After deciding to only attempt a partial repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Republicans in the House of Representatives are catching flak from some members of their party, including two prominent GOP presidential candidates.
It's not surprising that Ted Cruz, the Texas senator and presidential candidate who engineered the 2013 government shutdown over Obamacare, is accusing GOP leadership of breaking its promise to voters to fully repeal the landmark health legislation.
It is more surprising, however, to see Cruz joined by fellow presidential candidate Marco Rubio, who is increasingly viewed as a top contender to win the votes of moderate and establishment Republicans. Unlike Cruz, for instance, Rubio has vocally disapproval of Donald Trump's many provocative statements.
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"Each of us campaigned on a promise to fully repeal Obamacare and a reconciliation bill is the best way to send such legislation to President Obama's desk. If this bill cannot be amended so that it fully repeals Obamacare pursuant to Senate rules, we cannot support this bill," Cruz, Rubio and Utah Sen. Mike Lee said in a joint statement Thursday.
Those who are pushing for full repeal insist that the feat can be accomplished through reconciliation, an unusual method of legislating that, unlike other types of bills, cannot be indefinitely blocked in the Senate by a filibuster.
Whether a bill can be subject to reconciliation is based on the determination of the Senate parliamentarian, a nonpartisan civil servant. The rules say that only budget bills can be passed through reconciliation, and only if they reduce the deficit. But what legislation is budget-related and reduces the deficit is subject to a wide range of interpretations.
Going a step further than other conservatives, Cruz said that he doesn't care how Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate parliamentarian, interprets the legislation. If she deems reconciliation impossible, she should be ignored or fired, he told Roll Call.
"At the end of the day, the Senate parliamentarian is an employee of the Senate," Cruz said.
The criticism from Cruz and Rubio puts GOP leadership in both the House and Senate in a tough spot. The apparent threat of an intra-party battle comes as Paul Ryan moves towards taking over as speaker of the House after saying he wouldn't take the position unless the most conservative House members displayed a willingness to compromise. Republicans may now feel torn between showing themselves capable of getting a bill passed and proving to theirbase that they are not selling out one of the party's top policy goals.
Whether or not the bill passes, and whether it includes a full repeal or not, the PPACA will be the law of the land until at least the end of President Obama's presidency, as Republicans have nowhere near enough votes to override his veto of their legislation.
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