We promised to do everything possible

Repealing Obamacare is one of the most unifying and politically advantageous issues for Republicans. We have won historic Congressional majorities based on how terrible the law is for small businesses and families.

The law is doing irreparable harm to our nation’s healthcare system and economic future.

{mosads}Republicans have made our case to the American people (convincingly, as a consistent majority of Americans oppose the law) and we have promised to do everything possible to repeal as much as possible of Obamacare.

But the House missed its chance. As passed through budget reconciliation, our version of Obamacare repeal only addressed 6 of 419 sections of the law – or 1.4 percent.

As the “more conservative body,” our constituents and the American people deserved more than this hollow effort. We ducked the tough issues – mostly because House Leadership claimed we couldn’t do more because of the Senate’s “Byrd Rule.”

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and I have been working on repeal through reconciliation for months and those excuses were never convincing. Medicaid expansion, additional taxes and billions in spending were ignored in the House version and (inexcusably) left intact.

Last week, the Senate proved House Leadership’s assertions incorrect and decided to make good on Republican promises of repealing Obamacare and establishing meaningful health care reform. The Senate bill actually had teeth – it wasn’t designed to make the Chamber of Commerce happy.

I commend the Senate for stepping up and passing a reconciliation bill that truly repeals the infrastructure of Obamacare and defunds Planned Parenthood, instead of simply rubberstamping the House’s inadequate attempt at repeal.

Now it’s time for the House to act quickly. Let’s get the Senate version to the floor and to the president’s desk. We can force a national debate on the president’s namesake law and it’s a debate we know we can win.

Walker has represented North Carolina’s 6^th Congressional District since 2015. He sits on the Homeland Security; the House Administration; and the oversight and Government Reform.