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Nashville, TN – Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell admitted that Republicans will try health care repeal again if they win in November. In response, Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, released the following statement:
“Somebody slipped Mitch McConnell some truth serum this week because he just admitted Republicans are planning to repeal health care again if they win in November, gutting protections for people with pre-existing conditions. No matter how hard they try to cover it up, Republicans have spent eight years on this health care repeal crusade and keep re-affirming their plans to rip our health care away if voters send them back to Washington. This comes one day after McConnell revealed Republicans will continue to slash Medicare and Medicaid to fund the tax breaks they gave to the wealthy. No more proof is needed: All the crocodile tears from Republicans on the campaign trail about helping people with pre-existing conditions are indeed a ‘crock’ — their leader just said so.”
MITCH MCCONNELL IS ONLY THE LATEST REPUBLICAN LEADER TO ADMIT THAT REPUBLICANS WILL COME AFTER HEALTH CARE AFTER THE ELECTION. IN THEIR OWN WORDS:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: “If We Had The Votes To Completely Start Over, We’d Do It.” “If we had the votes to completely start over, we’d do it. But that depends on what happens in a couple weeks… We’re not satisfied with the way Obamacare is working.” [Reuters, 10/17/18]
President Trump Reiterates That Republicans Will Go After Repeal Again If Elections Go Their Way. “You know, we want to repeal and replace it, and if we get enough Republicans, we will.” [Washington Post, 9/24/18]
Vice President Pence: ‘We Made An Effort To Fully Repeal And Replace Obamacare And We’ll Continue, With Leah Vukmir In The Senate.” “We made an effort to fully repeal and replace Obamacare and we’ll continue, with Leah Vukmir in the Senate, we’ll continue to go back to that.” [The Hill, 8/31/18]
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI): Maintaining Majority In Senate Means Republicans Will “Be Able To Pass Health Care Reform.” “I think the election will have to determine that because, based upon our vote count in the Senate. We keep the House majority in the house, which I think we will, and then you have to have enough of a majority in the Senate to be able to pass heath care reform.” [Roll Call, 9/12/18]
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA): “If We Get More Senate Seats, Which I Think We Will, We’ve Got To Go Back To Health Care.” “‘We’ve got to hold the House, but if we get more Senate seats, which I think we will, we’ve got to go back to health care. Obamacare’s only getting worse. There is no private marketplace for families out there,’ House Majority Whip Steve Scalise.” [Fox Business, 9/12/18]
Senior Senate GOP Aide: Senate Would “Absolutely” Vote Again To Repeal ACA. “A senior Senate GOP aide said the chamber would ‘absolutely’ vote again to repeal ObamaCare but cautioned it would depend on ‘if we keep the House.’” [The Hill, 8/29/18]
Sen. David Perdue (R-GA): On Repealing The ACA, “I’d Love To Have Somebody Take Care Of That.” “‘I’d love to have somebody to take care of that,’ Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) said of repealing ObamaCare.” [The Hill, 8/29/18]
Sen. John Thune (R-SD): It Would Be Nice To Have Members Who Will Help Us Repeal The ACA. “‘If we re-engage in that discussion in some point in the future, it would be nice to have members who enable us to pass it,’ Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune (S.D.) said when asked about the possibility of ObamaCare repeal legislation coming up for a future vote.” [The Hill, 8/29/18]
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI): Hopes Next Senator From Arizona Is “Strong Ally” Who Recognizes “Obamacare Is Not A Proper Solution.” [The Hill, 8/29/18]
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK): If Republicans Expand Senate Majority, Another Repeal Vote Is Likely.“I suppose that it’s all in the numbers, and if you had a significant enough shift in the Senate and you came up with a replacement that really did generate a level of support, yep.” [Axios, 8/6/18]
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL): If Republicans Win In November, Republicans Could Repeal Health Care.“Republicans could repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act next year if the GOP holds onto its majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, told a crowd in Anniston on Tuesday. ‘Assuming this fall turns out as some of us hope it does, and we pick up a majority in the House, we’re also going to pick up two or three seats in the Senate,’ Rogers said.” [The Anniston Star, 8/15/18]
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC): “With 53 Members We Can Get Health Care Done.” [Politico, 7/31/18]
“Repeal Is Like Fight Club, First Rule Is Not To Talk About It.” “Repeal is like fight club,” one GOP operative told Axios’ Caitlin Owens. “First rule is not to talk about it.” [Axios, 8/6/18]
BACKGROUND: IF REPUBLICANS RETAIN A MAJORITY IN CONGRESS NEXT YEAR, THEY WILL TRY TO REPEAL HEALTH CARE AGAIN
The Hill: GOP Lawmakers “Vow” To Try Again At Repeal Next Year If They Keep Majorities. “GOP lawmakers say they won’t have time to hold another vote to repeal the law in 2018 but vow to try again next year if they manage to keep their Senate and House majorities.” [The Hill, 8/29/18]
Axios: “Many Republicans Assume Their Party Will Take Another Stab At Repeal” If Midterms Go Their Way. “Many Republicans assume their party will take another stab at repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act if the midterm elections go their way, even though GOP candidates aren’t making a big deal about it on the campaign trail.” [Axios, 8/6/18]
New York Magazine: “It Is Hard To Think Of A Legislative Priority That Would Rank Higher In [Trump’s] Mind” Than Health Care Repeal. “If Republicans can add a couple more seats, they could give themselves enough margin to overcome the squishy reservations of Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. If they merely hold their narrow majority, they might simply prevail on the two senators to submit. (Murkowski appeared to have been bought off by a special deal for her state last year.) Trump has never stopped talking about the failed repeal vote nor reliving his anger with McCain. It is hard to think of a legislative priority that would rank higher in his mind. A congressional party shorn of its most prominent Trump skeptics, many of whom are retiring, would behave even more submissively toward its leader.” [New York Magazine, 8/6/18]
Politico: With Larger Majority, No Longer Could Collins Or Murkowski Block Health Care Repeal.“With even a slightly larger GOP majority, no longer could Murkowski or her independent-minded brethren like Susan Collins of Maine or Rand Paul of Kentucky effectively dictate which nominees or majority-vote legislation make it through the chamber. Gone, too, would be the constant headaches for Republican leaders sweating an absence, wavering senator or Vice President Mike Pence’s availability to break a tie. Republicans might even have another shot at repealing Obamacare or shrinking the size of the federal government.” [Politico, 7/31/18]
Vox: If Republicans Win In November, “Repeal Could Quickly Be Back On The Agenda.” “It’s not at all out of the question that Republicans will hold on to the House and expand their Senate majority in the 2018 midterms. And if they do, repeal could quickly be back on the agenda. ‘There would certainly be forces pushing for this, so I take it seriously,’ Kim Monk, who tracks health care policy for Capital Alpha. Senate aides say privately that Republicans remain open to taking on repeal again next year.” [Vox, 5/14/18]
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