WASHINGTON — Arkansas’ Republican members of Congress said they will push harder to repeal the 2010 healthcare overhaul after Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld broad aspects of the law.
With no relief coming from the judicial branch, they said they would increase their political and legislative efforts, making repeal of the law a priority before the November elections.
“The American people have an opportunity to push the reset button,” said Rep. Rick Crawford, a Jonesboro Republican.
Crawford and other Republicans said they were caught a bit off guard by the ruling.
They had expected the court to declare the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s “individual mandate” that people obtain health insurance unconstitutional. Instead, the court ruled that the penalties for not acquiring insurance are actually constitutionally permitted taxes.
“I was surprised and disappointed,” said Rep. Steve Womack, a Rogers Republican. “I had mentally prepared myself for the fact that the individual mandate would be struck down.”
Womack said the House would vote to repeal the law soon after it returns from its July Fourth recess. But because past repeal attempts have gone nowhere in the Senate, final resolution on the matter won’t happen until after the elections.
“Ultimately, it will be up to the voters,” he said. “This even sharpens the contrasts between the choices we face in November.”
Rep. Tim Griffin, a Little Rock Republican, called the decision a “wake-up call.”
Griffin said he did not know whether the ruling will result in increased fundraising for Republicans, but he said the decision had gotten the attention of a lot of conservatives,
“A lot of people who have been sitting on the sidelines will get involved,” he said.
Griffin said repealing the law is a House GOP priority, but added that replacing it with another health-care policy designed to rein in costs did not have to happen before voters make their selections in November.
“Most folks would say, ‘Don’t rush it, do it right,’” he said.
Sen. John Boozman, a Republican, said there was deep“discontent” with the law among Democrats, Republicans and Independents.
“The decision gives a lot of us greater incentive to repeal” the law, he said.
Sen. Mark Pryor, a Democrat who is the only current member of the Arkansas delegation who voted for the health-care overhaul, said that while the law “is not perfect,” it is already benefiting Arkansans. Citing figures released by the White House, Pryor said that 36,000 elderly Arkansans were benefiting from increased prescription-drug coverage under the law, and that 35,000 young people in the state were covered under a provision that allows adults up to age 26 to participate in their parents’ plans.
Pryor said he isn’t sure whether Democrats or Republicans will be in better shape to rally voters on the basis of the high court’s decision.
“Both sides will try to use this,” he said. “It’s a total 100 percent spin zone right now.” Rep. Mike Ross, a Democrat who voted against the overhaul, said any attempt to change the law needed bipartisan support.
“In an election year, that’s pretty doubtful,” he said.
In the hours after the decision, Democrats, Republicans and political groups of all stripes, including labor unions, religious groups, gay activists and business organizations, emailed reactions and fundraising requests on the basis of the court’s ruling.
Arkansas’ Republican former governor, Mike Huckabee, for example, sent out a request for donations of $25 or more to his Huck PAC political action committee to help elect Republicans.
Crawford’s office sent out conflicting news releases praising and then decrying the court ruling.
Crawford issued a release within minutes after the ruling erroneously announcing that the individual mandate was struck down, something that he said “validates” the argument that the federal government cannot mandate health care.
Six minutes later, Crawford sent out another e-mail to “recall” the congressman’s initial reaction.
Crawford said he was “surprised” by the decision, and that the e-mail was sent out by mistake. In the first hour after the decision, others jumped the gun, too, including CNN. The network reported that the Supreme Court had struck down the individual mandate.
The ruling “crystallizes” the debate over the health-care law as the November elections draw closer, by declaring the penalties associated with the individual mandate a tax, Crawford said.
“Most folks in my district don’t like Obamacare,” Crawford said. “We just can’t afford it.”
Front Section, Pages 11 on 06/29/2012