House Votes to Repeal Obamacare

The House voted to repeal Obamacare on Thursday for the third time since Republicans took over the chamber in 2011 and the 37th time the House GOP has voted to repeal or defund a part of the bill.

The 229-195 vote included two Democrats who sided with Republicans — Jim Matheson of Utah and Mike McIntyre of North Carolina. All Republicans voted in favor.

In a Congress where spin often trumps legislation, Republicans see a political advantage to keeping the pressure up as the administration tries to get all the moving parts of the law finally working.

Starting this fall, uninsured people who can't get coverage through their jobs will be able to sign up for government-subsidized insurance that takes effect Jan. 1. The rollout promises to be bumpy because about half the states are still resisting the law, and Republicans in Congress won't provide the administration with funds it says are needed for a smooth implementation.

Democrats said the House vote was a pointless exercise. They noted that the ACA — as the law is known — has been upheld by the Supreme Court, and millions are already receiving some benefits, from young adults able to stay on a parent's insurance until age 26, to seniors on Medicare whose high prescription drug bills have been reduced.


Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California said repeal vote is "clear waste of time and of taxpayer dollars."

"Unfortunately, House Republicans seem to think that their main responsibility is to do nothing," Pelosi said.

But Republicans see a soft target in a costly program that continues to divide the country.

They're hoping that implementation problems next year will help the GOP take control of the Senate in the midterm congressional elections and build on its House majority. Part of the political strategy behind Thursday's vote was to give freshmen Republicans a chance to vote on full repeal of what they dismiss as "Obamacare."

"Republicans will continue to work to scrap the law in its entirety so we can focus on patient-centered reforms that lower costs and protect jobs," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

What that alternative would look like, no one really knows, because Republicans have not presented a plan of their own since Obama's law was debated in Congress more than three years ago.

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