Todd Rokita, Paul Ryan, and Markwayne Mullen head to a GOP Special Conference meeting on September 29, 2015. GOP full throttle on Obamacare repeal Republicans have agreed on a plan to use a fast-track budget procedure to send a repeal to the president’s desk.

Congressional Republicans have agreed on a plan to use a fast-track budget procedure to send an Obamacare repeal to the president’s desk, a largely symbolic move – given an expected veto – but one conservatives have been pushing for since the GOP took control of Congress.

House Republican leaders are planning to put the bill – which is being crafted in three committees this week – up for a vote as early as next month, according to House aides. After it is approved, Senate leaders are expected to put the legislation on the floor in the upper chamber.


Unlike other legislation that needs support from 60 senators to overcome a filibuster, this bill will be passed under budget reconciliation rules, meaning it only needs 51 votes to advance. With 54 Republicans in the Senate, it’s likely the measure will head to President Barack Obama’s desk for a certain veto.

Republican leaders have been saying since last year that they would consider using reconciliation to repeal the law. But until now, the timeline and legislative path forward had been uncertain and conservatives have questioned whether leaders were serious about using it on Obamacare.

Even though the measure will never become law, Republicans argue that forcing Obama to veto a bill that gets rid of some of Obamacare’s most unpopular provisions – such as the individual mandate and taxes – amounts to a political victory. Plus, any headway they can make this year could serve as a legislative roadmap for what the GOP could accomplish if they sent a Republican to the White House in 2017.

"If we pass this package, we can finally get a bill that takes apart Obamacare through the Senate," Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan said after his committee approved part of the bill on Tuesday.

The House bill would repeal Obamacare’s individual and employer mandates, the Independent Payment Advisory Board, and unspent money in the Prevention and Public Health Fund. It would also repeal the Cadillac and medical device taxes and the law’s requirement that large companies auto-enroll employees in health insurance. It would also defund Planned Parenthood for one year.

Budget reconciliation, which is used relatively infrequently, was last deployed by Democrats in 2010 to pass a portion of Obamacare.

“I think it should be called ‘wreck-onciliation,’” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), “because it is a wreck for those 14 million families [with coverage under the ACA], it is a wreck for those children who have relied on the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and it is a wreck for people who will be paying 20 percent higher insurance premiums than they would be if this bill were not passed.”

The path forward looks like this: One House committee has already approved its portion of the bill. Two more committees are scheduled to take up the legislation this week. Next week, the House Budget Committee is expected to combine the bills. From there, House leaders are expected to bring the legislation to the floor for a vote. At that point, it would go to the Senate for a vote on the floor.

“We have to do the same bill as the House for it to be reconciled,” said Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. “My expectation is we’ll consider the House bill once they pass it.”

Once in the Senate, the legislation would also have to undergo review by the Senate parliamentarian to ensure that the bill abides by the complex rules for reconciliation, such as having a direct impact on the budget.

During the Senate parliamentarian’s review – called a “Byrd bath” because the rules are named for former Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd – some provisions of the bill could be eliminated.

Brianna Ehley contributed to this report.