GOP Leaders Remain Resolute On Quick Repeal Vote Despite Unease Brewing In Ranks
The lawmakers are facing dissent from their own party by members who are concerned that there is no plan on how to replace the health law after Congress votes to repeal it. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats protested Republicans' actions with nearly six hours' worth of speeches on the floor on Monday night, and HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell warns that the GOP's promises on health care are too good to be true.
The Associated Press:
GOP Anxiety Mounts Over Voiding Health Law Without Own Plan
The burgeoning Republican divisions come as the GOP-led Senate pushed toward a final vote this week on a budget that would prevent Democrats from using a filibuster to block a later repealing Obama's overhaul. That's crucial because filibusters take 60 votes to halt in a chamber that Republicans control by only a 52-48 margin. (1/10)
Politico:
GOP Leaders Vow To Plow Ahead With Obamacare Repeal
House and Senate Republican leaders are forging ahead with plans to repeal Obamacare then replace it later — dismissing mounting pressure from their own party to delay the repeal vote until they have a fully formed alternative. But they’re hoping to ease internal concerns that Republicans will be attacked for acting hastily — worries that accelerated after libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) bucked party leadership on the matter last week and received a blessing from President-elect Donald Trump. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and their top lieutenants in both chambers are now considering a strategy that includes adding some replacement provisions to the repeal bill, according to lawmakers and aides. (Bade and Everett, 1/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
Donald Trump Pressures Republicans To Repeal, Replace Health Law At Same Time
President-elect Donald Trump is increasing pressure on congressional Republicans to vote at the same time to both repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, but party leaders haven’t indicated any shift in strategy to make that happen. Mr. Trump’s push, combined with doubts from different factions of Republicans, could end up slowing down party leaders’ efforts to rapidly overturn much of the law. (Peterson and Bender, 1/9)
Politico:
Freedom Caucus Looks To Delay Budget — And Obamacare Repeal
The House Freedom Caucus wants to delay a vote on a budget that includes Obamacare repeal instructions, a potential setback for the GOP’s — and Donald Trump’s — top priority. The group of hardline conservatives wants more information about what a repeal bill and Obamacare replacement would look like before they support the fiscal 2017 budget. (Bade, 1/9)
The Hill:
Senate Dems End ObamaCare Repeal Protest After 5 Hours
Senate Democrats ceded back the Senate floor early Tuesday morning, ending a more than 5-hour protest of GOP efforts to repeal ObamaCare. Democrats painted the late-night talkathon as the first test against a unified Republican-led government as the majority party works to nix the healthcare law without a replacement plan. (Carney, 1/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Democrats And Their Allies Are Planning A Huge Fight To Save Obamacare
Energized by Republican moves to roll back the Affordable Care Act, leading patient advocates, consumer groups, labor unions and Democratic officials are mobilizing a nationwide campaign to defend the law and protect millions of Americans who depend on the law and other government health programs. The campaign, which is quickly ramping up ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next week, aims to reshape the debate over the law after years in which the public conversation has been dominated by its critics. (Levey and Memoli, 1/10)
The Washington Post:
Obama’s Top Health Official Warns Of Dangers Of Health-Care Law Repeal
The Republicans’ strategy to repeal the Affordable Care Act risks sending health care in the United States “over a cliff,” the government’s top health official warned Monday as part of an unprecedented campaign by the Obama administration to use its final days to preserve the centerpiece of its domestic legacy. (Goldstein, 1/9)
The Washington Post:
Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Who Shepherded Obamacare, Talks About Its Uncertain Future
As secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for the past two and a half years, Sylvia Mathews Burwell has overseen the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid, the Food and Drug Administration and a wide range of social services from Head Start to family assistance programs. In a conversation with Tom Fox, Burwell discussed her concerns about impending changes to the Affordable Care Act, the presidential transition, her approach to leadership and playing basketball for President Obama’s national security adviser. (Fox, 1/9)
The New York Times:
Muted Response From Health Lobby As Affordable Care Act Faces Repeal
The speed of Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act has stunned health industry lobbyists, leaving representatives of insurance companies, hospitals, doctors and pharmaceutical makers in disarray and struggling for a response to a legislative quick strike that would upend much of the American health care system. (Pear, 1/9)