U.S. representatives in the Tea Party movement are resisting GOP leaders' strategy to simultaneously repeal and replace the healthcare reform law, according to a report by The Hill.
Incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has been calling for repeal, while the party "contemporaneously" submits a replacement bill. But Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), a founder of the House Tea Party Caucus, said House Republicans should repeal the law altogether and then debate a new reform measure.
"What we need to do is to have a debate on how are we going to offer the greatest-quality healthcare to the widest swath of people at the lowest possible price," Rep. Bachman said. "We need to make that argument why free-market healthcare is a good thing."
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), who is running to become chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, vowed to put repeal at the top of the committee's agenda. "The No. 1 issue before the Energy Committee is going to be repealing ObamaCare," he said. Rep. Barton added that he would "come up with a replacement bill to keep the parts of the bill that make sense, that are not bureaucratic and mandatory and all of that."
Read The Hill report on The Tea Party's resistance against a repeal-and-replace strategy.
Read more coverage of efforts to repeal the healthcare reform law.
- Incoming House Majority Leader Plans to Keep Parts of Reform Law
- GOP Strategist Targets Parts of Reform Law, Including Assignment to ACOs
Incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has been calling for repeal, while the party "contemporaneously" submits a replacement bill. But Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), a founder of the House Tea Party Caucus, said House Republicans should repeal the law altogether and then debate a new reform measure.
"What we need to do is to have a debate on how are we going to offer the greatest-quality healthcare to the widest swath of people at the lowest possible price," Rep. Bachman said. "We need to make that argument why free-market healthcare is a good thing."
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), who is running to become chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, vowed to put repeal at the top of the committee's agenda. "The No. 1 issue before the Energy Committee is going to be repealing ObamaCare," he said. Rep. Barton added that he would "come up with a replacement bill to keep the parts of the bill that make sense, that are not bureaucratic and mandatory and all of that."
Read The Hill report on The Tea Party's resistance against a repeal-and-replace strategy.
Read more coverage of efforts to repeal the healthcare reform law.
- Incoming House Majority Leader Plans to Keep Parts of Reform Law
- GOP Strategist Targets Parts of Reform Law, Including Assignment to ACOs