Democrat Party News
The Daily Signal provides Democrat Party news with reporting, analysis, and commentary on elections, legislation, and progressive agendas.
-
- News
Conservative House Freedom Caucus Could Block Obamacare Plan From Passing
With 25 of its members prepared to oppose the House GOP’s plan to repeal and replace Obamacare on Thursday, the House Freedom Caucus says it has the votes needed to block the bill from advancing out of the House. But Republican leaders in the lower chamber have entered into 11th hour negotiations with conservatives and…Melissa Quinn -
- Opinion
As Republicans Debate Health Bill, Let’s Remember Why Americans Want Obamacare Repeal
With Congress enmeshed in determining the “what” of Obamacare repeal—that is, what gets included in the Republican bill—pausing to revisit the “why” of Obamacare repeal offers important guidance for the path forward. While Obamacare has been politically polarizing from the beginning, the broader public opposition to the law is not driven mainly by partisan animus….Edmund Haislmaier -
- News
House Conservatives: Obamacare Repeal Bill Still Needs Major Changes
Members of the House Freedom Caucus said the leadership-backed Obamacare repeal legislation, which is slated to go to vote Thursday, is far from where it needs to be to gain their support and lacks the votes to pass the lower chamber. The powerful conservative group was joined by GOP Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ted Cruz…Juliegrace Brufke -
- News
Nearly 200 State Lawmakers Are Pushing for Changes to GOP Obamacare Repeal Plan
As House Speaker Paul Ryan works to satisfy the concerns of conservative and more liberal Republicans opposed to the GOP’s Obamacare replacement plan, more than 180 state lawmakers are joining the chorus of voices with issues with the bill. The state legislators, who represent 25 states, sent a letter to Ryan and Senate Majority Leader…Melissa Quinn -
- News
Despite Support From Some Conservatives, Freedom Caucus Remains Opposed to Obamacare Plan
A group of conservative lawmakers came out in support of the House GOP’s Obamacare replacement plan Friday, but even with their backing, an influential bloc of conservatives remain opposed to the bill. President Donald Trump held a meeting Friday in the Oval Office with members of the Republican Study Committee to discuss the health care…Melissa Quinn -
- News
After Paul Ryan Admits Obamacare Plan Needs Changes, Conservatives Hope to Strike Deal Uniting Party
Conservatives in the House are proceeding with cautious optimism as they continue negotiating the bill that repeals and replaces Obamacare following an admission from House Speaker Paul Ryan that the legislation needs to undergo necessary “improvements and refinements.” The concession from Ryan comes just a week after the Wisconsin Republican told his fellow Republicans the…Melissa Quinn -
- Opinion
Planned Parenthood Will Keep Obama’s Parting Gift Unless Congress Acts
The clock is ticking for Congress to reverse President Barack Obama’s parting gift to Planned Parenthood. The House acted last month, but the Senate must take action as well to undo Obama’s move. In the waning weeks of the Obama administration, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services submitted a final rule….Melanie Israel -
- News
Which Parts of the Obamacare Replacement Face Trouble in the Senate
House Speaker Paul Ryan has cautioned against making significant changes to GOP leadership’s Obamacare replacement plan for fear the bill would run afoul of Senate rules. But some Republican senators and health policy experts say the bill in its current form already wouldn’t pass muster with the Senate’s parliamentarian, who decides whether provisions of legislation…Melissa Quinn -
- News
Obamacare Replacement Bill Would Reduce Number Insured as Well as Deficits, CBO Says
The Obamacare replacement plan offered by House Republican leadership eventually would lower health insurance premiums and reduce federal budget deficits, although 24 million Americans no longer would have coverage, the Congressional Budget Office says. In a report estimating the cost of the plan, released late Monday, the CBO projects the American Health Care Act would reduce budget…Rachel del Guidice -
- News
What One Key Lawmaker Says Voters Will Judge GOP Over in Obamacare Repeal
For Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., the success of House Republican leaders’ Obamacare repeal and replacement plan, as well as the success of President Donald Trump, hinges on one thing: the cost of insurance premiums. “We ultimately will be judged only by one factor: if insurance premiums come down,” Meadows told The Daily Signal. “If the…Melissa Quinn -
