Republicans, still a minority in the Senate following the midterm election, plan to forge a Senate majority against the healthcare reform law by convincing four Democrats to repeal all or parts of the law, according to a report by Politico.
The repeal movement is focusing on newcomer Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) as well as Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Sen. Jon Tester D-Mont.), all of whom will seek reelection in 2012 in GOP-leaning states.
Sen. Manchin will be up for reelection in just two years because he is serving the remainder of the late Sen. Robert Byrd's term. The new senator said in the campaign he would repeal "the bad parts of Obamacare," and Republicans plan to hold him to that. Furthermore, he said if repealing parts of the law weren't possible, he'd support total repeal.
Sen. Nelson would support "some changes to the healthcare law and certain improvements that might be identified down the road," an aide said. "But in terms of repealing, that would not be his interest."
A spokesman for Sen. Tester said he is always willing to listen but still favors parts of the law, such as preventing insurers from denying coverage for preexisting conditions. And a spokesman for Sen. Webb said he still stands behind an offer to work with Republicans to fix parts of the law, but he hasn’t supported full repeal.
However, even with several Democrats' support, Republicans need to get a repeal bill past Democratic leaders who will still control the deliberation process. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who was just reelected and is expected to keep his position, said he'd consider some minor "tweaking" of the reform law but nothing beyond that.
Read the Politico report on healthcare reform.
Read more coverage about repealing healthcare reform.
- Senate Democrats May Revise Reform Law to Find More Savings
- Supreme Court Refuses to Weigh in With Early Review of Reform Law
- Obama Open to 'Tweaks' But Not Revamp of Reform Law
The repeal movement is focusing on newcomer Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) as well as Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Sen. Jon Tester D-Mont.), all of whom will seek reelection in 2012 in GOP-leaning states.
Sen. Manchin will be up for reelection in just two years because he is serving the remainder of the late Sen. Robert Byrd's term. The new senator said in the campaign he would repeal "the bad parts of Obamacare," and Republicans plan to hold him to that. Furthermore, he said if repealing parts of the law weren't possible, he'd support total repeal.
Sen. Nelson would support "some changes to the healthcare law and certain improvements that might be identified down the road," an aide said. "But in terms of repealing, that would not be his interest."
A spokesman for Sen. Tester said he is always willing to listen but still favors parts of the law, such as preventing insurers from denying coverage for preexisting conditions. And a spokesman for Sen. Webb said he still stands behind an offer to work with Republicans to fix parts of the law, but he hasn’t supported full repeal.
However, even with several Democrats' support, Republicans need to get a repeal bill past Democratic leaders who will still control the deliberation process. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who was just reelected and is expected to keep his position, said he'd consider some minor "tweaking" of the reform law but nothing beyond that.
Read the Politico report on healthcare reform.
Read more coverage about repealing healthcare reform.
- Senate Democrats May Revise Reform Law to Find More Savings
- Supreme Court Refuses to Weigh in With Early Review of Reform Law
- Obama Open to 'Tweaks' But Not Revamp of Reform Law