Cruz, Paul to headline rally against funding for ObamaCare

Key proponents of a plan to allow a government shutdown rather than fund ObamaCare will bring their campaign back to Washington with a major rally next month.

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) will speak at an event on Capitol Hill on Sept. 10, the day Congress returns from its summer recess.

The rally will cap several months of efforts by conservative groups to build grassroots support for the defunding threat. 

{mosads}The movement has received considerable airtime on conservative talk radio and attention at constituent townhalls over the last three weeks.

But only 13 senators have publicly agreed not to support government funding bills that include money for the healthcare reform law, leading critics to charge that the campaign is losing steam.

Cruz, Paul and other leaders have also received criticism from fellow Republicans wary of how a shutdown could hurt the GOP.

Supporters need 41 senators in order to set their plan in motion. A shutdown would likely occur if Senate Republicans refuse to allow any continuing resolution that includes money for ObamaCare.

The current funding bill expires at the end of September, meaning lawmakers have three weeks of in-session work to avoid a crisis.

At the rally, Cruz and Paul will be joined by the defunding strategy’s architect, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe, Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin and several House lawmakers.

The event will take place on the West Lawn of the Capitol building.