Senate Passes Budget Repealing ACA, Planned Parenthood funding

This may come as a shock for those of you who closely follow Congress, but the Senate… wait for it… voted to repeal Obamacare.

Laguens referred to a shooting last Friday by a gunman that left three dead. Congress has voted dozens of times to repeal or weaken the health law and several times against Planned Parenthood’s funding, but until now Democrats thwarted Republicans from shipping the legislation to the White House.

“What they’re doing on this reconciliation is just going nowhere”, said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday. “Everyone knows the result”. The amended version will now head back to the House for the changes to be approved before it can be sent to the White House, according to USA Today.

The Senate rejected an amendment introduced by Dianne Feinstein, a Democratic California senator, that would “would deny people on a federal terrorism watch list the ability to purchase guns”, as Politico describes it, 45 to 54. “It was a bad mistake”, Cornyn said about the way Democrats and the President pushed the bill through.

The bill passed by the Senate would end financial penalties for individuals and companies that don’t follow the law’s requirement that they buy insurance for themselves and their workers.

“Six years ago, Republicans warned the president about the disastrous consequences of Obamacare for millions of Americans”, stated Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) within a floor speech earlier this week amidst the Senate’s legislative debate.

The bill seeks to phase out a major expansion of Medicaid healthcare benefits for the poor under the law and eliminate health insurance subsidies and taxes on medical devices and high-cost plans offered by employers.

“Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, hundreds of thousands of Oregonians have been able to access secure health coverage for the first time, and uninsured rates have fallen to record lows”. That would drive up premiums, prompting healthy policyholders to drop coverage, causing still more rate increases, the government contends.

The bill passed 52-47, with all but two Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats against.

“The pro-life movement, including Operation Rescue, has fought for years to halt public funding to the nation’s largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood”, said Troy Newman, the president of pro-life group Operation Rescue.

The bill would also cut off federal funding to Planned Parenthood, the abortion provider long under GOP scrutiny. “The majority of the American people do not support doling out millions of our hard-earned tax dollars to Planned Parenthood, and with this vote, the will of the people has been heard”.