Seth A. Richardson

Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal

U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., on Monday said he’s irked by the lack of hearings in Congress and how Republican leadership is handling the debate to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s health care law.

“The problem is there aren’t any witnesses,” Amodei said before a joint session of the Nevada Legislature. “You know, folks who are sometimes considered shareholders? People who have views whether they’re with yours or against yours.”

“And so, as some of you may already know, it’s incredibly frustrating,” he continued.

Republican leadership in Congress have moved forward on repealing and replacing key components of the health care law – officially known as the Affordable Care Act but more commonly known as “Obamacare.”

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The Republicans’ plan — called the American Health Care Act — headed up by House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., include ending the mandate that Americans purchase health insurance and phasing out the expansion of Medicaid, among other provisions.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released its findings on the bill Monday and found the plan would result in around 14 million people losing health insurance by 2018, with that number climbing to 24 million by 2026. The CBO also found it would shrink the deficit by $337 billion during the same time span.

But the bill has caused some chagrin for Amodei and other Republicans. Far-right conservatives think it doesn’t go far enough while moderates are concerned about the steep drop in coverage and loss of Medicaid dollars to states.

Amodei said he was mainly upset with the process of trying to rush the legislation. Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have said they want the bill passed by April. He criticized leadership for essentially doing the same thing they chastised Democrats for when passing Obamacare by having marathon committee sessions and passing the bill late at night.

“Quite frankly, right now it looks like (then-Democratic House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi was more efficient,” he said. “Maybe not right, but much more efficient with her people’s time. Not a great start.”

He likened it to the movie Groundhog Day, where Bill Murray's character relives the same day repeatedly.

“How can I have a serious discussion about health care when I can’t go back to any record whatsoever?” Amodei said during a later press gaggle. “That’s a problem for me.”

Amodei did not expect the April benchmark to be reached, especially as more Republicans defect.

“My idea is to go through the process because, guess what? You’ll get some good information then let’s see where we really need to fight,” he said.

“I’m disappointed in leadership,” Amodei added.

Follow Seth A. Richardson on Twitter: @SethARichardson