By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
On Friday, the House passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) which defunds both the mandatory and discretionary portions of the unpopular Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
If passed by the Senate and signed by the President the CR would keep the government open and would avoid a Government shutdown. Nobody expects that to happen however.
Congresswoman Martha Roby (R) from Montgomery said in a written e-newsletter to constituents said,
“At every town hall meeting and district visit over the last several weeks, the priorities of my constituents was clearly expressed: Congress should do everything it can to stop ObamaCare from being implemented and avoid government shutdown. I’m pleased to report that the Continuing Resolution passed by the House would accomplish both goals. Now, it is time for the Senate to act.”
The conservative Congresswoman continued,
“Recently some senators have expressed doubt about our ability to completely defund and dismantle ObamaCare through the Continuing Resolution process. Even the staunchest opponents of the President’s healthcare law are acknowledging that the political reality in the Senate is not favorable. They may be right. However, at the very least, the American people are becoming engaged in a much-needed conversation about the merits of ObamaCare. The more people learn about this law the more unpopular it becomes. I encourage you to stay engaged in this debate via Facebook and Twitter as it moves forward over the next several days.”
Senator John McCain (R) from Arizona denounced this legislative approach on Thursday. The Senator and former GOP presidential nominee said recently on CNN,
“In the United States Senate, we will not repeal, or defund, Obamacare. We will not. And to think we can is not rational. I will again state unequivocally that this is not something that we can succeed in, and that’s defunding Obamacare, because we don’t have 67 Republican votes in the Senate, which would be required to override a presidential veto.”
Despite the Senator’s pleas House Republicans have sent Senator Ted Cruz (R) from Texas the CR that he requested; but at this point it seems like Senate Democrats would rather bring the government to a standstill than indefinitely postpone the January 1 roll out of the controversial Obamacare policy, even though Obamacare has drawn increasing fire as more of the details have emerged. October is likely to be dominated by political gamesmanship over passing a continuing resolution and raising the debt ceiling yet again.
Congresswoman Martha Roby represents Alabama’s Second Congressional District.
