Conservative warns McConnell to not give up on ObamaCare repeal
By Alexander Bolton - 07/07/17 07:05 PM EDT A leading House conservative is warning Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) he should not quit fighting to pass legislation to repeal and replace ObamaCare through the Senate.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, is not happy about talk that Senate Republicans might give up that effort and instead work with Democrats on legislation to shore up troubled insurance markets.
“If we’re waving the white flag on something that we’ve campaigned against for many years, it is not a good sign for what comes down the pipe. How many white flags will we raise just when the going gets rough?” Meadows told The Hill in an interview.
“It’s incumbent on us to work, to negotiate and find a happy medium that gets 51 votes in the Senate, 218 votes in the House and send it to the president,” he added.
Meadows is reacting in part to comments McConnell made Thursday that suggested he might be getting closer to throwing in the towel on the healthcare effort.
“If my side is unable to agree on an adequate replacement, then some kind of action with regard to private health insurance markets must occur,” McConnell said at a Rotary Club meeting in Kentucky.
McConnell’s statement is one of several recent signals that the Senate bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, is in trouble.
Conservatives and moderates have dug in their heels this week over a controversial proposal sponsored by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) to allow insurance companies to sell health plans that don’t comply with federal requirements as long as they sell options that do qualify.
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http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/341068-conservative-warns-mcconnell-to-not-give-up-on-obamacare-repeal
