Despite a public push last week by Sens. Tom Cotton (pictured) and Ron Johnson to include repeal of the mandate in the tax package, tax bill writers didn't include that in the measure released Thursday. | Zach Gibson/Getty Images Conservatives push to repeal Obamacare mandate in tax package

Conservatives are attempting to revive efforts to gut Obamacare’s individual mandate as part of the Republican overhaul of the tax code.

But the House's top tax writer, while leaving the door open to a measure President Donald Trump supports, said Friday that such a move would complicate the tax package's prospects, particularly in the Senate.


"The president feels very strongly about including this at some step before the final process," House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady said of mandate repeal during a POLITICO Playbook interview. "No decisions have been made."

Despite a public push last week by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) to include repeal of the mandate in the tax package, tax bill writers didn't include that in the measure released Thursday.

But a faction of lawmakers including conservative stalwarts Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) have continued to push for folding repeal into the bill.

That effort has been bolstered by Trump's enthusiasm for using the tax vehicle to scrap the mandate.

“Wouldn't it be great to Repeal the very unfair and unpopular Individual Mandate in ObamaCare and use those savings for further Tax Cuts,” he wrote on Twitter Wednesday.

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Brady said that Trump has since pressed him on the issue once in person and twice over the phone.

"It's a trend," he joked.

Brady added that he's asked for an updated analysis on the impact of repealing the individual mandate. A December 2016 CBO report projected that 15 million more people would be uninsured in 2026 if the mandate is repealed.

But with fewer people enrolled, the federal government would spend roughly $400 billion less over that period in subsidies designed to help individuals afford Obamacare plans. Those savings could represent an attractive addition to a tax bill currently expected to add to the federal deficit.

The mandate has also consistently polled as the most unpopular provision of Obamacare.

Still, Brady warned that mixing health care into an already-complicated tax bill could prompt new opposition and complicate its narrow path in the Senate.

"Importing health care into the tax reform debate has consequences, especially one where the Senate has yet to produce 50 votes on anything related to health care," he said, stressing the importance of passing the tax overhaul in the wake of the GOP's failure to deliver "on our promise of health care repeal."

Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has also expressed skepticism about muddying tax reform by pulling in the toxic politics of Obamacare.

Whether the mandate repeal makes it into House Republicans' tax package or not, Brady said it will remain up to Senate Republicans to jump-start another effort at repealing and replacing Obamacare in full, after the chamber repeatedly fell short of winning the necessary 50 votes this summer.

"We want the Senate to produce something," he said. "Find some improvement to get out of there and see if we can find some common ground."

