The House will vote next week on measures to delay the 2010 health law鈥檚 individual and employer mandates, House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) speaks to the media during his weekly news conference on Capitol Hill, July 11, 2013, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
The votes would be the 听time House Republicans have voted to repeal all or part of the law.
Congressional Republicans saw a new opportunity to听kill or weaken President Obama鈥檚 signature policy achievement last week. That was when听administration officials 听that the law鈥檚 requirement that employers with 50 or more workers offer insurance in 2014 or pay a fine had been postponed for one year.
Boehner and other Republicans have said it is not fair for Obama to give employers an extra year to comply but keep in place the law鈥檚 鈥�,鈥� a requirement that most Americans have insurance coverage by Jan. 1 or pay a fine.
鈥淭he president has delayed Obamacare鈥檚 employer mandate but hasn鈥檛 delayed the mandate on individuals or families. I think it鈥檚 unfair and indefensible,鈥� Boehner said at his weekly news conference.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e a software company making billions of dollars in profits, you鈥檙e exempt from Obamacare next year. But if you鈥檙e a 28-year-old struggling to pay off your student loans, you鈥檙e not,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e a big bank or financial company, you don鈥檛 have to comply with Obamacare next year, but if you鈥檙e a single parent trying to make ends meet, there鈥檚 no exemption for you.鈥�
The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee held a Wednesday听on the delay and has announced a for July 17. The House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee is also on July 18. In the Senate, Republicans, led by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., 听have asked Obama to the law鈥檚 implementation.
Administration officials and proponents of the law say the delay will cause few people to go without coverage because most businesses with 50 or more workers 听health coverage to employees.听 Advocates also stress that the law鈥檚 online marketplaces, or exchanges, are still on track to start Oct. 1, and the law鈥檚 subsidies will听help eligible low-to-moderate income Americans听afford health care coverage in 2014.
Echoing the sentiment of many Democrats, Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., the ranking member of the ,听said Wednesday that Republicans听who dislike the law see the delay as 鈥渁 chance to rip Obamacare apart.鈥�
鈥淭he irony of objecting to the delay of a program you鈥檝e been trying to stop is, no doubt, lost on this room,鈥� McDermott said during the hearing.听 鈥淲e鈥檙e even going to get a 38th vote to dismantle it, just for good measure.鈥�
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