January 2016
This week, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would repeal major provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including the Medicaid expansion. In December, the Senate passed identical legislation. Although the House has passed ACA repeal bills more than 60 times, this will be the first time that a large-scale ACA repeal bill has passed both the House and the Senate and moves to the President for his consideration.
President Obama immediately vetoed the legislation.
The ACA repeal bill, which also includes a measure to prohibit federal funding for Planned Parenthood, passed the House by a vote of 240 – 181. The Senate's vote in December was 52 – 47 and while neither is large enough to override the President's veto, the successful repeal votes in both chambers are viewed as strong symbolic votes for Republicans ahead of the November 2016 election.
