Posted on 04/02/2017 4:48:29 AM PDT by Kaslin
For eight years, I have joined my colleagues in the fight to repeal and replace the train wreck that is Obamacare. This was the call heard around the nation for years, particularly leading up to President Trump's historic victory. We promised the American people that if they supported us, help would be on the way. As a conservative, I believe that the federal government should have a limited role in our personal lives, including health care. As a cancer patient, I knew the importance of getting this bill right and replacing Obamacare with a patient-centered solution that also ensures access to care for the nearly 30 percent of Americans with pre-existing conditions. But as the American Health Care Act teetered on the edge of a cliff, it was the Freedom Caucus that helped give it the final push.
How did we get here?
A little history. The truth is that while most Americans had no idea what the Freedom Caucus was until a few weeks ago when it became the official opposition to the Obamacare replacement plan, this group has quietly existed for a while. Two years ago, the most conservative members of the House – myself included – banded together to force leadership to give conservatives a seat at the table when negotiating major legislation. Our goal was to advance the most conservative agenda possible in Congress and give a voice to our constituents who felt that they did not have one. Until this year, we faced a president who opposed everything we stood for, and a leadership that excluded us. This year, that changed.
From start to finish, Speaker Ryan has gone out of his way to be inclusive, and President Trump literally brought us to the table, listening to our concerns, agreeing to some of the group’s demands, and changing the bill to be more conservative. The caucus asked for major concessions, and the bill was changed to include some of them. At a meeting at the White House, the president even agreed to change what is considered Essential Health Benefits by amending the bill to allow states to make that decision. But the goalpost kept moving further and further down the field. It became clear to me that no matter what was included and changed, the answer would still be no. That’s why I left the Freedom Caucus even though I agree with them on most issues and consider them my friends. The bill wasn’t perfect – no piece of legislation is – but it was absolutely far better than Obamacare. Like it or not, the reality of the makeup of the House and Senate is that if you demand a purist repeal of Obamacare, it will die on the floor. This was our chance to make meaningful change.
The Freedom Caucus served as a check on a liberal administration and former House leadership that repeatedly compromised with Democrats. Times have changed. Republicans – mostly conservatives – control it all now. It is our time to lead. It is our time to unify and deliver on the promises that we made for years. Those calling for otherwise have been in Washington long enough to know that you do not get everything you want in any bill.
We can no longer allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. The American Health Care Act included major conservative reforms. It would have repealed the individual and employer mandates, reduced taxes, expanded health savings accounts, ensured access to coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, and allowed young adults to stay on their parents’ plan. It would have also defunded Planned Parenthood. Overall, this bill would have accomplished much of what we have been seeking all along, and the administration had committed to push forward what couldn’t be done in this bill separately.
I want to be part of the conservative majority that delivers solutions. Americans voted for solutions. Americans voted for help to make their lives easier and more affordable. We must give them the solutions they demand, that they deserve, and that we promised. I am encouraged that conversations have restarted within the House Republican Conference, and I hope that we can all get on the same page in the hymnal and produce a bill that delivers on our promise to the American people.
And that’s just the way it is.
..I will always be grateful to Congressman Poe for his defense of Border Patrol agents Compean and Ramos against the Bush administration. But I will have to agree to disagree with him on Ryancare...
High praise...coming from you.
It would have been nice to have done something about Obamacare but there are competing interests fighting over this and all the “conservative” versus “liberal” stuff is fluff, its smoke and mirrors.
Donald Trump ‘makes deals’ and he also likes to intimidate opponents in the tradition of Muhammad Ali who used to psych out his opponents with nasty talk outside the boxing ring.
The “Freedom Caucus” got a taste of that last week, but they are no saints.
They want Obamacare amended to benefit insurance companies whose lobbyists must have their claws in those “conservatives” big time.
Straight repeal with no replacement will not pass the senate. At least 4 republican senators already oppose it.
Getting nothing means that Obamacare remains.
That is the worst possible outcome by far.
Mitt Romney made a speech some years ago as I understand it.
A speech about ‘freeloaders’ showing up at hospitals. He helped them in Massachusetts with Romneycare and Barack Obama decided to roll out his national version.
The hospitals merge into bigger entities nowadays to cut costs and the big hospital groups had a big stake in Obamacare as well.
It was designed to put more money into the healthcare industry and guarantee payment by making insurance coverage mandatory and taxing people who didn’t buy insurance to help fuel medical assistance for the poor uninsured.
One other thing, the governor of a key state who supported Donald Trump comes from the healthcare industry.
That’s Governor Rick Scott of Florida.
Q: Why not just repeal the mandate in a stand-alone bill and sort the rest out later?
...
Didn’t Trump already do that with an EO?
Why I Left the Freedom Caucus>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
( Why I killed my Mom?)Sell out to the Swamp Critters of Washington.
“From start to finish, Speaker Ryan has gone out of his way to be inclusive,”
Why did Ryan push such a horrible bill then?
The public knows that President Trump’s biggest problem is Paul Ryan, not the Freedom Caucus.This poll proves it:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3540125/posts
1)Ryan is bought and paid for by his wife whose estate is worth 6.5 million dollars , she and her family are democrats.
2)Secondly Ryan is bought by the Insurance and Big Pharm Lobbies.In Particular Northwestern Mutual, a Milwaukee-based insurance company that also offers financial services. All but eight of Ryan’s 20 biggest backers are in the financial, insurance, or health sectors, CRP data shows.
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/08/14/the-big-money-behind-paul-ryans-political-career
Paul Ryan tried to screw the People on Health Care, and he will keep trying to screw the people on Health Care.He wants massive profits for his backers.The Freedom Caucus stopped Ryan and exposed him to the People and also exposed Ryan’s agenda to President Trump.Ryan does not care one wit for the People.Ryan is a man made by his wife’s fortune, not from his own effort or intelligence, or popular support from the electorate. He bought his way through lobbyists.
President Trump needs to turn that Ryan rig around, or he will become the lamest duck in presidential history.All the president has to do is rely on the People. It wouldn’t take much.
God Bless the Freedom Caucus.
About Ted Poe....
Don’t bet on it, I sent Dave Brat another campaign donation.
The insurance companies wrote Ryancare
Yep...Ted was tough, as a Texas Judge.....he softened, considerably, once he went up to the swamp :(
And yet the bill Ryan wanted arrived at Obama’s desk last January.
No sale.
He's delusional.
Should have read:
And yet the bill Rand Paul wanted arrived at Obama’s desk last January.
No sale.
Thanks, Candor7....for posting reality to offset Ted Poe’s BS piece.
The RyanCare stink bomb had 17% approval. Just about EVERYONE knew it was another cr@p sandwich....flavored to make the original cr@p sandwich ‘better’.
I wish I knew what HFC stood for.
for later
Amen
I don’t know about the rest of them but Dave Brat stands for fiscal sanity and shrinking Fedzilla.
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