This week might be the GOP's last chance to repeal ObamaCare


Republicans have just a week to capitalize on the momentum of their redrafted health-care bill before a week-long recess could halt their drive, Politico reports. Some Republicans and White House officials have even pressured Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to cancel next week's recess until all the votes are in line as the push for a repeal of the Affordable Care Act becomes increasingly do-or-die:
House GOP leaders say publicly that they have until around the end of May to pass a health-care reform bill. The reason has to do with arcane but critical parliamentary rules and the sequencing of big-ticket GOP agenda items.The short version is this: Republicans need a new budget in order to pass a tax cut or tax reform package. But once they pass a new spending blueprint, they lose their authority provided by the current budget to approve health-care reform using the majority-vote tool called reconciliation. That means it would take 60 votes in the Senate, rather than 51, to pass a bill — an impossible hurdle given Democratic opposition.In other words, it looks like now or never. [Politico]
"Stay tuned — watch next week — and you will see the repeal and replace of ObamaCare," House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Saturday.
"This is it," an administration official added. "We get it done now, or we don't get it done ever."
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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