Today, the House Ways and Means Committee passed legislation that would repeal several controversial provisions in Obamacare through a fast-track process called reconciliation, which means pro-abortion Democrats wouldn’t be able to filibuster it in the Senate.
The Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), said, “We’re going to pass a bill that can dismantle ObamaCare and reach the president’s desk. We’re going to repeal the five worst parts of the law: two mandates, two taxes and one board of bureaucrats.”’
The Hill reports that the measure would repeal individual and employer mandates that require insurance plans to pay for abortions as well as cut funding for Planned Parenthood. However, even if the legislation reaches President Obama’s desk, it is almost certain that he will veto it.
As LifeNews previously reported, in 2014 taxpayers funded over a thousand Obamacare health plans that subsidize abortion on demand—even late-term abortion—in defiance of the Hyde Amendment Obama publicly said he would honor. Additionally, Obamacare created new ways for Planned Parenthood to receive public funding. In 2013, Planned Parenthood received taxpayer-funded grants to help Americans sign up for health coverage.
The abortion company has worked tirelessly for the Obama administration, which is why he praised the group’s efforts in helping pass the health care law. At a gala for Planned Parenthood, President Obama said. “I know how hard you worked to help us pass health care reform. You and your supporters got out there—you organized; you mobilized; you made your voices heard. It made all the difference.”
The committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Sandy Levin (Mich.), linked the reconciliation process to Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) resignation. “Today, we are seemingly taking the next step after the Speaker’s announcement on Friday to appease the right-wing of the Republican Conference,” Levin said. “Want to avoid a government shutdown? Force the Speaker out. Want to avoid a government shutdown? Attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act.”
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Democrats denounced the Republican efforts, pointing to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections that repealing the individual mandate would reduce the number of people with insurance by 14 million in 2025. They also pointed to CBO projections that premiums would increase by 20 percent in the individual market without the mandate enticing healthier people to sign up.
Republican Rep. Kevin Brady (Texas) countered that no one would be kicked off their insurance under the bill, and that the lower projections for the insured are because the mandate would no longer be requiring people to buy insurance against their will. “They’re no longer being forced to,” he said. “They will choose for their families not to.”
Levin acknowledged that Democrats are split on the IPAB, but noted that its inclusion in a bill also repealing core parts of the law, like the mandate, would guarantee that Democrats would be opposed. “Whatever we think about IPAB within our ranks, once it becomes part of the reconciliation bill, we’re all going to vote no,” he said.
