What They Are Saying About Reconciliation
WASHINGTON, D.C.- Congressman Scalise (R-La) spoke with multiple reporters across our state and country this week about the importance of the historic vote in the House to dismantle ObamaCare and defund PlannedParenthood. The bill is on President Obama’s desk.
-The Advocate: Scalise helps House pass bill to repeal Affordable Care Act
By: Mark Ballard
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, says the point of the exercise was to underscore for American voters that a Republican in the White House is the only way to repeal the president’s signature health care plan.
“That’s going to be an important signal that you can do big things like this and all that’s missing is a president who is willing to sign it,” Scalise said in an interview Wednesday.
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Scalise said he was moved by videos released over the summer that purported to show officials with Planned Parenthood, which runs women’s health clinics and is the nation’s largest abortion provider, talking about selling parts of fetuses…Scalise pushed to add Planned Parenthood defunding to the bill that would repeal the Affordable Care Act. “I worked with the leadership team, got the speaker to agree, the majority leader and ultimately we added that to the bill,” Scalise said.
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“This is an important victory for the pro-life movement, as well as for conservatives all across the country who want to see the president confronted with a bill that not only guts ‘Obamacare,’ but makes him confront the problems that Americans are facing all around the country with his failed law,” Scalise said.
-U.S. News: Congress Sends Obamacare Repeal to President
“He has to decide whether he’s going to sign or veto,” added House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La. “It’s going to be an important decision for him to confront – where he can’t change the subject, talk about other issues like gun control – and he’s going to have to actually confront the issue.”
-The Times-Picayune: GOP-led Congress sends Obamacare repeal to the president
By: Richard Rainey
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, who helped devise a plan to use an unusual procedure known as "budget reconciliation" to pass the bill…said he saw in the 240-181 House vote Wednesday (Jan. 6) a path to an end game for the GOP's five-year fight against the health care law: That the lack of a Republican in the White House is all that stands in the way of a full repeal.
"This is an important victory for the pro-life movement as well as for conservatives all across the country who want to see the president confronted with a bill that not only guts Obamacare, makes him confront the problems that Americans are facing all across the country with his failed law," Scalise said Wednesday morning at a press conference, "but also the ability then to defund Planned Parenthood as well, and have recorded votes in the House andSenate, but also have a bill on the president's desk that he has to decide whether he's going to sign or veto."
-The Washington Times: Congress set to send Obamacare repeal to president
“He’s going to actually confront this issue,” House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican, said.
-On WDSU Scalise said: “Just getting that bill on his desk is really important to make the President be confronted with this issue. But at the end of the day if he does veto it, it shows the country that we have the tools in place in Congress [to repeal Obamacare]; the one tool we're missing is a Republican president who's actually willing to sign this into law.”
-WWLTV quoted Scalise: “We have been working hard to get a bill on the President’s desk that forces him to confront the many failures of his healthcare law, while also denying taxpayer funds to groups who perform abortions.”
-WGNO quoted Scalise: “This is an important victory for the pro-life movement, as well as for conservatives all across the country who want to see the President confronted with a bill that not only guts ObamaCare, makes him confront the problems that Americans are facing all around the country with his failed law, but also the ability then, to defund Planned Parenthood as well.”
Here is the background on Congressman Scalise's leadership on getting this important bill to the President’s desk:
- In March 2015, Whip Scalise utilized his leadership position to gather support in the House to pass H. Con. Res. 27, the House Republican Budget. The measure included reconciliation language.
- In May 2015, Scalise praised Senate passage of the joint balanced budget agreement.
-In September 2015, Scalise brought forward the strategy of using reconciliation not only to dismantle ObamaCare, but also to defund Planned Parenthood in the wake of disturbing videos shedding light on the group’s inhuman practices. As he said in the interview with Roll Call, “If one of the objectives is to get a bill on President Obama’s desk that defunds Planned Parenthood, then budget reconciliation is the one way to ensure that happens. This is the most surefire way.”