Facing another revolt by the House’s most ardent conservatives, Republican leaders scrapped a vote this week on legislation that would keep the federal government financed through mid-December while ending financing for President Obama’s health care law.
The leaders say they will bring the measure up next week, but with just a handful of legislative days left until a government shutdown, Republicans are in a squeeze. Democrats are uniting in opposition to the bill, not only because of the resolution to starve the Affordable Care Act, but also because the level of financing for the government would reflect the across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration.
For their part, dozens of House conservatives have pledged never to vote for financing legislation that does not kill off the health care law — and they say the structure of the House legislation is a sleight of hand that would not impair the law at all.
In a sense, they are right. Under the complicated structure of the bill, lawmakers would be given a single vote to pass the short-term financing measure, with a separate resolution on the health care law. The health care resolution would then move to the Democrat-controlled Senate, where it would be voted down. After Senate action, the House would send over the financing bill with no attached policy prescriptions.
Some senior Republican aides say that as long as House Republicans remain united in opposition, they don’t see how the package can pass. But House leadership aides expressed confidence that the revolt could be cooled down by next week.