Washington Digest: Senate rejects repeal of health care law

WASHINGTON -- A campaign by Republicans to scrap the health care overhaul ran its course last week when the Senate rejected an amendment to repeal the far-reaching law.

The vote for repeal was 47-51, not close as 60 were needed on a procedural vote.

All Republicans voted for repeal, while Democrats who pushed the law to passage last year stuck together and voted to keep it intact.

Republican senators maintained they were heeding a message from voters in last year's elections to ditch the law. The debate was largely a replay from when health care reform was considered over the past two years.

Republicans argued the new law will increase taxes on health industries. They said it would increase insurance premiums on businesses and cause some to drop coverage for workers. They predicted the underpinning of the law -- requiring most Americans to buy health insurance or face fines -- ultimately will be declared un­constitutional.

Democrats countered that the GOP repeal effort was no more than a kowtow to its conservative base. They argued Republicans were not prepared to say how they would replace the law with anything that would help patients or make insurance more available to a significant number of the uninsured.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., voted for repeal. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., voted against it.

Tax requirement shelved

Democrats and Republicans largely agreed on at least one change to the health care law, voting to remove a tax reporting rule.

Senators voted 81-17 to repeal a requirement that businesses submit a 1099 form each year for every vendor who is paid more than $600.

The original bill was intended to aid crackdowns on tax cheats, but business operators said it would create paperwork nightmares. It now goes to the House.

Removing the tax rule was expected to cost the Treasury $19.2 billion in lost revenue over 10 years.

To offset that, the Senate amendment rescinded $44 billion in unspent funds in federal programs, leaving it up to the Obama administration to determine the specific cuts, with Social Security, defense and veterans programs exempted.

Some senators objected to giving the executive branch that authority.

Ensign voted for the amendment. Reid voted against it.

Senators rejected an alternative amendment that would have repealed the 1099 requirement but paid for the revenue loss mostly by raising taxes on oil and gas producers.

The vote was 44-54 on the amendment, which was sponsored by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. Reid voted for the amendment, while Ensign voted against it.

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