Heritage Foundation spin-off urges congressional leaders to join Steve King’s petition to repeal Obamacare

Heritage Action for America, the Heritage Foundation’s grassroots advocacy spin-off, is urging congressional leaders to sign on to Iowa Rep. Steve King’s discharge petition, aimed at repealing Obamacare.

Since its filing on June 16, 130 representatives have signed the document which, if a majority of members support, would force House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring King’s health-care repeal bill, H.R. 4972 “To repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” to the floor for an up-or-down vote. Given that those who sign the petition will almost certainly vote for King’s bill, if 218 approve the petition, Obamacare will be on its way to repeal.

In a sign that the motion is gaining traction, Heritage Action released a letter this week, signed by leaders from 74 grassroots organizations, urging members of Congress to sign King’s petition.

Michael A. Needham, Heritage Action’s chief executive, told The Daily Caller that the public may hear more about the petition come election time, when candidates will have to go on the record as being for or against Obamacare.

“In New York, for example, Republican House candidates have already called upon Congressman Michael McMahon to sign and get him on the record,” he said, referring to congressional hopefuls Michael Allegretti and Michael Grimm’s challenge to the Democrat incumbent — who voted against the initial health-care reform bill — to actively work to repeal Obamacare.

McMahon has refused.

“With repeal efforts gaining momentum, we will see more of this as we get closer to November,” said Needham.

King told TheDC that his discharge petition will separate the “boys from the men.”

“My thought process was, first we need to repeal it,” King said. “The second question is, how do you actually get this repealed in an environment where the Democrats have a huge majority and a president who would veto? Well the discharge petition is the only way we could even get a vote and then we will see if the 34 Democrats who voted against Obamacare were really against it or just doing so for political expediency.”

“In 2012 I suspect we will elect in a Republican whose first order of business will be to repeal Obamacare,” he said. “In January 2013 Congress will convene and between the 3rd and the 20th, I’d like to see the House and the Senate vote to repeal it. And then, when we swear the new president in on the West Portico of the Capitol, I want him to take the oath of office with a pen in hand and before he even shakes hands with the chief justice I want that new president to sign the repeal of Obamacare.”