Obama Vetoes Bill to repeal Health Care Law

For the first and possibly last time as president, Barack Obama on Friday officially rejected an attempt by congressional Republicans to scrap much of his signature health care law and strip Planned Parenthood of its federal funding – by breaking out a veto everyone knew was coming.

The bill largely passed on partisan lines because the Republican majority used the push for budget reconciliation in December to bypass a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.

Ryan said passing the measure provides a clear path to repealing the president’s landmark health care law – which has raised premiums for most Americans, increased costs for small businesses and caused many American to lose access their doctors – when a Republican is elected to the White House. Expect health care to be a major campaign issue, with voters faced with a choice between keeping it and scrapping it – and, possibly, replacing it with a GOP-crafted alternative.

The Washington Post reports that Democrats have begrudged the votes as “political soundbite[s]”, since the bill’s ultimate fate is decided, at least for now. Unfortunately, he chose to veto the bill, signaling that he is still not listening to the American people and instead is doubling down on protecting his legacy. And when President Obama vetoes the bill, it will underscore once more that the president continues to support a failing law.

About 17.6 million previously uninsured people have gained coverage under Affordable Care Act provisions including expanded Medicaid, marketplace insurance plans, and young people allowed to stay on their parents’ plans through age 26, the Department of Health and Human Services estimated in September.

Republicans have argued that the law doesn’t work.

A two-thirds vote by both the House and Senate is needed to override a presidential veto, and analysts consider that a high bar since Democrats are united behind the president. The group has been a beacon of controversy during the campaign season and is a frequent target of the religious right. His extremism on abortion and his unflinching opposition to every pro-life policy, as well as his willful ignorance of the multiple documented criminal acts of Planned Parenthood, show that he’s committed to paying back the abortion giant for the $12 million it spent to get him reelected in 2012.

“Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the country, doesn’t need taxpayer dollars, especially in light of the selling of baby body parts and possible partial birth abortion violations”.

Information for this article was contributed by Gardiner Harris of The New York Times; by Toluse Olorunnipa, Kathleen Miller, Billy House and Zachary Tracer of Bloomberg News; and by Darlene Superville and Erica Werner of The Associated Press.