The American Health Care Act does not repeal Obamacare, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said Sunday, and he wants to know why Republican lawmakers do not put the clean repeal order they voted for just over a year ago on President Donald Trump's desk rather than agree to House Speaker Paul Ryan's plan.
"We believe President Trump will sign it," the Ohio Republican, a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, told Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace. "Understand, the Speaker's plan doesn't repeal Obamacare . . . it doesn't bring down premiums and doesn't unite Republicans. Why not do what we all voted for just 15 months ago, clean repeal and then get focused and build some momentum to actually replace Obamacare with something that will bring down costs?"
Wallace noted Obamacare can be repealed under the AHCA with 51 Senate votes, as it is part of budget reconciliation, while it would take 60 votes to replace it otherwise.
As is, said Jordan, the new bill is going through in three phases, and there are things in its third phase that will need more votes.
"We want to put more in this first reconciliation bill, actually get after the insurance regulations that we think are driving up the cost for working-class families and middle-class families," Jordan said. "We can take that to the Senate and maybe have a ruling with a parliamentarian there."
The key, he continued, is to repeal Obamacare, not create more of it, as mandated coverage is still in the new bill, which calls for a penalty in the form of higher premiums for people who drop and then resume their coverage.
Jordan said Republicas promised the American people that Obamacare would be repealed and replaced with something that brings down the cost of insurance, and the AHCA does not do that.
"We didn't tell the American people we were going to repeal Obamacare but keep some of the taxes in there," he said. "We didn't tell them we were going to repeal Obamacare and take the Medicaid expansion and extend it. We didn't tell them we were going to repeal Obamacare and get rid of the mandate and bring back the 30 percent penalty in the bill. We didn't tell them they would have an insurance subsidy in the bill either."
Every major conservative group opposes the AHCA, becuase it does not solve the Obamacare issues.
"The president has been very clear that he wants negotiation," Jordan said. "We are working on that. We will be at the White House on Tuesday. We are looking at those issues that we think can make this bill consistent with what we told the American people we were going to do."
Meanwhile, voting for the new bill as is is not a binary choice, but he does not plan to vote for the measure as is.
"I represent three quarters of a million people, as do all of the members," Jordan said. "We would like a chance to amend it and make it consistent with the message we told the voters we are going to accomplish."
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