Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Boehner, McConnell Outline Agenda, Efforts To Repeal ACA High On The List
The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: The GOP Agenda 101: Taxes, Health Care, Islamic State
House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) and soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) offered a bulleted agenda in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Thursday. Parts of their agenda were specific, while others were more thematic. Here’s what they said, and what it revealed about their plans. Q: Are Republicans going to repeal the health-care law? A: They will certainly try. In the second paragraph of their op-ed, they say they renew their “commitment to repeal Obamacare, which is hurting the job market along with Americans’ health care.” There will be votes – or attempts at votes – to repeal the entire health-care law, maybe right off the bat. But Mr. McConnell said at a press conference Wednesday that he knows Mr. Obama won’t let them repeal the actual law, so they’ll have another strategy. This includes more targeted measures to repeal parts of the law, such as the “medical device tax,” which a number of Democrats have even tried to jettison. The two also wrote that they will try to “restore the traditional 40-hour definition of full-time employment.” (Paletta, 11/6)
Politico: John Boehner, Mitch McConnell Vow To Kill Obamacare
House Speaker John Boehner and incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, outlining their legislative vision for the last two years of Barack Obama’s presidency, are vowing to try to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Wednesday evening fresh off the Republican Senate takeover and major GOP House gains, the leaders largely maintain their commitment to reaching legislative compromise and cutting through Washington paralysis. (Topaz, 11/6)
