“One more time, with feeling! The Republican-led House voted yet again Thursday to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law, knowing full well that won’t stop it. Only months away from the rollout of coverage for uninsured Americans, it was the 37th attempt in a little more than two years by House Republicans to eliminate, defund or partly scale back the Affordable Care Act.”
“Forty-eight percent of U.S. small-business owners say the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) is going to be bad for their business, compared with 9% who say it is going to be good, and 39% who expect no impact… Similarly, 52% of owners say the ACA is going to reduce the quality of healthcare they and their employees receive. This contrasts with 13% who feel it will improve the quality of care their employees get, and 30% who see no impact.”
“So, if repeal is not a viable short-term option, reveal must be. Dissecting Obamcare’s defective anatomy while offering alternatives is the way to get our health care system back on track. That’s why the two committees we chair will continue our aggressive oversight, exposing Obamacare’s failures – and discussing ways to provide more affordable health care to all Americans. What have our efforts ‘revealed’ so far?”
“Reps. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) and Tom Price (R-Ga.) said their bills are needed in the wake of the IRS’s confirmation that it applied extra scrutiny to conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. Forbes called that a form of “bullying” by the IRS, and said it’s a reason why Congress should approve his bill, which would prohibit the hiring of any new IRS officials to implement ObamaCare.”
“Following recent revelations that agents in multiple IRS offices, including tax officials in Washington, targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny, a number of former and current Republican legislators are already counseling caution about the agency’s role in administering the law. Concerns about the agency’s oversight of the health law are well-founded—and not only because of general concerns about the agency’s judgment.”
“The Affordable Care Act is sure to survive the latest vote scheduled for Thursday by the House of Representatives to repeal it — since the Senate doesn’t plan to take it up and President Obama would veto it if it somehow reached his desk — but the administration’s signature legislative achievement still faces serious perils ahead.”