CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
July 10, 2012 – 10:34 p.m.
GOP Argues Against Health Care Law ‘Tax Hike’
By Richard E. Cohen, CQ Staff
Republican leaders are now casting the health care overhaul as a damaging tax hike in a weak economy, sharpening their line of attack against the Obama administration’s top legislative achievement as the House prepares to vote on repeal.
The pivot comes in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling largely upholding the law as constitutional under Congress’ taxation authority, an opinion that has allowed Republicans to keep their focus on the economy and avoid walking into a fractious debate over health policy.
The new strategy pushes any GOP effort to legislate an alternative to the health care law — something some politically vulnerable Republican lawmakers would like to see — past the elections. It also leaves the ground open for presidential candidate Mitt Romney to figure out the best way to square his opposition to the federal law with his earlier support for a health care overhaul as governor of Massachusetts.
The maneuvering demonstrates that both parties have moved into election mode and that legislative strategy is closely linked to planning for the upcoming nominating conventions and fall campaign. The GOP’s rhetorical shift also shows how economic themes are likely to dominate the elections.
Republican leaders have left no doubt that they are committed to repealing the health care law (PL 111-148, PL 111-152), and that they expect the issue to be a political winner for them.
“We are resolved to have this law go away,” House Speaker
Republicans expect their latest repeal bill (
“It’s not just Republicans working to repeal Obamacare,” Majority Whip
But the passage of time — and a public increasingly weary of the divisive health care arguments, according to recent polls — also helps explain the Republicans’ new approach. “There is little appetite to revisit this debate,” said Democratic pollster Anna Greenberg.
The Republicans’ focus on the penalties the law would impose on individuals and employers reluctant to purchase insurance coverage helps the party sidestep voter dismay while energizing the GOP’s conservative base. Georgia Republican
The new focus led
Contraceptives Also Under Fire
Republicans also reformulated their opposition to an Obama administration rule that requires religiously affiliated groups to provide free contraceptive services as part of the law’s preventive-care coverage. Rep.
GOP Argues Against Health Care Law ‘Tax Hike’
Initially, conservatives had argued that the administration’s rule stemming from the law violated religious freedoms and would require organizations opposed to abortion to provide such services for their employees.
“Insurers and employers that do not comply with the mandate [to provide drugs and services] could face a federal tax of $100 per day per employee,” said
Economy Remains Focus
House Republicans, meanwhile, have no immediate plan to move alternative legislation and have offered no timeline or framework for replacing the health care law. The House has voted at least 32 times to repeal or eliminate funding for the law since Republicans took control in 2011.
Instead, Republicans are trying to keep their focus on the economy.
“The effort will focus more on messaging, including the harm that the law does to the economy,” said
GOP alternatives would help to “frame the discussion,” with proposals such as measures to limit medical liability, Gardner said.
“It’s important that we work with the Romney campaign,” Gardner added.
Emily Ethridge contributed to this story.