Obamacare fight set to dominate 2017 agenda

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Mike Pence huddled with lawmakers on Capitol Hill today to gear up for the first fight of 2017: repealing Obamacare.

Following a meeting with the Republican conference, Pence said President-elect Donald Trump will waste no time in keeping his promise to nix Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA).

“My message today is that we are in the promise-keeping business,” Pence said. “This will literally begin on Day One. Before [Inauguration Day] is over we expect the president-elect will be in the Oval Office taking action.”

Pence and top Republican lawmakers insist the framework to repeal and replace Obamacare is already under construction, and Trump expects a replacement bill on his desk by Feb. 20. But in possibly his last Capitol Hill meeting as president, Obama urged Democrats to stand together and parry attacks on the ACA at every turn.

After a bicameral pep-talk from Obama, top Democrats unveiled their new mantra for the 2017 Obamacare fight: “The Republican plan will ‘Make America Sick Again.’”

Flanked by leaders of nearly every Democratic congressional caucus, new Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Republicans are biting off more than they can chew and won’t be able to stomach the backlash of unraveling the ACA.

“The first big fight of this new Congress will be over healthcare. Republicans are plotting a full-scale assault,” Schumer said. “Republicans will create chaos in the healthcare system because they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They have no idea what to put in place of the Affordable Care Act.”

Trump said on the campaign trail he is not in favor of gutting expensive entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security—which all connect to the ACA. This morning in a series of tweets, Trump mentioned the fallout of Obamacare and urged lawmakers to be careful while crafting a replacement plan.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., told reporters this morning if Trump wants to keep his word he should proactively tell GOP lawmakers not to send him a repeal bill that doesn’t protect entitlements.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Congress will work hand-in-hand with the incoming Trump administration to ensure the healthcare system transition doesn’t create new hardship for Americans.

“We don’t want to pull the rug out from anybody,” Ryan said. “[But] we must remember this—this law has failed. Americans are struggling. The law is failing while we speak.”

Ryan insisted Republicans don’t want anyone to lose their insurance in the process but the Obamacare repeal can’t wait.

Yesterday, the Senate Budget Committee unveiled a budget resolution bill that aims to repeal the ACA and block taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. This is the first step in the once-per-year allotted reconciliation process, which can expedite legislation to the president’s desk.

In order to vote on a proposed piece of legislation in the Senate, lawmakers must have a 60-member threshold to prevent a filibuster. But through reconciliation, the Senate can proceed with a simple majority.

Republicans hold 52 Senate seats and could pass a repeal bill, assuming no more than two members defect.

Schumer told reporters he predicts Democrats will remain unified against the repeal process and Republicans will lose support in their own circles if they don’t attach a replacement plan to the repeal bill.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., already announced he will not support repeal legislation without a viable replacement plan.

Reporters peppered Ryan and Pence for details about their plan to replace the ACA, but neither disclosed anything concrete.

“We have a plan to replace it, we have plenty of ideas,” Ryan said. “And you’ll see as the weeks and months unfold what we’re talking about.”