Conservatives Force House Leaders to Put Defund Gimmick on Ice

Blog Articles · Sep 10, 2013 · Budget and Spending

The most recent development on the defund Obamacare effort is that House leaders have punted the continuing resolution (CR) until next week. This is good news considering the "cynical ploy" they originally intended to use this week. And what was the ploy they had in mind?

They were planning to allow House members to vote on a "clean" CR that included a separate House concurrent resolution defunding Obamacare. The Senate could then simply kill the concurrent resolution and vote on the "clean" CR, leaving Obamacare funding untouched.

That's not good enough - they weren't going to pull the wool over anyone's eyes.

AP described the would-be ploy in the following terms:

But in an unusual twist, the measure would be decoupled when presented to the Senate and is designed to permit the Democratic-led chamber to advance the must-do funding measure to the president as a "clean" bill that's free of the assault on Obama's signature health care law.

As it stood, though, Republican leaders would not have been able to garner the 217 votes that would pass the measure through the House:

The complicated plan landed with a thud among many tea party conservatives seeking to use the must-pass funding bill to spark a last-ditch battle with Democrats and Obama on the health care law. Health insurance exchanges are slated to begin functioning on Oct. 1.

That would have been a symbolic vote that would not have met the needs of the American people. We need our representatives to stop Obamacare, not just to pretend to do so.

We need a real assault on Obamacare - one that defunds and stops the law completely - because Obamacare is an assault on our freedom.

Fortunately, this ploy has been delayed. Now Congress needs to build up the courage to stop Obamacare by defunding it before it's too late.

Congress needs to get off the ropes and put the pressure where it belongs - on President Obama and his allies in Congress who want socialized healthcare.

cleardot.gifHeritage President Jim DeMint and Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham put it best in the WSJ (sub. req'd):

Elected leaders in both parties should summon the courage to put their political futures on the line, because the future of America is truly on the line. Politicians who oppose ObamaCare should not vote to fund it. Those who want a socialized health-care system should vote to fund it. There is no middle ground and no place to hide.