Senate Votes To Repeal ObamaCare, Defund Planned Parenthood

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to pass the Senate approved version shortly, which for the first time ever would send repeal legislation to the President’s desk, although President Obama is expected to veto it. Here are some statements on the passing of the bill from Wyoming’s two U.S. Senators. The vote allows conservatives in the GOP to express their opposition and force a veto, putting the responsibility for any problems with the health law on Democrats.

However, Republicans disagree. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the Affordable Care Act has increased health care costs, limited patients’s ability to choose their doctors and hurt the middle class. “I think Democrats have a particular responsibility to the millions their law has hurt already to help pass (the repeal)”, he said.

On Planned Parenthood, Senator Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat, said the defunding effort was “just one part of the Republican anti-women agenda”. Obama’s law was enacted five years ago; Republicans haven’t produced a detailed proposal to replace it.

The Senate bill would all but erase the health care overhaul by dismantling its key pillars, including requirements that most people obtain coverage and larger employers offer it to workers.

Now, before you give up completely on the Senate, there was one good moment Thursday – the Senate passed a $305 billion infrastructure bill to pay for repairs and construction of highways, rail lines, and bridges.

Now Republicans know that if they win the presidency and hold both houses of Congress, they can strip 89 percent of federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

In a 52-to-47 vote, GOP lawmakers moved to take away the money Planned Parenthood receives from federal taxpayers.

Republicans lack the two-thirds majority needed to override the promised veto by President Obama. Minority Leader Harry Reid said Republicans are “obsessed” with its repeal and need to stop “haranguing” over the issue. “This vote is an important step toward lifting Obamacare’s burdensome regulations and lowering its costs for people across the country”, he said.

Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010, the Republican party has attempted to repeal the law scores of times, mostly in the House. The bill will also abolish the extended Medicaid coverage provided to lower income earners. Johnson also says the federal exchange that Wisconsin uses has narrower and fewer choices for health policies.

In October, three Senate Republicans, Utah’s Mike Lee and 2016 presidential contenders Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas, had said they opposed the House bill because it wasn’t a full repeal of Obamacare.