What To Expect From U.S. Congress In 2016

The House is poised to open its legislative year by sending a bill to President Barack Obama’s desk repealing his signature health care law.

The White House has said Obama would veto the repeal bill because it would “take away critical benefits and health-care coverage from hard-working middle-class families”.

The bill on tap for a vote Wednesday afternoon – which the Senate already passed – also would strip federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

The House is set to vote Wednesday on an Obamacare repeal bill that will take apart some key aspects of the Affordable Care Act, such as the individual and employer mandates. I deeply value your input and feedback, and I will continue to listen to your concerns and work as hard as I can to represent our like-minded values.

Senate Democrats awaited final language prior to announcing if they agree with the plan, said a leadership aide on Tuesday night.

The former Arkansas governor insists that large numbers are leaving the GOP because they have lost their faith in their party, which controls both chambers of Congress that passed the controversial bill putting more taxpayer dollars in the hands of the world’s largest abortion provider.

If you’re wondering exactly how many times congressional Republicans have voted to repeal all or part of the Affordable Care Act, I’m afraid I long ago lost count.

Maybe lawmakers will get 2016 off to a more sensible start?

“It is appalling that in their first week back in session the top priority for Republican leaders in the House is rolling back women’s access to preventive health care”, said Dawn Laguens, vice president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

“You can use this bill once a year, and we used it for this”, House Speaker Paul Ryan recently said on Bill Bennett’s radio show. Yes, the bill will have no direct practical impact, and yes, it leaves far too many questions unanswered about what sort of health policy Republicans would prefer to Obamacare, and what to do about the remains of the law left on the books. What would we do without Kevin McCarthy adding such helpful clarity to the debate? Congress will not have the votes to override, and so the bill – like the other 61 attempts – has symbolic value only.

Mr. Ryan’s spokeswoman, AshLee Strong, said House Republicans will have a chance to game out their next steps during a conference retreat next week in Baltimore. He has come under fire for his handling of a scandal in which the agency admitted it targeted conservative groups during the last presidential campaign.

Whether Ryan’s strategy succeeds or not, in the short term he’s certainly taken one for the team.

Even only a few days into each January, most of us know the difference between realistic New Years’ resolutions and those that will be quickly ignored. It will just temporarily prevent the uninsured sick from seeking care, meaning that they will be likely to get sicker, until they are eventually forced to seek emergency care. What that shows us is that they figured another year of ObamaCare and another year of paying for Planned Parenthood were preferable to picking this particular fight with Obama this year.

While Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid agreed he wouldn’t block consideration of these bills, Democrats still have the votes in the Senate to reject them from passing.