House conservatives unveil effort to compel full ACA repeal vote

The House Freedom Caucus, a group of more than 30 conservative lawmakers, is working to ensure a vote on a straight repeal of the ACA, reports The Hill.

Rep. Tom Garrett, R-Va., revealed plans Thursday to file a discharge petition on a straight repeal of the ACA. The Hill notes this would effectively "start the process of triggering a vote."

"I commend both the President and Republican leadership for working to replace the monstrosity that is Obamacare. However, we have seen discussions for replacement continue to stall and we must change our approach to reforming healthcare," Mr. Garrett said in a prepared statement.

He added, "The House should lead with an incremental approach by supporting a clean-repeal bill and then enter into replacement negotiations. As such, I just initiated a seldom-used parliamentary procedure to advance H.R. 1436 [to repeal major portions of the ACA] through a discharge petition. The overwhelming majority of my Republican colleagues cast their vote in support of this legislation in 2015, and I have faith they will do nothing short of that now."

The House approved the American Health Care Act to repeal and replace the ACA back in May, while the Senate's repeal and replace bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, collapsed Monday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has since proposed a full ACA repeal strategy that involves repealing major portions of the ACA and initiating a two-year delay to allow for development of a replacement plan. The repeal would come as an amendment to the AHCA, similar to a measure the Senate passed in 2015 that was vetoed by former President Barack Obama.

The discharge petition, introduced by Mr. Garrett, must sit in the House Rules Committee for at least a week, so a vote could potentially take place as early as September, according to the report.

The measure "requires legislation to have been in committee for 30 legislative days. Once that criteria is met, it must receive a simple majority of signatures to advance directly to the floor for a vote," Mr. Garrett's announcement states. The measure introduced this week "must sit in committee for seven legislative days prior to filing of the petition itself."

 

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