Senate OKs Republican bill unraveling health care law

Congress has voted dozens of times to repeal or weaken the health law and repeatedly against Planned Parenthood’s funding, but until now Democrats thwarted Republicans from shipping the legislation to the White House.

Earlier in the day, the reconciliation bill faced another political test when Senate Democrats sought to include gun control measures in the wake of the deadly mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. “Today, that ends. Today, a middle class that’s suffered enough from a partisan law will see the Senate vote to build a bridge past Obamacare and toward better care”.

Even before the vote occurred, Democratic operatives seized on it as evidence that the GOP-led Congress is too extreme. The amendment drew wide support from both Republicans and Democrats and passed 90-10.

He also highlighted cuts to Planned Parenthood.

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia chose to side with Republicans on the matter, The Hill reports. Republicans used budget reconciliation to push the legislation through the Senate 52-47. But passage is a significant messaging victory for the GOP, which has been promising for years that they would send Obama a bill that repeals the law. The offer has been rejected by Democrats over 30 proposals they objected to, including “anti-environmental” language and restrictions on Syrian refugees.

The bill also would remove policies that are expected to help slow the growth in health care costs and that have improved the quality of care patients receive.

Critics of the organization, many of whom seek to outlaw abortion in the United States, have falsely accused Planned Parenthood of selling fetal organs and body parts for profit following the release of secretly recorded videos by an anti-abortion activist in July.

With the bill now headed to the president’s desk, those for and against the measure have drastically opposing views on the potential impact in Central Virginia.

“When they pursue these really ideological positions, it does more harm and it is something that they’re going to have to talk about and it’s something we’ll do our job to make sure voters are hearing about”, Passalacqua told RealClearPolitics.

It also seeks to deny funding to women’s healthcare provider Planned Parenthood, which Republicans have been trying to punish for months over accusations that it illegally sold tissue from aborted fetuses. Susan Collins (R). “By twinning it with a defunding of Planned Parenthood, you divide the caucus and muddy the message in my view”.

Instead, McConnell leaned on Cruz, Rubio and Lee to vote yes and sweetened the prospect by crafting an amendment that dramatically beefed up the Senate package. “I look forward to voting to uphold the President’s veto should this misguided legislation come back for another vote in the Senate”. This bill will repeal as much of Obamacare as possible under arcane Senate rules and the narrow guidelines from this year’s budget resolution.