KIRSTERS BAISH| President Trump has made it clear from the get-go that he is a man on a mission, and he will do whatever it takes to get things done. Although Democrats and Republicans seem to loathe each other these days, one thing the two parties can agree on is that Congress has NOT been doing their job. No one is more upset with Congress than Donald Trump.
On Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus stated that President Trump anticipates that Congress should be passing the Obamacare repeal-and-replace package before they leave for late summer break. One of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s spokesmen explained that the Senate leadership is continuing to work with the Republican senators along with the Congressional Budget Office to finalize the bill. The Better Care Reconciliation Act is still dealing with resistance from conservatives and moderates. Knowing the bill didn’t have the support it needed to pass through the upper chamber, McConnell delayed the vote.
It was reported by the CBO that the original BCRA would significantly reduce the amount of people who are insured. The estimated number of people who would lose insurance is about 22 million Americans. The deficit would be reduced by $321 billion, and in doing so the average premiums would be lowered by 20 percent throughout the next ten years.
The CBO will receive two revised versions of the BCRA to consider. The first version will contain Senator Ted Cruz’s “consumer choice” amendment. This amendment would let health insurers suggest plans that don’t comply with Obamacare regulations, however, this would only be the case if they were to also offer plans that do comply with Obamacare regulations. The second version will not include any consumer choice amendment.
White House director of legislative affairs, Marc Short, explained that President Trump would be able to show support for the consumer choice amendment. The Cato Institute’s director of health policy studies, Michael Cannon, stated that Cruz’s consumer choice amendment would prove to be the best defense against falling into the pit of nationalized healthcare.
McConnell made a point to note that if Republicans remains deadlocked and are unable to make a decision to pass the Senate leadership’s BCRA, he will be left with no choice but to strike a deal with the Democrats instead. Yikes. It seems like McConnell’s tactic is much different from that of President Trump. With Trump’s recent proposition stating that if Republicans can’t come to a decision to pass the BCRA, he left them no choice but to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Trump is very familiar with twitter, and is no stranger to the social media outlet. With his recent tweet about Congress’s lack of progress in the matter, the President made it very clear that he will need a decision prior to the summer recess. He threatened the Republicans of Congress by saying that their jobs were on the line if there wasn’t a new healthcare plan by the time they take their “vacation.”
His tweet read:
“I cannot imagine that Congress would dare to leave Washington without a beautiful new HealthCare bill fully approved and ready to go!”
We like your style, Trump. These guys can’t possibly think that they really earned a vacation without coming to a conclusion about one of the most important things on all American’s minds. This matter won’t make Democrats and Republicans become best friends, but both parties can agree that Congress had better get their act together to give us something to work with.
The Senators and Congressmen who choose to stay and resolve the issue will be the ones who prove themselves worthy of their esteemed positions. After all, the whole reason they are there in the first place is to make choices to create a better America. How can that happen with no progress?