• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About

Radio America Online News Bureau

‘We’re Repealing One Entitlement and Creating Another’

March 3, 2017 by GregC

http://dateline.radioamerica.org/podcast/3-3-pye-blog.mp3

Conservatives in Congress are increasingly frustrated by what has been leaked about the Obamacare repeal legislation and by what they see as a lack of transparency, even as House Speaker Paul Ryan insists Republicans are all on the same page and predicts unity on a final vote.

For most congressional Republicans, what they know of the repeal is what they read in a leaked report on the purported bill last week.  Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., made headlines by unsuccessfully trying to get a hard copy of the legislation.

Most Republicans don’t know what’s currently being put together.

“I think it’s mostly members of committees with jurisdiction.  You’re talking about members on Energy & Commerce and members on Ways & Means.  That’s probably as far as it goes,” said Jason Pye, director of public policy and legislative affairs at FreedomWorks, which has endorsed the replacement bill authored by Sen. Paul.

“Maybe the broader conference knows the general discussion of what’s going on,” said Pye.  “The actual legislative text is what matters.  That’s where the nuances come into play.”

FreedomWorks shares the frustrations of Sen. Paul and other lawmakers clamoring for details.

“I think Sen. Paul has a point that this entire process is being done largely in secret.  Americans deserve to know what’s going on.  Are we going to see Obamacare-lite or are we actually going to see a real patient-centered alternative,” said Pye.

What would real transparency look like?

“We should be having hearings as the bill is going through.  Why not have debates on C-SPAN while it’s being discussed and being drafted?” asked Pye.

On Friday, Politico reported that GOP leaders hoped to vote on repeal later this month and they were prepared to “steamroll” conservatives into backing the plan.

“They say they have no problem steamrolling conservatives by daring them to vote against an Obamacare repeal that their constituents have demanded for years,” reported Politico.

“‘Conservatives are going to be in a box,” said one senior Republican lawmaker. Trump, the source predicted, eventually will “go out front and … tell the conservatives … they’re either for this or for keeping Obamacare,'” the report continued.

That’s a far cry from the assurance of unity Ryan offered at his weekly press conference on Thursday.

“We’re all working off the same piece of paper, the same plan.  So we’re in sync – the House, the Senate, and the Trump administration – because this law is collapsing.  You can’t just repeal it.  You have to repeal it and replace it with a system that actually works.  That’s exactly what we’re doing,” said Ryan.

“I am perfectly confident that when it’s all said and done we’re going to unify because we all, every Republican, ran on repealing and replacing and we’re going to keep our promises,” added Ryan.

Pye says FreedomWorks is just as eager to scrap Obamacare, but he says how it’s done is vital.

“The speaker said that the repeal and replacement of Obamacare is entitlement reform.  That certainly should be the case but the problem is we’re repealing one entitlement and creating a new one.  You don’t do that as conservatives, especially one who claims to be a fiscal conservative,” said Pye.

He says if the leaked version of the bill is accurate, there is a lot to oppose in there.

“We were surprised to see the Republican version of the individual mandate included in this bill.  We were surprised to see $100 billion in new mandatory spending over the next ten years in this bill.  We didn’t anticipate that.  We didn’t anticipate the new Republican version of the Cadillac Tax in this bill.  We weren’t old those thing,” said Pye.

 

In the end, will leaders twist enough conservative arms to pass the plan?  Pye doesn’t think so.

“Leadership is really who’s in a box right now.  If the 70 conservatives in Congress stick together, if you keep 41 of those guys and maybe a couple more, [leaders] don’t 218 votes to repeal and replace,” said Pye.

“They’re going to have to listen to conservatives in the conference.  I’m sorry.  That’s just the way it is.  And right now, this Lee, Cruz, and Paul trifecta sticks together, [Republicans] only have 52 seats in the Senate.  You’re going to get Democratic votes on either side.  You have to listen to conservatives,” said Pye.

Conservatives are already explaining what they want, namely in bills offered by Sen. Paul and Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C.

“It puts individuals on the same playing field as employers.  It gives states the option for flexibility through Medicaid, allowing them to seek waivers from the Department of Health and Human Services.  It expands [Health Savings Accounts] to the point at which you can pay your health insurance premiums out of that,” said Pye

“Those are patient-center alternatives and consumer-friendly alternatives that improve the health system and truly empower Americans to make their health care choices,” said Pye.

If conservative ideas are now adopted into the replacement bill, Pye suspects Republicans may abandon the effort to pass a repeal and replacement together.  He says passing a repeal similar to the one President Obama vetoed last year might be where the GOP factions find common ground.

“I know everybody wants to get this over with now and I do as well, but there is no difference, fundamentally, between what we did in 2015 and what we should be doing now, other than the disagreements over replace.  If we can’t figure out replace, let’s come back another day, but let’s go ahead and start the process on repeal,” said Pye.

Standard Podcast [ 9:43 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Share

Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: news, Obamacare, reform, repeal, replace, Ryan

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Recent

  • GOP vs. Biden on Energy, Trump Indicted, CBS Silences Reporters
  • Battle Over Billionaires, America’s Shrinking Navy, Biden’s Tall Tales
  • Marshals Told Not to Arrest, Should We See the Manifesto? America’s Spending Paradox
  • The Nashville School Nightmare
  • Athletic Sanity, America’s Plummeting Values, The #NeverTrump Grift Continues

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in