HEALTHCARE/MIKE PENCE/OBAMACARE(ACA): “Vice President Mike Pence warned Republican lawmakers on Tuesday [7-18-17] that ‘inaction is not an option’ on Obamacare, urging Republicans to ‘do their jobs’ by passing legislation to undo former President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement.
‘Congress needs to step up,’ Pence said Tuesday in remarks at a National Retail Federation summit in Washington. ‘Congress needs to do their job, and Congress needs to do their job now!’
The House narrowly advanced a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare in May, but the Senate has struggled to do the same with its razor-thin majority. GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas sunk Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s bill late Monday when they joined Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky in opposition of the draft.
McConnell and President Donald Trump then called on lawmakers to focus on simply repealing Obamacare and crafting a bipartisan replacement plan later.
‘Obamacare has failed, and Obamacare must go,’ Pence said. ‘President Trump and I are grateful for the efforts for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the vast majority of Republicans who’ve worked so hard in the House and Senate to keep their promise to repeal and replace Obamacare.’ “
-Nolan D. Mccaskill, “Pence pressures GOP on health care: ‘Congress needs to do their job now!’,” Politico, July 18, 2017 11:15am