As President Donald Trump seeks to overhaul the Affordable Care Act and create a new health care system, one Republican senator running for an influential leadership position says the party has no plans to pursue it. They argue that this should be combined with a large-scale tax bill in the new year.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) told NBC News Tuesday night after the vice presidential debate in New York that if voters elect President Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress, Republicans would “get more health care.” “We can make it more customized and more complete at a more affordable price.” It’s more personalized than a one-size-fits-all option,” he said, referring to the ACA, or Obamacare.
“Next year, when it comes time to extend the Trump tax cuts, we will once again have the opportunity to adopt new policies that will make health care more affordable and more personalized,” Cotton said. “Because a lot of health care in this country goes through the tax code. So I think it’s going to be a really good opportunity next year.”
With key parts of the 2017 bill set to expire at the end of next year, Republicans have widely focused on extending the Trump tax law, saying it is necessary to prevent tax hikes on Americans.
Cotton, who is running to become the next No. 3 Republican in the Senate as part of a leadership shakeup, said Republicans could add health care changes to the extension of the Trump tax cuts through a filibuster-proof spending and tax “reconciliation” process. said that it can be done. ;A majority in Congress would allow major policy legislation to be passed at once with only Republican votes.
“Democrats have become so obstructive against President Trump that their opportunities to pass major legislation next year will likely focus on extending the Trump tax cuts from 2017, among other measures,” Cotton said. said.
President Trump has called Obamacare “terrible” and said he wants to replace it, but he hasn’t offered an alternative and said during the Sept. 10 presidential debate that he has an “idea for a plan” to remake the health care system. mentioned, but did not provide specifics. The Trump campaign has not provided a timeline for when it will announce its plans.
Kamala Harris is running a TV ad attacking President Trump’s push to restart debate on the ACA. He said he would seek to repeal the ACA, canceling subsidies that help Americans buy insurance and removing regulations that prevent insurance companies from charging higher prices to people with pre-existing conditions.
Even with a landslide electoral victory, it is by no means clear that Republicans will have enough support to revive the fight against the ACA now that the law is popular. Many Republicans want to end the chapter after exit polls showed they paid a price for trying to repeal it in the 2018 and 2020 elections. But if Trump wins this fall, his influence over the party is likely to increase even further.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican who serves on the Finance Committee, which oversees tax and health care policy, said Congress will scrutinize President Trump’s expensive bills. Those include extending the 2017 tax cuts and eliminating taxes on tips and Social Security income, some of which are expected to cost trillions of dollars.
“It’s great that we can have a debate, but at the end of the day we need to get either 51 or 60 votes. 51 votes for reconciliation or 60 votes to change these things,” Tillis said. . “Then you have to consider the cost and the impact.”
Tillis was referring to the fact that Senate rules impose budgetary constraints on how much money can pass through the 51-vote reconciliation process, which Republicans must address.
“So we’re going to embrace all of this, but we can’t be everything to everyone at once,” he said. “We have to get something passed, perhaps through reconciliation, and we have to see how those priorities play out and how we pay for it.”
In 2017, President Trump and Congressional Republicans attempted to repeal the ACA, but failed. A few months later, Cotton successfully persuaded his party to use independent tax law to zero out the ACA’s personal mandate (requiring you to pay a penalty if you are uninsured), and this The policy was passed through the tax code.
Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R.S.D., who is running to become the next Senate Republican leader, said the scope of reconciliation would expand “significantly” and give Republicans “hopefully more tax policy and other policies as well.” It gives us an opportunity to work on it.” What is achievable. ”
He did not suggest that overhauling health care insurance would be one of them, but he made it clear that raising taxes is inevitable in order to stop them.
“Obviously we have to do something,” Thun said.
Garrett Haack reported from New York. Sahil Kapur reported from Washington.
