Republicans admitted as much Wednesday, but urged their House counterparts to hold the line.
“Today's announcement that the House will vote to defund ObamaCare is terrific news,” said Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Mike Lee in a joint press release. “Harry Reid will no doubt try to strip the defund language from the continuing resolution, and right now he likely has the votes to do so.”
“At that point, House Republicans must stand firm, hold their ground, and continue to listen to the American people,” they wrote.
Some Republican staffers are unhappy with being the sole line of defense against the deeply unpopular law. But at least one anonymous House Republican seemed to relish the challenge, saying it is time for House “bed-wetters” to “put on the big boy pants.”
If the move to defund ObamaCare as part of the stopgap funding bill does fail, House GOP leaders have a backup plan.
Yet another showdown over government spending is looming, as Democrats seek to give the Treasury power to borrow money to make payments on the nation’s $17 trillion debt. Without raising the debt ceiling, the U.S. will risk defaulting on its massive loans for the first time in history.
House Speaker Boehner promised Wednesday to make any increase in the debt limit dependent on a one-year moratorium on all aspects of ObamaCare, stalling while the Republicans seek a way to kill the law permanently.
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In the meantime, the GOP is offering an alternative to ObamaCare in the form of a replacement bill called “The Republican Study Committee’s American Health Care Reform Act.”
The GOP health care bill would, first and foremost, repeal ObamaCare in its entirety. ObamaCare’s 20,000+ pages of regulations would then be replaced with a 200-page Republican plan, which Rep. Steven Scalise, R-LA, told The Daily Caller “dramatically opens up options for families, and dramatically lowers costs.”
Most significantly, the GOP health care bill explicitly provides for conscience protections and prohibits government funds for being used for elective abortions.
In a summary of the bill published at The Daily Caller, the Republican Study Committee highlighted a provision called “Respecting Human Life.”
According to the bill’s authors, this section of the bill “Provides that nothing in this act requires health plans to provide coverage of abortion services, or permits any government official to require coverage of abortion. Prohibits federal funds authorized or appropriated by this act from covering abortion, except in the case of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is jeopardized. Ensures that no state pro-life or conscience protection laws will be preempted.”
The GOP plan also allows people with pre-existing conditions to change insurance companies at will, without risking rejection, as long as they maintain continuous coverage.
The GOP bill, which Scalise says is “budget-neutral,” offers a $20,000 tax deduction to families and a $7,500 deduction to individuals to be put toward any health plan of their choosing. The bill rewards bargain shoppers, in that any money not spent directly on health care premiums is theirs to keep – a provision the bill’s authors hope will foster competition in the marketplace and lower prices across the board.