Senate adds repeal of Obamacare mandate to tax reform bill
It now appears as if the Senate is prepared to add a repeal of the Obamacare mandate to the tax reform bill now being debated. Here is more:
The proposed Republican tax reform bill will include repeal of Obamacare’s individual mandate requiring most Americans to have some form of health insurance or pay a tax penalty, GOP leaders said Tuesday.
The decision means that Republicans, yet again in 2017, will attempt to gut a key element of the Affordable Care Act.
So far, such efforts have failed because not enough Republican senators have backed the idea of repealing the mandate, which would lead to an estimated 13 million more people lacking health insurance.
“We’re optimistic that inserting individual mandate repeal would be helpful,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. on Tuesday afternoon after a lunch meeting with the Republican conference.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said, “I’m pleased the Senate Finance Committee has accepted my proposal to repeal the Obamacare individual mandate in the tax legislation.”
“Repealing the mandate pays for more tax cuts for working families and protects them from being fined by the IRS for not being able to afford insurance that Obamacare made unaffordable in the first place,” Cotton said. “I urge the House to include the mandate repeal in their tax legislation.”
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Tex., said, “We’re going to repeal the tax on poor Americans.”
Normally I am opposed to adding amendments to legislation which are not related to the original legislation but the mandate has been ruled a tax by the Supreme Court and therefor this is an appropriate place to try this repeal.
This will draw the ire of the Democrats but more than likely no Democrats were going to support the tax reform bill anyway. The Republicans were hoping to sway a couple of vulnerable Democrats into voting for the legislation just in case there were any Republican defectors but this most likely will end that possibility.
So the question becomes, will this sway the usual Republican suspects who might defect from voting for the legislation to vote for it, thereby eliminating the possible need of any Democratic support, or will they continue to break their campaign promises simply because they do not want to hand Donald Trump a victory?
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
I’m glad it was added. The deal is dead due to the same handful of recalcitrant Republicans who have no spine, and rather have the Dems in charge, but at least it will be stronger as it fails.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Sadly I am afraid you are right…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I believe many GOP senators are staring death in the face as a result of their refusal to repeal Obamacare. They deserve to be packed off to Siberia for their lies and betrayal. The tax bill is a bad joke. I’m only awaiting news to hear that the politicians have exempted themselves from its provisions as usual.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Repealing Obamacare was one of their big promises. They had seven years to come up with something and were not ready for prime time. I think you are right, that alone is going to hurt many of them.
LikeLiked by 2 people
They’re too busy wining & dining, doing photo-Ops and investing all their ‘hard earned’ under the table dealings, how can they concentrate on doing their job ~ understandable. Now they’re just ‘whining.’
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yep, you have to have priorities I guess…
LikeLike
Of course McConnell and company like this amendment since it seals its fate and promises it will be DOA in concert with Ryan and his phony tax plans and the senates back room machinations we are on the road both parties have paved for us: Single Payer Health Plan/Insurance.The american people haven’t the good sense or the inmate intelligence to rationalize that the same sort of bureaucracy running the VA will be in charge; with congress exempted.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yeah, I guess this is another “we tried” moment that ends in failure…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on Brittius.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you.
LikeLike
You’re welcome.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Even skeletons have backbones!
This is a bit off topic but I think some will ‘see’ the analogy.
The Light has a language all it’s own!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Politicians as roaches? Apologies to roaches everywhere.
LikeLiked by 2 people
At least the roaches serve a purpose in the circle of life…
LikeLike
“La Cucaracha”
(The strange lyrics to this song)
The cockroach, the cockroach,
can’t walk anymore
because it’s lacking, because it doesn’t have
marijuana to smoke.
The cockroach just died
now they take her to be buried
among four buzzards
and a mouse as the sexton.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Interesting, I never knew the lyrics.
LikeLike
Yes they are like cockroaches. John 3:19: ” that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
LikeLiked by 2 people