GOP pushes bill unraveling health care law through Senate

If the House, as expected, sends this bill to Obama, it would be the first to reach the White House and get vetoed. So, to Republicans, even though there’s a pileup of stuff Congress has to get through in the next couple of weeks – like funding the government, passing a highway bill and extending tax breaks – making Obama veto a bill that undermines his health care law and Planned Parenthood is worth their time. The White House has pledged that the president will veto it.

Republicans blame the bill for surging health care costs and insurers abandoning some markets. “Do they meet with them?”

Earlier this week, centrist Republican Sens.

Similarly, Portman spokeswoman Caitlin Conant said Portman is “pleased” to support a bill that defunds Planned Parenthood and redirects its millions of patients to community health centers.

Lauren Passalacqua, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said Republicans are talking about “taking away health services” through both Medicaid and Planned Parenthood and said it’s an issue Democrats will highlight in 2016 races. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida would support the bill.

At odds with Senator McConnell’s assertion that Americans are “under attack” and being hurt is the lack of urgency written into the newest Kill Obamacare bill. Democrats in the Senate widely criticized the Republican effort to repeal the president’s signature healthcare law in the week leading up to the vote. Sen. Federal dollars can not be used for abortions except for rare exceptions.

Planned Parenthood, a long-time target of anti-abortion forces, has come under fire after secretly recorded videos showed group officials discussing their provision of fetal tissue to scientists. The group says the videos were deceptively doctored and say it’s done nothing illegal.

As with Obamacare, Senate Democrats have blocked recent efforts to defund the organization so the reconciliation bill became the GOP’s best option to move the measure.

Democrats proposed a handful of amendments aimed at bolstering gun control, including a proposal to expand background checks and another measure that would have prohibited people on the federal terrorism watch list from purchasing guns and explosives. The vote failed 48-52.

The Senate bill also repeals the over-the-counter medicine tax, the prescription drug tax, an annual fee on health insurers and the tax on indoor tanning services.

“Today, Senate Republicans fulfilled our promise to end the negative consequences of Obamacare by repealing the president’s unaffordable health law”, said Utah Sen.

“It’s either repeal or nothing”, Sen.

Democrats were also unable to block the GOP measure, which was brought to the floor under budget reconciliation rules that prevented a filibuster.

“We hope that it can actually start re-frame the way we talk about these atrocities in our society and certainly discourage others that similar actions will be taken less seriously than it deserves”, said Ilyse Hogue, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Republicans argued the voters were on their side.