All night Senate "Vote-a-rama" will set Obamacare repeal in motion

[groundloop]

Source: CBS News

The mechanism Congress will use to undo Obamacare is the arcane budget process known as “reconciliation.” This enables Senate Republicans, who hold a slim majority of 52 - 48, to get around the requirement for a supermajority of 60 votes to pass the repeal. Under reconciliation, they just need a simple majority. But it still won’t be easy.

On Wednesday, starting at around 6:30 p.m. ET, Senate Republicans will take the first step by passing the budget blueprint for the current 2017 fiscal year, along with the reconciliation bill, both of which will just require a simple majority. However, both measures are also subject to unlimited amendments, which are invariably stacked until the end and result in an hours-long series of votes that typically stretch until after midnight. This is called “vote-a-rama.”

It’s not the repeal itself -- it just sets the repeal process in motion. And it also won’t carry the force of law -- it’s just a blueprint for Congress, and the president will not be signing it. Usually budget resolutions make projections about spending and taxes. The current measure is a “shell” bill that projects almost $10 trillion in new debt over a decade, but enabling action on repeal. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a strong fiscal conservative, has railed against fellow Republicans about adding to the debt.

One major complication in this ACA repeal process is that reconciliation bills operate under special rules, the most important of which is that its provisions need to have an impact on the budget or else they can be scuttled for being extraneous. This is a huge issue in the case of “Obamacare,” since some pieces of the law, such as mandating that insurance companies cover people with pre-existing medical conditions, can’t be modified in a fast-track reconciliation measure.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/all-night-senate-vote-a-rama-will-set-obamacare-repeal-in-motion/

---

One major part of ACA which could be killed under reconciliation is the subsidy, that would effectively end a major portion of ACA and mark the start of its' demise. tRump and many of the ratfucker repubs in congress hate Pres. Obama so much that they'll screw over the American working class just to take away part of Pres. Obama's legacy.

Folks, we really need an all-out push RIGHT NOW on the email accounts and telephones of our congress critters explaining what we like about the Affordable Care Act and why they'd better not get rid of it.

[Flatpicker]

1. Really we don't, and we probably shouldn't

I'm not trying to be evil, really I'm not.
But this is what the American Voting public (at the local and national level) want.

I'm tired of stopping the right from shooting its foot off.
This is going to suck, but we need to feel the pain as a consequence of our actions.

The Republicans and their followers want Obamacare to go away. OK. Now what?
Those who are going to hurt the most are those in states who vote predominantly red.

I believe in fighting, but I'm not fighting for those who insist to do self harm anymore.

[groundloop]

2. Gee thanks.... what about those of us who happen to live in red states because of our jobs?????

Sure, if enough people get screwed we might eventually, someday, maybe pass something as good or better. But in the meantime, for the next twenty years or whatever, I and many others nearing retirement age will suffer because of this. I was just beginning to look into the possibility of being able to semi-retire if I could get a health insurance subsidy (which would free up a good paying technical job for someone who's looking for work)

This isn't about fighting to protect repubs from themselves, it's about fighting to protect a large step forward that's helping all of us.

[Flatpicker]

3. You are right

Fight at the local level, make sure everything from dog catcher to governor is blue.

I get what you are saying. I do. And I'm not trying to be heartless. (I'm one of the uninsured right now myself)
Go to the market yourself, talk to your friends and see if it's possible to set up a group plan.

Hell, if it's possible use DU'ers to see if you can create a group.

But, end of the day, we end up hurting because we have been trying to take the unwilling and show them the "greater good", and it's not working anymore.

When you have morons who want to repeal Obamacare but not the ACA, we can't win that fight. It's shoveling shit against the tide.

Fight local, force change from the state to the national level. Top down policy doesn't work in the US. Too much ignorance.

[groundloop]

6. Like Pres. Obama said last night, our democracy is in danger because we have lowest voter turnout...

of any 'advanced' democratic country. We have the 'ruling' class doing everything in their power to keep people from voting instead of encouraging them to vote, we have gerrymandered voting districts that give a huge advantage to the ruling class......

It's gonna' be a hell of a fight to take our country back.

[Crash2Parties]

13. Maybe that low turnout is due to, I dunno...voter suppression efforts?

[lostnfound]

20. "Too busy or conflict schedule". Europe has time off and better life balance

http://www.statisticbrain.com/voting-statistics/

Also the registration is an issue. Our turnout is quite high as percent of registered voters. People move within the U.S., they need new registrations. People move within Sweden or Belgium or Norway, I bet they are still registered?

[wordpix]

24. unfortunately, the majority of the 85% of US voters who can vote don't know how to read,

view something besides Breitbart and Faux, research or analyze.

[flamingdem]

5. You have a terrible attitude towards something that helps many

including me!

If it's shot down the chaos will mean a lot of suffering, please don't root for that

[Flatpicker]

7. If you say so

I'm not rooting for it, I'm telling you to do something about it at a level that can do something.

