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Less than 48 hours after President Obama and Democrats managed to pass a comprehensive health insurance reform bill, Republicans are already launching an effort to repeal it. The push for repeal is being led by Sen. John McCain, who plans to use procedural maneuvers to extend the length of the reconciliation process in the Senate. After some initial wavering, Senator Scott Brown–the Massachusetts Republican whose election made this process necessary–is also open to the repeal movement. The GOP may even force the new proposals into a separate House of Representatives vote.
Republican Senator Jim DeMint will shortly file legislation to repeal the affordable health insurance law, making it ineffective. However, the prospects of actual repeal are unlikely. It would require a full two thirds of both chambers of Congress to repeal a bill signed into law by the President, a threshold they probably won’t reach. Their best shot is to bog the Senate’s reconciliation vote down with amendments to such a degree that House Democrats who grudgingly voted in favor of the Senate bill become disenchanted (not to mention, further worried about re-election). Then, the parliamentarian, Alan Frumin, is responsible for upholding or rejecting their challenges.
Tags: democrats, health insurance, healthcare reform, jim demint, john mccain, obama, republicans, scott brown
