Politics

House Passes Reconciliation Bill To Dismantle Obamacare

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The House voted 240-189 largely along party lines Friday to pass a reconciliation bill that will dismantle key Obamacare provisions and defund Planned Parenthood for a year.

The legislation eliminates the individual and employer mandate, the Cadillac tax, the medical device tax and the Independent Payment Advisory Board.

Rep. Collin Peterson, a pro-life Minnesota Democrat, was the only member of his party to vote with Republicans.

“With this bill, we can finally confront the president with the reality confronting working families every day: higher costs and lower quality,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. “We can put on the president’s desk a bill that will dismantle Obamacare and lay the foundation for a patient-centered system. This bill would give patients more control over their health care, and now I urge the Senate to approve it.”

The measure will have a difficult time passing the upper chamber, with some conservative members saying it does not go far enough.

Sens. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee released a joint statement Thursday coming out against the measure for not fulling repealing the Affordable Care Act. Without their support, every other Republican member in the Senate would have to vote for the legislation to reach the 51 votes needed for it to pass.

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