3 ms·

Why didn't they just repeal the whole thing in 2017?

ncallaway 6y ago
They didn't have the political ability to do so. They tried to do exactly that, though. They campaigned on repealing the bill, but replacing it with an alternative (supposed "repeal and replace"). The replacement never materialized (and, to my knowledge, still hasn't a decade after the ACA went into effect). That said, they pressed forward with an attempt to repeal the bill without replacing it (promising to repeal it at a future date). The House passed a repeal of the ACA (it was a partial repeal, because they were using the reconciliation process of the Senate to avoid the filibuster so it wasn't a total repeal, but it would have eliminated most of the provisions of the ACA. The House of Representatives passed their repeal bill on May 4, 2017. The Senate attempted to pass their version of the repeal bill (a different bill, but substantively similar) on July 27, 2017. The bill failed in the Senate by a single vote, 49-51 (if it had ended in a tie the Vice President would've broken the tie and assuredly would have voted to pass the bill). 3 members of the Republican party broke ranks to vote against the bill: Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, and John McCain. McCain was the last to vote against the bill. It was an extremely dramatic moment, as the voting was held open for an extended amount of time while the GOP lobbied McCain hard to pass the bill. Ultimately, he voted "No" in a dramatic fashion (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT2pp_KrJGg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT2pp_KrJGg), and the repeal bill failed in the Senate. I was watching the Senate vote at the time and it was an incredibly tense and anxious moment. I cannot describe the relief I felt when McCain turned his thumb down and said "no" in that video above. It was a truly shocking moment, and one I'll probably remember for the rest of my life. So, they tried, but they didn't have the votes. After failing to repeal the full bill, they proceeded to pass the bill that zeroed out the individual mandate. That was much easier for them to get their caucus on board with, as the mandate was very unpopular with the base of the republican party.

They didn't have the political ability to do so. They tried to do exactly that, though. They campaigned on repealing the bill, but replacing it with an alternative (supposed "repeal and replace"). The replacement never materialized (and, to my knowledge, still hasn't a decade after the ACA went into effect). That said, they pressed forward with an attempt to repeal the bill without replacing it (promising to repeal it at a future date). The House passed a repeal of the ACA (it was a partial repeal, because they were using the reconciliation process of the Senate to avoid the filibuster so it wasn't a total repeal, but it would have eliminated most of the provisions of the ACA. The House of Representatives passed their repeal bill on May 4, 2017. The Senate attempted to pass their version of the repeal bill (a different bill, but substantively similar) on July 27, 2017. The bill failed in the Senate by a single vote, 49-51 (if it had ended in a tie the Vice President would've broken the tie and assuredly would have voted to pass the bill). 3 members of the Republican party broke ranks to vote against the bill: Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, and John McCain. McCain was the last to vote against the bill. It was an extremely dramatic moment, as the voting was held open for an extended amount of time while the GOP lobbied McCain hard to pass the bill. Ultimately, he voted "No" in a dramatic fashion (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT2pp_KrJGg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT2pp_KrJGg), and the repeal bill failed in the Senate. I was watching the Senate vote at the time and it was an incredibly tense and anxious moment. I cannot describe the relief I felt when McCain turned his thumb down and said "no" in that video above. It was a truly shocking moment, and one I'll probably remember for the rest of my life. So, they tried, but they didn't have the votes. After failing to repeal the full bill, they proceeded to pass the bill that zeroed out the individual mandate. That was much easier for them to get their caucus on board with, as the mandate was very unpopular with the base of the republican party.