The House of Representatives passed a short-term spending plan on Friday which would continue funding government operations through mid-December, while withholding funding for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.
“We have to end this high stakes brinkmanship,” said Wisconsin Democrat, congressman Ron Kind. “These cliffhangers create so much uncertainty and have a detrimental effect on our economy.”
“Obamacare could cause premiums to increase by as much as 77 percent for some in our district. This is fundamentally a terrible law. If Obamacare is not dismantled it has the potential to devastate Wisconsin businesses, cost Wisconsin jobs, and that is going to have a huge impact on Wisconsin families,” said Republican congressman Sean Duffy.
“The Republican-controlled House has made its stance against Obamacare perfectly clear. And today, the House again voted to defund Obamacare as part of the CR to keep the government running,” said Republican congressman Jim Sensenbrenner. “Now it is up to the Senate to do what the American people want and vote against the president’s abominable health care law.”
Kind, the La Crosse Democrat, said shutting down the government won’t halt implementation of Obamacare. “It won’t. It’s on track, has a sign up period that begins October 1st. That would be unaffected by a government shutdown. And then the plans would be ready and available starting on January 1st.”
Kind said the House-passed measure is going nowhere in the Senate, which is expected to restore funding for Obamacare. Congress will be back at work next week and into the weekend.