Remember how well it went over with the Republican base when Sen. Mitch McConnell said a GOP Congress
couldn't realistically do anything to eradicate Obamacare? Well, he's had a change of heart and is now pulling out all the stops to prove himself wrong.
From Politico:
In high-level strategy sessions on Capitol Hill, Republicans are going through reams of historical information and sitting through marathon slide show presentations, trying to figure out how to gut Obamacare through a complicated budget process that requires only a simple majority — a sign of how seriously they’re taking their best shot yet at dealing a long-term blow to the health care law.
This whole process includes "three giant binders" that detail budget battles as far back as 1986 and a "28-page PowerPoint presentation." Sounds like he's serious. Naturally, what they're talking about is every party's favorite go-to in the Senate when your policies will never find enough bipartisan support to reach the 60 count: reconciliation. But even if McConnell manages to work that procedural magic, Obama will obviously veto the bill. So why bother?
Republicans are eager to use a special procedure that might let them kill at least a large piece of the law — potentially the Medicaid expansion, subsidies for purchasing health insurance or even the individual mandate — with only a simple majority.
Whether Republicans can navigate the byzantine Senate rules successfully will set a key precedent: It will show voters exactly how they would execute a strategy to gut the health care law should they take back the White House and keep control of Congress in 2016.
So in part, it's an exercise in whipping the base into a kill Obamacare frenzy for 2016.
There's two potential glitches. Along with stripping people of health care, the GOP is particularly interested in giving away goodies to big business through corporate tax reform. No one seems to think they can use the reconciliation process for both, so they have to choose one—which is basically a choice between getting votes for 2016 (repealing Obamacare) and filling GOP campaign coffers (corporate tax reform).
The other glitch? The Republican-led House and Senate will have to be in lock step on the budget, which means herding all those House GOP rabble-rousers.
First, the House and Senate must agree on an overall nonbinding budget resolution, which sets overall tax-and-spending guidelines for Congress to follow.
Naturally, Republicans are hoping the Supreme Court will dismantle the Affordable Care Act for them in a ruling on
King v. Burwell next year.
As they weigh their options, Republicans are closely monitoring a significant Supreme Court case, King v. Burwell, which the court is expected to rule on in June. The case will determine whether people in 37 states can continue to receive tax subsidies to help them buy insurance, a key aspect of the law.