Republicans threaten health care repeal

Last March, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act  with one of the closest votes in history, a 219-212 tally.

Now their decision is threatened with promises of repeal.

Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who is expected to become the new Speaker of the House of Representatives following the Republican takeover last week, vowed last Wednesday to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

“I believe that the health care bill that was enacted by the current Congress will kill jobs in America, ruin the best health care system in the world, and bankrupt our country,” Boehner said in a news conference. “We have to do everything we can to try to repeal this bill and replace it with common sense reforms to bring down the cost of health care.”

The 219 votes that passed the bill were cast by the Democratic majority. All 178 Republicans in the House voted against it, as well as 34 Democrats.

Now there are 239 Republicans in the House and 189 Democrats.

Mitchell Krumm, a political science graduate student, said to overturn the act, a new bill would have to be drafted and passed by both the House and the Senate then signed by President Obama.

If President Obama refused to sign such a bill — and Krumm said he believes Obama would — a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate would be needed to overturn his veto.

“Given that the Democrats still control two crucial steps to repeal in this process (the Senate and the presidency), it is impossible to actually repeal the bill at this time,” Krumm said.

However, Mary Beth Lombardo, also a political science graduate student, said though the act cannot yet be repealed, it might undergo significant change.

“It is very likely that Republicans could find support from moderate Democrats in Congress, and possibly from President Obama too, to make adjustments to the law,” Lombardo said.

Krumm said the promises of repeal coming from members of the House only refer to work done within the House of Representatives, which is only one step of three needed for repeal.

However, Krumm said House members are threatening to de-fund the new health
care programs.

Krumm said he believes a repeal would be favored by the majority of Americans.
“Republicans oppose the bill because they feel that it does not address the real problems that need reform,” Krumm said. “On the other hand, many Democrats also feel that the bill does not reform the correct areas.”

Lombardo said many polls have shown that certain provisions of the act, such as children staying on parents’ insurance until they reach 26, have been favored by a majority, however.

“From a strategic standpoint, Republicans may not want to repeal the law completely, but rather prioritize what they feel are the most unpalatable areas of the bill and work to change those,” Lombardo said.