Ryan working with more conservative lawmakers to pass health care bill
WASHINGTON- House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said he and fellow GOP Congressional leaders are working with more conservative lawmakers to address concerns over the Obamacare repeal and replacement bill.
“What we’re doing is listening to all the people in our conference and making sure that we can make good changes that would improve the bill, refine the bill-the big pieces are all there,” Ryan said in response to a question at the National Review Institute summit in Washington, D.C. on Friday.
The Speaker also said President Donald Trump has been effective in bridging the divide between traditional Republican lawmakers and more conservative members of the party.
Ryan has faced blowback from members of the House Freedom Caucus over certain provisions contained in the American Health Care Act such as inclusion of refundable tax credits to compensate for the elimination of federal tax subsides that under the Affordable Care Act are allocated to those who cannot afford to pay their monthly premiums.
Freedom Caucus Members also objected to the bill’s Medicaid expansion provision, which allows for a continuance until 2020. They want to halt the continuance by the end of the fiscal year.
Ryan and fellow House Republican leaders have stated the health care bill cannot please every GOP lawmaker because it must conform with the budget reconciliation process so as to avoid a Senate filibuster.
The reconciliation process would allow the bill to bypass the 60-vote threshold required for the replacement component and instead pass with a simple majority.
President Trump on Friday met with members of the Republican Study Committee, which is mostly comprised of the party’s more conservative lawmakers, in attempt to convince them to support the legislation.
“I just want to let the world know I am 100 percent in favor and these folks…they are tough and they love their constituents and they love their country- these folks were no’s, mostly no’s yesterday and now every single one is a yes,” Trump told reporters following the meeting.
Reported compromises said to have been discussed include allowing states to mandate that Medicaid recipients perform work in exchange for their benefits as well as a plan to rewrite the refundable tax credit provision so as to provide more lucrative benefits for seniors.
The American Health Care Act has been approved by the House Ways and Means Committee, the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Budget Committee.
The House Rules Committee also must approve the legislation before it is cleared for a floor vote.
House GOP leaders have said they expect the bill come to the floor by Thursday.
This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News
Bryan is an award-winning political journalist who has extensive experience covering Congress and Maryland state government.
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