Washington Digest: House sets stage for health care repeal vote

WASHINGTON -- The House voted last week to move forward with a Republican effort to repeal the health care reform bill, a major GOP campaign point of the midterm elections.

Lawmakers voted 236-181 in a procedural test vote on repeal.

However, that was before Saturday's shooting attack in Tucson that critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and killed a federal judge and five others.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Saturday all legislative action "is being postponed so that we can take whatever actions may be necessary in light of today's tragedy."

Republican leaders had said a final vote would take place Wednesday after a seven-hour debate.

Democrats have criticized the repeal drive as a political stunt.

Republicans acknowledge their efforts at repeal ultimately will fall short, since Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said the Senate will not hold a repeal vote.

Republicans said the repeal vote will fulfill promises they made to kill the health care law. Failing that, they will press for piecemeal changes.

Reps. Dean Heller and Joe Heck, both R-Nev., voted to move forward on health care repeal. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., voted against repeal.

Republican rules adopted

The 112th session of Congress convened last week, with the House of Representatives adopting a set of operating rules engineered by the new Republican majority.

Lawmakers voted 238-191 along party lines to install rules that GOP leaders said would foster cost-cutting and greater transparency in how legislation is made.

Democrats scoffed, charging the rules were designed more to advance the Republican agenda. They said, for instance, new rules for budget cuts exempt health care repeal and other Republican priorities.

Among the new rules, new spending must be balanced by budget cuts in other programs, although tax cuts would not need to be offset. Money saved by budget cut amendments would be put into a special "lockbox" account so it could not be spent elsewhere.

Republicans also set a rule that bills must be put online for three days before they can be put to a floor vote. Also, committees would need to provide three-days notice before bill-writing sessions, and committee roll call votes would need to be posted within 48 hours.

Heller and Heck voted for the rules. Berkley voted against them.

Health care skirmish

While debating the rules, Republicans sidestepped a Democratic challenge on health care. A motion proposed by Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., would have required lawmakers to disclose whether they were accepting government health insurance that comes with their jobs.

Some Democrats have charged that Republicans who campaigned against health care reform were hypocrites if they accepted benefits for themselves. At least six new Republicans have said they will turn down the insurance.

Republicans criticized what they called a Democratic cheap shot.

The Crowley motion was defeated along party lines, 191-240.

Berkley voted for the Democratic motion. Heller and Heck voted against it.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.