What's Next for the GOP on Healthcare?

Coming off last week’s embarrassing failure to pass a Republican replacement of Obamacare, GOP leaders are vowing to continue to plow ahead with their ambitious legislative agenda. First on the list: Their continued focus on deregulation. The House voted to unwind an Obama-era internet privacy rule on Tuesday and the last two days have featured reforms to the Environmental Protection Agency, but that seems like low-hanging fruit for Republicans and more difficult issues are coming up.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) told reporters the early setback on healthcare reform hasn’t derailed their other top agenda items, like increasing the size of the military, building President Trump’s massive border wall, passing an expansive infrastructure bill and – the big daddy of them all – tax reform. “We want this to be the last tax season Americans have to put up with this broken tax code,” Ryan told reporters at the Capitol.

After a closed-door meeting with the entire House Republican Conference, Ryan vowed that the GOP isn’t giving up on their seven-year old campaign promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Still, Ryan recognizes he has a hard job ahead to unify the conservative wing of the GOP with its more moderate members. “I don’t want us to become a factionalized majority. I want us to become a unified majority,” Ryan added. “And that means we’re going to sit down and talk things out until we get there.”

What do you think Congress’ priorities should be? Contact your lawmakers and let your vice be heard.

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-- Matt Laslo

(Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr / Creative Commons)