Obamacare Fight: Tea Party Republicans Threaten Government Shutdown Over Funding Vote
Obamacare is at the center of a looming fight between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, one that could grind the federal government to a halt.
House Speaker John Boehner plans to allow Tea Party Republicans to bring forward a vote to defund Obamacare, tying funding for the controversial health care reform to a larger government funding bill.
Government funding is set to expire at the end of September, and to keep federal operations moving lawmakers have to approve the stopgap funding bill. For Obamacare opponents, this is seen as a powerful point of leverage in their bid to get rid of President Obama’s signature achievement.
The vote is a reversal for Boehner, who has clashed with Tea Party Republicans during his tenure as Speaker of the House. The Ohio Republican originally intended to send two separate bills to the Senate, one to defund Obamacare which would have been defeated as all other defunding bills have, and another one to fund the government.
Putting the two bills together could mean a government shutdown.
“The law’s a trainwreck,” Boehner said of the Affordable Care Act. “It’s time to protect American families from this unworkable law.”
Obamacare has come under fire by many business owners who say its provisions are confusing and its implementation flawed.
It has also failed to deliver on some of Obama’s promises. In making his pitch for the Affordable Care Act, Obama said that people who are happy with their insurance will be able to keep it, but that does not appear to be the case. Several companies, including Trader Joe’s, have dropped insurance for part-time employees.
In the case of Trader Joe’s, the company notes that new health care exchanges along with federal tax credits and the $500 the company gives to employees will allow them to buy low- or no-cost health insurance. But the company’s current benefits are seen as especially generous, so employees will likely be losing out in the exchange.
The bill to defund Obamacare is expected to be introduced on Friday.
