Cantor Seeks Another Vote on Full Repeal of Affordable Care Act
On Friday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) sent a memo to House Republicans outlining a "full legislative agenda" for May, including holding another vote to fully repeal the Affordable Care Act, The Hill's "Floor Action Blog" reports (Kasperowicz, "Floor Action Blog," The Hill, 5/3).
Since the enactment of the ACA three years ago, lawmakers have voted on dozens of measures that would have repealed or defunded part or all of the law (Haberkorn, Politico, 5/3).
Memo Details
In the memo, Cantor said, "While we have not locked in the timing, I expect that the House will vote on full repeal of Obamacare in the near future" ("Floor Action Blog," The Hill, 5/3).
The announcement of a repeal vote follows Cantor's failed efforts to pass a bill that would boost funding for the ACA's temporary high-risk insurance pool program (Politico, 5/3).
Last month, Cantor sent a memo to House Republicans saying one of the GOP's main health care priorities for the spring would include efforts to increase funding for the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, which was designed to help sick U.S. residents gain coverage ahead of January 2014, when the ACA's ban on denying individuals coverage because of pre-existing conditions is set to take effect.
In February, the Obama administration announced several cost-saving reforms intended to prevent the $5 billion program from running out of money. HHS later said it was halting enrollment in the high-risk pools because only enough funds remained to cover the 100,000 current enrollees (California Healthline, 4/25).
According to Politico, the bill spurred complaints from GOP members that Cantor was trying to help the ACA, not defeat it (Politico, 5/3).
Cantor Restates Effort To Boost Pediatric Research
In his latest memo, Cantor also reiterated another GOP priority to boost federal funding for pediatric disease prevention research, CQ Roll Call reports (Newhauser, CQ Roll Call, 5/3).
Specifically, Cantor said the GOP will support a bill (HR 1724) by Reps. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) that shifts federal funds from presidential campaigns and party conventions to pediatric research at NIH (Politico, 5/3).
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