In making his rounds on Capitol Hill today, President Trump made it clear that if Republican members of Congress refused to vote for the American Health Care Act (the AHCA also known as ObamaCare 2.0), they would “lose their seat.”
Trump specifically called out the Chairman of the Freedom Caucus Mark Meadows and even not so jokingly said, “I’m gonna come after you” if he “keeps it up.”
The conservative media, along with Speaker Paul Ryan and President Trump have been referring the AHCA as the “repeal and replacement” bill for ObamaCare, however the description is patently false.
The bill is an amendment to the Affordable Care Act that is limited to only budgetary changes through the legislative process known as “reconciliation.”
Rather than truly repeal ObamaCare, Paul Ryan chose to go the easy route to avoid a filibuster in the Senate that would require 60 votes to close (assuming the Democrats could put up a fight).
Instead of repeal, the reconciliation bill requires only a majority to pass both houses.
As a result of the easy-out chosen by both Ryan and Trump, ObamaCare will stay in full effect and as the Cato Institute has said, the AHCA only “applies a new coat of paint to a building that Republicans themselves have already condemned.”
However, Trump, who arguably has a shallow understanding of limited government and pro-liberty principles, fell for the plan that Ryan and his Congressional colleagues are attempting to sell to the public as complete “repeal and replacement.”
The AHCA does not even come close to repealing ObamaCare and President Trump would be smart to recognize that reality before threatening members of Congress who are dead set on keeping their promise to voters to actually repeal the monstrous legislation.
If the AHCA passes both houses, it will be an overt attempt to scam voters who have fought for repeal for seven years.
Those conservative and libertarian members, including Rand Paul, Mark Sanford, Mark Meadows and Dave Brat, will be know as being among only a handful of elected officials who stood by principle and voted down RyanCare in order to keep their promise to America.
Unfortunately, this will be President Trump’s biggest disappointment among supporters as it fails to follow through on his repeated campaign promise to “Repeal and Replace” ObamaCare.
The details of the AHCA includes no cross border competition, and is not expected to reduce the cost of insurance for Americans. Additionally, it still includes subsidies to millions of Americans in the form of tax breaks.
While the Congressional Budget Office claims the proposal will save $323 billion over a decade, the non-partisan agency claims that premiums to individuals would increase 15% to 20% until 2020 – on top of the massive increases of ObamaCare.
Given that the CBO estimated that ObamaCare would originally cost $1.76 Trillion, Ryan and Trump’s proposal will still cost taxpayers $1.43 TRILLION. The proposal is just $323 billion less than ObamaCare . . . while premiums still rise and the entitlement class continues to build.
If President Trump were to stand by his campaign promises, he would be in lockstep with Rand Paul and the Freedom Caucus on this issue, rather than rubbing elbows with Paul Ryan and his class who have deceived American voters whenever given the chance.
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