Was the Passage of Obamacare Just as Secretive as GOP Efforts to Repeal It?

[tulc]

FACT CHECK: Was the Passage of Obamacare Just as Secretive as GOP Efforts to Repeal It?

In May 2017, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the existence of a thirteen-man working group crafting a Senate bill aimed at repealing the Affordable Care Act (also called the ACA, but nicknamed Obamacare). Later, McConnell signaled that the Senate was no longer interested in modifying a bill that had already narrowly passed in the House of Representatives.

That House version of the bill, named the American Health Care Act (AHCA), had been panned by critics (including by President Trump after initially praising it), and current polling suggests that it does not enjoy a majority of support in a single US state. In part because this House bill is so undeniably unpopular, the Senate has indicated that they will be ignoring the legwork done in the House and starting from scratch with this team of 13 senators. As discussed in a piece at Vox:

tulc(MAGA by doing things in secret)

 

[HereIStand]

Shhh. Keep it down.

 

[tulc]

Shhh. Keep it down.

ok, sorry
tulc(highlight the above)

 

[KWCrazy]

The Democrats gave the Republicans no say when they passed it, and wouldn't even let anyone read it before demanding a vote.
Republicans will let Democrats read it before voting, but there are no congressional Democrats capable of original thought. They all parrot the insanity that comes from their leaders. Their opinions are meaningless.

 

[ViaCrucis]

The Democrats gave the Republicans no say when they passed it, and wouldn't even let anyone read it before demanding a vote.
Republicans will let Democrats read it before voting, but there are no congressional Democrats capable of original thought. They all parrot the insanity that comes from their leaders. Their opinions are meaningless.

Republicans were involved in the committees which dealt with the ACA; Republicans offered amendments to the ACA, many were rejected but some were incorporated. The fact that the ACA passed without a public option is itself sufficient to demonstrate that the ACA didn't make it through Congress without any Republican participation or engagement.

The claim that the Democrats gave Republicans no say with the ACA is simply false, Republicans were not barred or banned from engagement in the process or denied say--they had those things, they did those things, and ultimately the ACA did pass in spite of Republican dislike, but the contents of the ACA were not kept secret from Republicans, and Republicans did participate in committee concerning the ACA.

Lots of information can be found here: All Info - H.R.3590 - 111th Congress (2009-2010): Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

For example we can see that two of H.R.735's co-sponsors were Republicans; further we can see that 12/02/2009 we can see that Senate Amendment 2808 was proposed by Sen. David Vitter (R), itself an amendment to Senate Amendment 2791.

The public record would indicate that Republicans were actively involved, while primarily in opposition, they were still involved. So pretending as though Democrats didn't allow Republicans participation is a nice talking point if facts aren't important and we only care about partisan posturing.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[pat34lee]

Does anyone here support the Republicans doing anything in secret?
Not me, as that usually means the old guard and RINO's working to
water down the bill.

 

[imind]

The Democrats gave the Republicans no say when they passed it, and wouldn't even let anyone read it before demanding a vote.

patently false. mcconnell actually threatened the political futures of republicans who were involved.

but there are no congressional Democrats capable of original thought. They all parrot the insanity that comes from their leaders. Their opinions are meaningless.

this is what pathological hatred looks like...