Boehner: 'ObamaCare' must be on the table in 'fiscal cliff' negotiations

The Hill ^ | 11/21/12 | By Sam Baker

[US Navy Vet]

President Obama's signature healthcare law has to be on the table for cuts as Congress tried to negotiate a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff," House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) wrote in an op-ed.

"We can’t afford it, and we can’t afford to leave it intact," Boehner wrote in the Cincinnati Enquirer. "That’s why I’ve been clear that the law has to stay on the table as both parties discuss ways to solve our nation’s massive debt challenge."

Republicans have already made clear that they hope to go after the law's insurance subsidies in upcoming debt talks. The subsidies represent billions of dollars that will, in 2014, help the uninsured pay for private insurance coverage. But Republicans want to cut into the subsidies to help pay for a fiscal-cliff agreement.

[US Navy Vet]

swell...:-|...not impressed

[stephenjohnbanker]

Boehner will cave, he lies.

[MrChips]

Not impressed, myself, but at least he uttered the words! I long ago thought the Republicans out to just say “Fine, we’ll raise taxes if you repeal Obamacare.” That is not going to happen, but at least he has raised the issue.

[Fzob]

Does anyone actually believe Boehner will make a difference?

Not me.

[mosaicwolf]

"Republicans have already made clear that they hope...."

Hope? Hope? Hope is a dangerous thing.

[fwdude]

One other thing that MUST be an the table is including with any changes to the tax law an expiration date, just like Demonicrats always demand from Republicans.

If they must "tax the rich," let it be only for a specified time period.

[dfwgator]

Screw Hope!

[hal ogen]

Boner will “back down”, “go limp” or some equivalent. He needs massive injections of testosterone or viagra or something. Look at his performance so far.

[MrChips]

I actually like him when he has been drinking.

[cotton1706]

Could have defunded it in the 2011 budget deal; could have defunded it in the debt deal; there have been numerous continuing resolutions where it could have been defunded. And now they’re talking about a stop-gap, which is another continuing resolution with all funding at current levels.

Just why exacty should we believe that he thinks Obamacare is too expensive and should be cut back or elimininated??

He’s in cahoots and Obamacare isn’t going anywhere. We’ll get to the end of December and the House will be scared to death to stand for something. They will be pushed against the wall yet again and mushy Boehner will capitulate.

[Clay Moore]

Many years ago when MT Lott was Speaker of the House, I actually sent him a spine. I don't think he ever had it installed.

We were sitting at the deer camp grousing about MT’s latest cave in and I decided that maybe I could help fix the situation.

I went out the the area where we disposed of the spare deer parts and picked up about half a dozen vertebrae, knocked a majority of the dirt off of them and mailed them along a note saying that now that Bambi no longer needed them, maybe MT could have them installed.

I never even got a thank you note from the ungrateful worm!

[Twotone]

“The subsidies represent billions of dollars that will, in 2014, help the uninsured pay for private insurance coverage. But Republicans want to cut into the subsidies to help pay for a fiscal-cliff agreement.”

Great. Give the dems another baseball bat to hit us over the head with. “They want to hurt the poor...AGAIN!”

Just tell them they can do anything they want. Vote ‘present’. And as each piece of bad economic news comes up (as we know it will) have every Republican find a reporter & say: “We told them this would happen.” And keep on doing it thru 2014 & beyond.

[gotribe]

Well, unless you stated clearly that you were sending A SPINE, he would not have recognized one. So he wouldn’t know to thank you.

[Lancey Howard]

Could have defunded it in the 2011 budget deal; could have defunded it in the debt deal; there have been numerous continuing resolutions where it could have been defunded. And now they’re talking about a stop-gap, which is another continuing resolution with all funding at current levels.

Yep. The House can unilaterally defund Ubama's Mengelecare today if they want to.

[skinkinthegrass]

"I went out the the area where we disposed of the spare deer parts
and picked up about half a dozen vertebrae, knocked a majority of
the dirt off of them and mailed them along a note saying that now
that Bambi no longer needed them, maybe MT could have them installed.
I never even got a thank you note from the ungrateful worm!"don't expect one; maybe the spine was lost..along w/ the promises of fiscal responsible policies..
why...weren't they (the policies) ever found/enacted; they weren't even sent/formulated.

[Lancey Howard]

Boehner is on the right track now. I like the idea of pushing Ubanga to the brink, see if HE is the intransigent one. “The rich” can always find an accountant who can make alleged “tax increases” go away, but Ubanga can’t push his communist health care without the money.

Boehner’s next move should be to promise tax increases on “the rich” that are scheduled to begin in five years as long as there are real spending cuts NOW. (And I don’t mean phoney-baloney reductions in spending growth - - I mean genuinely LESS DOLLARS spent this year than last year.) Five years will give future Congresses plenty of time to repeal any tax hikes.