House leadership appears to have garnered enough support to pass the Obamacare repeal bill Friday.
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus (HFC) said they were seeking additional information on the reconciliation bill while members of the centrist Tuesday Group also expressed concerns over the timeline of the replacement plan earlier this week.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise said he has been having good discussions with members about what they would like to accomplish with the repeal and replacement plan.
“It’s important we remind everybody across the country why they don’t like this law, how this law has failed them as well as all the broken promises along the way that passed Obamacare are we’re working to give them relief,” Scalise told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “A lot of their (HFC) members are real excited about this vote and some are asking very legitimate question I think they are liking the answers to.”
The HFC has been advocating for the replacement plan to be completed within the next two years and assurance the next budget resolution will take strides to balance the budget. HFC Chairman Mark Meadows, who still hasn’t decided how he will vote, told reporters the group is not taking an official position on the budget
“I think the leadership will give in terms of specificity of what members are wanting to get enough votes to pass it,” he said. “I think there are a few more details we were able to get, one of the details that Speaker Ryan has even gone public with, which was an important thing for us, is we need to be voting for a replacement plan at the same time as we vote for the repeal, and that’s a commitment that’s new that wasn’t there originally.”
Meadows estimated the conference likely has around 18 no votes, less than the 23-vote threshold Republicans need to pass the legislation.
President-elect Donald Trump called on Congress Wednesday to quickly repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it almost simultaneously, a task that could prove to be challenging for lawmakers. But top Republican staffers maintained members are in sync with what Trump is seeking
“The timeline the president said today is still very much on track with what we’re doing and he’s going to be outlining soon items on day one ,” a senior political aide told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
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