Senate Republicans Pushing For Health Law Repeal Vote Today
The vote will be symbolic because Senate Democrats are confident they can defeat the GOP amendment in a procedural vote. But momentum continues to build regarding an effort to delete a small, revenue-raising provision of the sweeping law, which could cause its own wrinkles. And, as the law's legal arguments continue to bubble up, some lawmakers are beginning to press Supreme Court justices on the key issues.
The Washington Post: Senate Debates Health-Care Repeal Ahead Of Wednesday Evening Votes
Lawmakers took to the Senate floor, the TV airwaves and to a Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday to heatedly debate the national health-care overhaul ahead of a pair of votes slated for Wednesday evening on repealing all or part of the law. ... McConnell's amendment calling for full repeal is one of two introduced Tuesday aimed at the national health-care overhaul. The other amendment, by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), would repeal an unpopular tax-reporting provision of the law that opponents say overburdens small businesses. That amendment is expected to pass the Senate on Wednesday with bipartisan support (Sonmez, 2/2).
CBS News: Senate Voting on Health Care Repeal Today
Though Senate Republicans are unified behind the effort, they are not close to having enough votes to repeal the law. Republicans campaigned in the midterm elections on a promise to "repeal and replace" the law, and the GOP-led House has already passed a repeal measure (Montopoli, 2/2).
Politico: Mitch McConnell Grabs Opening For Health Care Vote
Senate Republicans promise that the first vote to repeal the health care reform law ... won't be the last strike at President Barack Obama's signature legislation. Senate Democrats are confident they can defeat the Republican amendment to repeal the law in a procedural vote with few, if any, defections (Haberkorn and Toeplitz, 2/1).
The Hill: Schumer: Some Dems May Support Repeal
[I]f several Democrats do vote for repeal, it could show cracks in the party's united defense of the reform law. With almost two dozen Democratic senators up for reelection in 2012, votes on healthcare reform over the next two years could play a major role in their campaigns. However, Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.), a pair of centrist Democrats with tough reelection battles ahead, have already come out against repeal (Millman, 2/2).
The Associated Press: Senate GOP Pushes For Repeal Of Health Care Law
The bill's supporters and critics agree on one point: The Supreme Court rather than politicians will ultimately decide the law's fate. Two federal judges have already ruled it partially or wholly unconstitutional, but two others have upheld it. "We pledged to the American people that we would seek to repeal this 2,700-page bill that seeks to restructure all of American health care and put the decisions in Washington," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday, shortly before he formally launched his effort. McConnell said all 47 members of the party's rank and file are behind the move, but Majority Leader Harry Reid said the law's supporters will prevail. "It's not going to go anywhere," predicted the Nevada Democrat (Espo, 2/2).
Roll Call: Democrats Expect To Block Repeal Vote
Senate Democrats on Tuesday vowed to slam the door on Republican attempts to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law while accusing the GOP of turning the bipartisan, jobs-oriented Federal Aviation Administration bill into an unnecessary political fight to satisfy the tea party (Drucker, 2/2).
McClatchy: Here's One Part Of Health Care Law Sure To Be Repealed
President Barack Obama mentioned [the provision that business owners will have to report purchases of goods or services of more than $600 from single vendors during a calendar year] in last week's State of the Union address, calling it "a flaw in the legislation that has placed an unnecessary bookkeeping burden on small businesses." Two of the Senate's most powerful members, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., are sponsoring a bill to repeal the requirement. But there's one sobering problem with repealing it. The provision, known informally as the 1099 law after the Internal Revenue Service form, was adopted because it's supposed to raise money (Lightman, 2/1).
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