Georgia Senators vote to Gut Obamacare Spending

In a move that gets Republicans closer to landing a bill repealing Obamacare on President Barack Obama’s desk, the Senate passed a bill Thursday night rolling back key provisions of Obamacare and placing a one-year moratorium on funding for Planned Parenthood. This time round the Republicans were able to pass the bill with a simple majority thanks to the budget procedure called “reconciliation”.

Nevertheless, many Senate and House Republicans see the passing of the bill as a precursor of what is to come should a Republican president be elected in 2016. Three people were killed in a November 27 shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Congress has voted dozens of times to repeal or weaken the health law and repeatedly against Planned Parenthood’s funding, but a bill has never reached the White House for veto.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi said in a debate that the PPACA was “unworkable, unaffordable, and more unpopular than ever. For millions of Americans the law today represents nothing more than broken promises, higher costs, and fewer choices”.

Republicans lack the two-thirds majority needed to override the promised veto by President Obama.

While they favor cutting off federal funds to Planned Parenthood, some conservatives said this week that another approach could be to let states exclude abortion providers like Planned Parenthood from Medicaid payments.

In an interview with Reuters, Pelosi said Republicans left Planned Parenthood out of the offer they sent to her on Tuesday.

Democrats noted that under the law, millions of people have become insured.

The health-care law requires insurers to issue policies and set rates without regard to pre-existing health problems. The group says the videos were deceptively doctored and say it has done nothing illegal. Obama’s law was enacted five years ago; Republicans haven’t produced a detailed proposal to replace it.

It now goes to the House of Representatives, where it is expected to pass. The House passed a similar version on October 23, but must vote on it because the Senate made changes to adhere to budgetary rules. “We have a mandate, I believe, to repeal this bad law”.