I hate what has happened, but every time we hold off a disaster, the Mitch MC's and Paul R's of the world get another term because their local voters don't feel the pain from their actions.

Each time they get re-elected because nobody hurts and each time, we have to rally round to stop this stupid shit. The stupid shit has to end with these people being run out of Washington on a rail, and that won't happen if the status quo remains.

I don't know how else to do it anymore except for letting the voters reap what they have sown.

[flamingdem]

9. I think healthcare is not the right place for that to happen

there are too many innocent people and children who will suffer.

Other areas, yes I agree with you though healthcare will hurt the deplorables the most. They'll see the wall doesn't get built for one thing..

[Flatpicker]

10. I just

Don't see what else can hurt as much.

I hate that it has come to this. There are times I wish that those who believe in progressive values could all move into the same states so that we had a solid divide between so called red and blue areas.

It's not realistic and still children would suffer. I hate that it has come to this.

I can't understand people who can turn a deaf ear to the suffering in their own home. These people do. I have to think that any person willing to hurt their own is less than human. These congressmonsters who wish to repeal are truly inhuman.

[flamingdem]

11. Things might not go badly for them even if they hurt people

if they control the media.

Sadly we are in defense mode, we have to salvage now not make worse.

I live in California but if I lived in a Red state I'd probably want things to implode no matter what

[wordpix]

22. how will the R's control media when Trump is whining about CNN fake news

that his very own alt-righter Bannon espouses?

[Missn-Hitch]

12. Enjoyed the debate. I am with you. I hate it but it has to be.

Why is the red/blue divide unrealistic? I have been dwelling on this question for 5 years.

I think it is becoming more realistic and I think it can be done without another civil war. WE, as a country, will not unite. I'm afraid our current body politic is untenable.

Damn. What a sad state of affairs. A complete 180 with many 360's ahead.

Cheers anyway.

[wordpix]

23. "letting the voters reap what they have sown" - the voters voted 2.8 million more votes for Hillary

don't blame the voters! Blame the Repuke fuckers who don't care if sick people go bankrupt, lose their homes and are out on the streets dying

[xor]

15. Clinton won the popular vote by a at least a couple millions...

So we can say more than half of the population does not want this. I'm not sure your assessment is fair at all.

[Feeling the Bern]

17. H.L. Mencken said it best: Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and

deserve to get it good and hard.

On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.

[Skittles]

19. THE MAJORITY OF THE AMERICAN VOTING PUBLIC VOTED FOR HILLARY

[Flatpicker]

25. IT DOESN'T MATTER

Because at every level from dog catcher to Senator these states have voted Rethug.

The change isn't coming from the POTUS. It's from the same guys who have already tried this over 40 times. People who have been reelected time and time again because their constituents never feel the results of their vote because we have always been able to stop them.

Can't you see that the problem is Local?
These Congresspeople need to go away, be voted out by their residents.

The people who vote for them yet want progressive values, need to understand that this is NOT going to happen if they continue to vote in these people.

[Skittles]

26. YOU SAID THIS IS WHAT THE VOTING PUBLIC WANTED

IT ISN'T

even idiotic voters have yet to understand this is not what THEY want, either

[Flatpicker]

27. How

Do they understand it if they don't see the results of their vote?

Explaining logically hasn't worked.

[Skittles]

28. to HELL with them, they are a LOST CAUSE

we need to concentrate on stopping gerrymandering / voter suppression, and increasing voter participation

[flamingdem]

4. I'm horrified and I knew it - subsidies have not been mentioned much

and all of a sudden tonight they decide?

Well that puts me out of my health insurance plan.

They don't care about those of us who are individual and need the subsidy
They want this money for tax cuts.

But I've read subsidies are popular, 80% approve, must be why they are trying
to ax them so fast.

[LeftInTX]

8. my beautiful newborn granddaughter too

[xor]

16. Not to mention I'm sure they will repeal the protections about preexisting conditions

and limits on how much insurance companies can charge. So now people who may be relying on subsidies will lose their coverage, and then later if those people with preexisting conditions try to get coverage, they will not be able to due to there being a gap.

[Crash2Parties]

14. Budget impact cheat:

"...the most important of which is that its provisions need to have an impact on the budget or else they can be scuttled for being extraneous. This is a huge issue in the case of Obamacare"

Except that previously (6 days ago / Jan 3rd) they simply banned the Budget Office from calculating the cost of Obamacare repeal. Therefore, no impact on the budget.

[wishstar]

18. What they want to kill in ACA is the higher taxes on wealthier that help pay for subsidies

They want to quickly remove the taxes imposed by ACA regardless of the budget problem that causes in paying for subsidies. They will hold off on directly changing subsidies for now since the most unpopular aspect of ACA is the cost of premiums that are being reduced by subsidies.

[wordpix]

21. KARMA, repukeliCONS --- throwing million$ of sick people out on the streets/bankrupting them

so they can pay for an operation will come back to bite you.