The House of Representatives voted to defund the Affordable Care Act last week. On Sept. 20, a sudden surge in political pressure from Republicans nationwide gained enough House votes to pass a continuing resolution absent funding for the healthcare law. It was not until two days before the vote that the pressure mounted to a point convincing to members of Congress.
Speaker of the House John Boehner, at first opposed to defunding the law by means of the continuing resolution, was one of many important converted lawmakers.
At the crux of the conflict is Republican Senator Ted Cruz, freshman from Texas. Cruz, with help from Senator Mike Lee, Utah, has been the dominant force in pushing for the defunding vote.
Cruz’s efforts have drawn criticism from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Reid said Monday: “We’re not going to bow to tea party anarchists who deny the mere fact that Obamacare is the law. We will not bow to tea party anarchists who refuse to accept that the Supreme Court ruled that Obamacare is constitutional,” according to “Politico.”
Beginning Tuesday afternoon, Cruz spoke for 21 hours protesting the law on the Senate floor. This was not a filibuster because it served as a method of drawing attention to what he believes are negative aspects of the law. Those in support of the effort hope that it will even persuade some red-state Democrat senators who are up for re-election in 2014, like Arkansas’ Mark Pryor.
“Any vote for cloture, any vote to allow Harry Reid to add funding to Obamacare with just a 51-vote threshold, a vote for cloture is a vote for Obamacare,” Cruz said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Cloture, which is a process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end, will ensure that the votes required to pass the revised continuing resolution from the Senate will be changed from 51 to 60. If cloture is entertained, there will be a vote on a new continuing resolution including funding for Obamacare, which could result in a government shutdown.
If a government shutdown occurs, many federal employees will be furloughed. Services like Social Security and the military, though, will still function.
There are some Republicans who stand opposed to fighting this battle because of disagreement on tactics.
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) said on Wednesday, “As much as I loathe Obamacare, I don’t think a shutdown actually works in our best interests because the press and the mainstream media will inevitably side with President Obama, and I don’t want to do anything to change the focus from President Obama and his failed policies, including Obamacare,” according to RollCall.
