Sen. Pat Toomey said Wednesday he never thought his fellow Republicans would be able to totally defund Obamacare, but a rethinking of provisions within the law could be a “way out” of the political quagmire in which Capitol Hill finds itself.
Mr. Toomey, of Pennsylvania, said it is normal for future Congresses to review laws that have been on the books for some time — a defense of the GOP’s use of the Affordable Care Act as a negotiating tool before the government shutdown.
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Yet, he conceded that a full repeal or defunding bill is not in the cards.
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“It’s clear that as long as this president’s in office, he’s not going to sign that,” he told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
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What should be in play, he said, is the law’s 2.3 percent excise tax on medical device manufacturers across the country. He noted that a strong majority of senators voted to repeal the tax during a symbolic budget vote earlier this year.
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Mr. Toomey told MSNBC that President Obama’s current stance, that he will negotiate if Republicans pass “clean” measures to end the shutdown and raise the debt, is “going to lead nowhere.”
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