- Opinion
We Must Keep Our Promise to Fully Repeal Obamacare
“For five years, Senate Democrats have blocked our efforts to repeal Obamacare,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Jan. 6, 2016. “That ends today.” “With this vote, we are keeping a promise and putting a bill that repeals Obamacare and defunds Planned Parenthood on the president’s desk,” Ryan continued. “This budget reconciliation bill, which would…Sen. Mike Lee -
- News
House GOP Obamacare Plan Faces Uphill Battle in Senate
The highly anticipated Obamacare replacement plan cleared the first of several hurdles in the House this week, where the House GOP’s proposal was the focus of intense scrutiny and opposition. But as the bill makes it way through the lower chamber, the American Health Care Act could already be facing a long and difficult road…Melissa Quinn -
- Opinion
5 Reasons the GOP’s Obamacare Plan Isn’t Real Repeal
Republicans have promised time and again to repeal Obamacare—not fix it, not try to make it better—they promised to repeal it. Here are five reasons the American Health Care Act put forward by GOP leadership does not fulfill that promise. 1) The bill does not fully repeal Obamacare. If you have a faulty foundation, nothing…Genevieve Wood -
- News
Why These 6 Americans Came to DC to Oppose Obamacare
Keeping promises. That was the theme of a Tuesday anti-Obamacare rally hosted by Americans for Prosperity on a rooftop near Capitol Hill. The title of the event was “You Promised,” a call for Republicans in Congress to keep their word to repeal the Affordable Care Act fully. Close to 200 activists traveled to the District…Caleb Ecarma -
- News
Conservative Lawmakers to Use Their ‘Enormous Power’ to Fight Obamacare Replacement Bill
Conservatives in the House and Senate are forging their own path ahead on Obamacare’s repeal and replacement, with plans to introduce legislation unwinding the health care law that Congress passed in 2015. In a press conference Tuesday, just hours after two House committees released the GOP’s replacement for the health care law, Rep. Jim Jordan,…Melissa Quinn -
- News
What the House GOP Obamacare Replacement Plan Does and Doesn’t Do
After seven years of promises to repeal and replace Obamacare, House Republicans finally have a bill detailing how they plan to reform the health care system once the Affordable Care Act is dismantled. The House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committees revealed their replacement plan, the American Health Care Act, on Monday evening….Melissa Quinn -
- News
House Republicans Release Text of Obamacare Repeal, Conservatives Call for Action ‘Now’
A key conservative lawmaker is urging Republicans to make good on their promises to repeal Obamacare before they get distracted by other legislative issues. “We think it is time to repeal it, clean repeal, and replace with market-centered health care [and] patient-centered health care,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said of conservatives and Obamacare in a…Rachel del Guidice -
- News
For One Conservative, 2017 Looks Similar to 2009 Obamacare Debate
For at least one conservative lawmaker, the current process for repealing and replacing Obamacare is beginning to look very similar to that of 2009, when Republicans accused Democrats of writing the Affordable Care Act behind closed doors. Armed with a portable copy machine, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., went on a crusade through the U.S. Capitol…Melissa Quinn -
- Opinion
Latest Obamacare Proposal Jeopardizes Repeal Effort
Members of Congress should reject draft legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare that is currently being circulated in the House of Representatives. At this point in the debate, they should focus their efforts instead on repealing Obamacare and transitioning out of its destructive effects. Regrettably, the House proposal combines the repeal and replace efforts into…James Wallner -
- News
Conservatives Use Clout to Press for Full Repeal of Obamacare
Conservatives in the House and Senate are leveraging their numbers in an attempt to influence the direction of legislation repealing Obamacare and ramp up the pressure on Republican leadership to bring a 2015 repeal bill back before members for another vote. Their efforts began Monday night when Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of…Melissa Quinn