The vote will, however, let Republicans show that they still oppose ObamaCare, something they have been clamoring to show their constituents all year. After 36 votes in the last Congress to repeal all or part of the law, many Republicans were eager to again make a public case against the law.
{mosads}That desire was seen just a few weeks ago when House Republicans brought up a bill tweaking the law — that bill had to be pulled in the face of Republican complaints that they wanted a vote on full repeal.
Democrats have already argued this week that GOP leaders are again wasting their time, since the bill will go nowhere. Democrats are expected to continue making this point on Thursday, in addition to arguing that Congress should be focused on a way to repeal or fix the sequester.
Members meet at 10 a.m. for speeches, then at noon to start work on the repeal bill, which is H.R. 45, from Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.).
The House will start by considering a rule for the bill. The rule approved by the House Rules Committee on Wednesday makes no amendments in order, and calls for two hours of debate.
Once the rule is approved in the early afternoon, the House will debate the bill, and then pass it in the early evening.
The Senate starts work at 11 a.m., and will start debate on the nomination of Ernest Moniz to be the next Energy Secretary.
Senators agreed to three hours of debate on Moniz. As a result, a roll call vote on the nomination is expected at 2 p.m.