Washington — The Senate will block it and President Obama will never sign the bill, but House Republicans plan another vote Wednesday to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
It would be the 33rd time House Republicans vote to repeal the entire health care law or parts of it. This latest vote was scheduled after the Supreme Court upheld most of the Affordable Care Act last month.
The five Democrats who represent Connecticut in the House will vote against repeal. But the GOP has a majority in the House and the repeal is expected to pass — and then languish in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
On Tuesday opponents and supporters of the ACA rehashed the debate that has divided the nation.
Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5th District, compared the GOP’s repeal campaign to the movie “Fatal Attraction,” which featured Glenn Close as a scorned woman who ruthlessly pursues Michael Douglas and his movie family.
“Having now had 30 separate debates on this floor over repeal of the heath care bill … House Republicans have finally hit their boil-the-bunny moment,” Murphy said, a reference to Close’s cruel dispatch of a family pet. “Americans want us to move on.”
Murphy also urged Republicans to stop “listening to their inner Glenn Close.”
But opponents of the law argue it would wreck the U.S. economy and the U.S. health care system.
“This is nothing short of economic malpractice,” said Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-N.Y.
Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., warned, “if you like (the health plan) you currently have, you can’t keep it.”
Off the House floor, Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, said Republicans are holding another repeal vote “because their base demands it.”
“The court decision caught (Republicans) off-guard and they need to do something about it,” he said.
Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, said the move to repeal the ACA is pure politics in an election year.
“Rather than working to improve the lives of Americans, they’re working to improve their chances of re-election,” Himes said.
Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, said the GOP is holding the vote because “they believe it’s the path to holding on to the majority.”
According to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, Americans are evenly divided about the ACA. But more voters are saying it won’t be a factor in November’s election, the poll showed.
About 37 percent of registered voters polled said it wouldn’t make much of a difference whether a congressional candidate supports or opposes the Affordable Care Act, 30 percent said a candidate’s support would make them more likely to support a candidate and 31 percent more likely to oppose a candidate.