Speaker Paul Ryan’s prediction came true just a few hours ago when the House approved the AHCA bill with a razor thin 4-vote margin, passing finally 217-213.
Though the bill does not officially repeal Obamacare, it does rework the bulk of Obama’s signature legacy.
What’s of greater intrigue now is whether the bill will survive the Senate where Democrats are almost certain to filibuster the Republican measure.
Will the GOP exercise another nuclear option and kill Democrat stonewalling again?
It’ll be a banner showdown.
Here’s more from Breitbart…
House Republicans passed a revised version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) on Thursday.
The bill passed after moderate Republicans fretted this week about how well the bill will protect patients with pre-existing conditions. Many, including former Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), previously came out against the bill, but now support it after GOP leaders agreed to add an amendment adding $8 billion to help cover people with pre-existing conditions.
The vote comes after a tumultuous process for the bill, which has seen previously scheduled votes pulled after Speaker Paul Ryan failed to accumulate enough Republican support. Speaker Ryan received widespread criticism after drafting the bill in secret and retaining many parts of Obamacare. Pundits dubbed the original bill, “Ryancare.”
House Freedom Caucus chairman Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) stepped up and brokered a revised version of the bill, known as the MacArthur amendment, along with Tuesday Group co-chairman Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ). The addition of the amendment collected enough Republican votes to pass the bill.
Meadows’ efforts in no small part seem to have succeeded where Ryan failed, rallying his House Republican colleagues behind a years-long campaign promise to repeal and replace Obamacare–despite the fact that this bill does not constitute a full repeal of the previous president’s signature law.
Vice President Mike Pence, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and others have worked alongside congressional Republicans, especially Meadows–who has emerged as a force in the negotiating process so strong that some have begun calling him the acting speaker of the House in the wake of Ryan’s failures–to bring the new bill to the brink of passage.
