Can Appropriations Bills Defund Obamacare? [Yes!]

Heritage Foundation ^ | Aug 14, 2013

[Jim Robinson]

• Some have argued that because much of Obamacare constitutes “mandatory” spending—namely, new entitlements such as the massive Medicaid expansion and exchange insurance subsidies—Congress is powerless to defund the entire law as part of its annual appropriations bills. These claims are false.

• Congress routinely enacts changes to mandatory spending programs as part of its annual appropriations process. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recognizes these changes when analyzing spending bills and scores them as CHiMPS—changes in mandatory program spending.

• In February 2011, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1—legislation intended to reduce federal spending by $100 billion, consistent with House Republicans’ “Pledge to America.” CBO found 23 pages’ worth of CHiMPS in the House-passed version of H.R. 1. These reductions in mandatory spending ran the gamut from $26 million in savings over one year, and $74 billion in savings over ten years, achieved by reducing the maximum Pell Grant award (Section 1831), to $30 million in savings achieved by reducing mandatory appropriations to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Section 1517).

• Congress has already defunded mandatory programs within Obamacare—and done so through appropriations measures. Section 1857 of the continuing resolution Congress enacted in April 2011 (P.L. 112-10) “permanently cancelled” $2.2 billion in mandatory funding to Obamacare’s co-op health insurance program.

• Congress has also defunded elements of health care entitlements for decades. Every year since 1976, Congress has enacted the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding of abortion. This provision, enacted as part of discretionary appropriations legislation, prohibits abortion coverage in the Medicaid entitlement program.

• Historically, Congress has used the “power of the purse” broadly to make key policy statements through defunding. For instance, in 1982 Congress acted to block the Reagan Administration’s policy for supporting the Contra forces opposing the Nicaraguan government. As part of Public Law 97-377, Congress prohibited both the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency from furnishing military equipment and support to any group for the purpose of overthrowing the Nicaraguan government. Even though defense spending is not funded through mandatory appropriations, the example demonstrates that defunding has been—and remains—a powerful tool Congress can use to affect public policy.

• Given the examples above, and numerous others, it is beyond dispute that Congress can use its power of the purse to defund Obamacare—both its mandatory and discretionary spending—in appropriations legislation this fall. The lone remaining question is whether Congress can summon the political will to do so.

[nathanbedford]

Of course Congress can ban Obamacare spending, whether entitlement or not, whether "mandatory" or not, otherwise one Congress could bind all succeeding congresses unto eternity.

[onyx]

Please ping everyone to this one, Jim.
I'll start with Sarah Palin Awesome List.
If all of Us attend Town Halls and make our calls, obamacare can be KILLED!

Sarah Palin's Awesome Ping List

KILL obamacare!
NO AMNESTY - NO NEW BILLS in the HOUSE!
DEMAND BOTH FROM YOUR CONGRESS-CRITTER!
IT'S AMERICAN PATRIOT TIME!

[Gaffer]

The House does have the power of the purse (they are the only constitutionally authorized originating entity for spending bills, and it should rightly defund anything and everything with respect to Obamacare.

The only thing I worry about appropriations-wise, if a budget bill is passed, it will have to go through a House-Senate Conference which reconciles Senate appropriations with the controlling House bill and then a final House vote on whether to accept or reject the report.

This is where I feel we will get shived in the back by our own RINO House conferees, and the level of what they finally agree on will be buried in gobbley gook wording buried in the conferee report. Most House members will never read the conferee report and cross reference back to both bills.

[onyx]

Free Republic is ALL about grassroots activism!

Get actively involved!

We can do this!

Please Support Free Republic Today!

YOUR DONATIONS KEEP FREE REPUBLIC UP AND RUNNING STRONG!
Thank you ALL very much!

[Jim Robinson]

Defund ObamaCare!!

[onyx]

BTTT

[firebrand]

Heritage is doing great work under De Mint. A wonderful bullet list to keep.

[The Cajun]

Bookmark.

[Norm Lenhart]

All true, well and good.

They won’t/ They won’t because they believe, rightly in my opinion, that we will continue to vote for them as soon as they rehash the fear of “The Dems are worse.

They will pretend none of this ever happened and so will many on the right because every election we repeat the game of them pretending to be right of center and we make excuses because ‘the Dems are worse’.

Jim and everyone, until they are removed from power this will not change. And they will never be removed as long as people on the right make excuses for why we have to compromise our principles.

it will never change until the voices on the right screaming bloody murder that we ‘have’ to support this leftist bunch are told to shut the hell up and go to hell. No one wants to admit that but the logical truth is that as long as the people empowered to govern have no fear of blowback, they will move ever leftward. And do it with the blessing of all the people making excuse after excuse for them, forgiving and forgetting and picking the lesser evil over the principled choice.

And contrary to many idiots claims, we do indeed have a choice.

[txrangerette]

Somebody tell Mitch McConnell...

[txrangerette]

I’m quite glad Texas didn’t vote for and give its electoral votes to Obama.

Even if the winning candidate in Texas had been Elmer Fudd.

I would have been glad of it compared to Obama taking my beloved state.

Make no mistake. It’s not arguable. If Texans followed your demand, Obama would have won here, too. I thank the Lord Texas did not and Obama did not.

I’ve said this to you before. I say it again. You never stop repeating your mantra to the world, and I’m not going to hesitate to repeat the results of your mantra, if followed.

We must unify behind someone who can transcend the mind-blowing challenges America faces including all the little divisive “cells” and beat the libs like Reagan did, and in the name of Constitutional governance.

Down that road is hope.

[Norm Lenhart]

Down your road is more excuses and more leftist Republicans. If you willfully drive it, you are as much the problem as McCain since you both work toward the same thing.

[MestaMachine]

Like rubio who is now trying to become the comeback kid. Bad on amnesty, but doesn’t like obahahacare. Well, I no longer care what rubio likes. Bye. And the same goes for every rino on my radar.
Oh, I’ll do my part and call and fax the bastiches that occupy the seats now, but never will I vote for a dayum one of them again.

[Norm Lenhart]

I would also correctly point out that the type of people you want are the people we now have. The ones that refused to defend their own DOMA, the ones that are ramming immigration down America’s throat, the ones that refuse to use their constitutional power to rein in Obama’s illegal use of exec authority or investigate in any meaningful/results filled manner and a lot more.

That’s the result of your ‘hope’.

Have we not heard enough ‘hope and change’ insanity from libs? Now supposed conservatives want to echo them? How about ‘Results’. How about ‘Principles”. How about doing the job by the Constitution. How about that?

How about admitting that for decades since Reagan (who said a party cannot be eall things to all people), the GOP has fed us a progression of ever more leftist candidates, the last indistinguishable from a lib by his actual record?

You want more of that? Then why are you complaining about our government? You got exactly the people you want more of now.

[Norm Lenhart]

Mark my words. In a few months, many freepers will condemn anyone who says a bad word about him. Cuz he can “Win!”....

[MestaMachine]

So be it.

[Norm Lenhart]

Yup. But we’d all be better off as a country if they weren’t allowed to spout liberal BS with impunity. And anything in support of Senator Amnesty is nothing BUT liberal propaganda. All it does is confuse the issue,

[Lancey Howard]

BUMP!

Appropriations Bills CAN Defund Obamacare, and Boehner, McConnell, and the rest of those weak, cowardly bastards KNOW IT.

[Las Vegas Dave]

Pinging the ping lists..as a special FYI!