Washington, DC – “OK, I’m President! Hey, I’m President!” US President Donald Trump said at the White House, asking, “Do you believe it?” These words reflect the mood of the event at the Rose Garden this afternoon (May 4)
There were dozens of House Republican leaders gathered behind him in the Rose garden to cheer, hoot and holler over a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, but the fact is that is yet to happen. The festivities were to celebrate a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, after it scraped through the House by four votes.
“We want to brag about the plan,” Trump said but House Speaker Paul Ryan as a matter of fact admitted there are miles before the legislation gets a Senate version and then necessary reconciliation between that and the House’s bill.
House Republican leaders riding on a 217 to 213 final tally on the GOP healthcare proposal, descended on the White House to take a victory lap in the Rose Garden with a beaming President Trump.
Republicans struggled for months (years as the efforts to make it started during Obama years) to stitch together a legislation that would garner the required 216 yes votes for repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. Experts and negators point out that the new GOP legislation would unravel many of the earlier law’s popular consumer protections, do away with the individual mandate, and overhaul the insurance market.
“This bill delivers on the promises that we have made to the American people,” said House Speaker Republican Paul Ryan from Wisconsin at the end of an impassioned floor debate.
Highlighting the long wait of the GOP crowd, Ryan said the GOP plan would increase competition, lower costs and return power to the states and to individuals. On the other hand, if Obamacare continues, Ryan warned of “even higher premiums, even fewer choices, even more insurance companies pulling out” of the individual market.
Ironically, the latest measure was neither subjected to hearings nor debated in committees and was hurried through after a mere three hours of debate. Not even an effort was made at bipartisan compromise.
More House Republicans Address the Audience in the Rose Garden:
Tejinder Singh, Editor, India America Today & White House Correspondent