Art Kelly's 60 Second Scoop! Obamacare handed a small but important Setback

Mr. Art Kelly is a great treasureto the conservative movement! Be the best-informed person your friends know! In 60 seconds or less What's Happening with Seniors Benefits Congress Hands Obamacare a Setback by Art Kelly | 3/26/2013 Congress has dealt a setback to Obamacare by denying funds that are necessary for full implementation of the law. The House and Senate have passed HR 933, the Continuing Resolution for federal spending for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2013, which severely handicaps the implementation of the health care law. The House passed this legislation 267-151, with 214 Republicans and 53 Democrats voting for it. 14 Republicans and 137 Democrats voted against it. HR 933 denied the request from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for an additional $949 Million to implement Obamacare. And because the law locked in the sequester, the current funding level for the health care law was further reduced as well. When the bill reached the Senate, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and 20 cosponsors offered Senate Amendment 30, to prohibit the use of any funds to carry out Obamacare. That amendment was defeated 45-52. All Republicans voted for it and all Democrats voted against it, with 3 Democrats not voting. The Senate did amend HR 933 in various other ways, but the sequester was left untouched and no attempt was made to add the $933 Million that HHS wanted to administer Obamacare. The bill then passed the Senate 73-26 on March 20, with 20 Republicans and 53 Democrats voting for it. 25 Republicans and 1 Democrat voted against it. With only 45 Republicans in the Senate, this outcome was the best that could reasonably be hoped for. The House then approved the Senate amendments 318-109, with 203 Republicans and 115 Democrats voting yea. 27 Republicans and 82 Democrats voted nay. Meanwhile, the House and Senate have both passed different versions of the budget for Fiscal Year 2014. H. Con. Res. 25, by Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI), provided no funding for Obamacare. It passed the House 221-207 with 221 Republicans and no Democrats voting for it. 10 Republicans and 197 Democrats voted against it. The House-passed budget was immediately offered as Senate Amendment 433 to the Senate budget, S. Con. Res. 8, but it lost 59-40, with 40 Republicans and no Democrats voting for it. 5 Republicans and 54 Democrats voted against it. On March 22, Senator Cruz tried again to de-fund Obamacare with his Senate Amendment 202, but it was defeated 54 to 45. All 45 Republicans voted for it, while 54 Democrats voted against it. Conservatives did achieve an overwhelming victory when Senate Amendment 297 by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) (pictured above), to repeal the Obamacare tax of 2.3% on medical devices, was passed 79-20. All 45 Republicans and 34 Democrats voted for the amendment, while 20 Democrats voted against it. Senate Amendment 297 removes the revenue from the tax, $29 Billion, to fund Obamacare for budgetary purposes, but a separate bill must be enacted to actually repeal the tax. Still, the amendment served as an important test vote to determine the strength for a future vote on a bill to repeal the tax. Senator Hatch said, “The importance of this vote cannot be overstated. For the first time, Democrats and Republicans have come together in recognizing how bad this tax is. We cannot stop here. We must continue the fight to get rid of this tax." And Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) remarked, “It's the beginning of the unraveling of the Obama health care law.” On March 23, the Senate Budget, S. Con. Res. 8, passed the Senate by one vote, 50-49. Voting for it were 50 Democrats and no Republicans. Voting against it were all 45 Republicans and 4 Democrats. Since this is the first time the Senate has passed a budget since 2009, it isn’t clear what the next step will be. It appears the House and Senate budgets are irreconcilable. It’s possible a new continuing resolution may be needed to fund the government beyond October 1, which is the start of the Fiscal Year 2014. If 2013 funding levels are continued into 2014, that would be a good outcome for conservatives—and opponents of Obamacare. Go Here to Post a Comment The complete Seniors Benefits newsletter is at http://www.60secondactivist.com/content/congress-hands-obamacare-setback The previous What's Happening with Conservatives and the Tea Party: A Coming War: Sarah Palin vs. Karl Rove The previous What's Happening with Seniors Benefits: Obamacare Destroying Small Medical Practices Follow Art Kelly on Twitter @ArthurKellyJr Click for previous issues of both newsletters. Forward this message to persons who may be interested in this newsletter. Thanks! My60SecondScoops, 60SecondActivist.com www.60SecondActivist.com Sent from: 60SecondActivist.com 9625 Surveyor Ct., Suite 400, Manassas, VA 20110 This message was delivered because the content filter score did not exceed your filter level.

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