The Republican-led U.S. House voted to postpone two significant provisions of the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama's signature health-care law.
The House voted to delay enforcement of the so-called employer and individual mandates. One measure, H.R. 2667, passed 264-161 and would postpone until 2015 the requirement that U.S. businesses with 50 or more workers provide their employees with health insurance.
It's meant to codify the Obama administration's decision on July 2 to delay the so-called employer mandate for a year until 2015.
By a separate vote of 251-174, the Republican-led House passed H.R. 2668, which would delay by a year the requirement that most Americans have health insurance by 2014 or pay a fine. The administration hasn't sought to postpone that provision.
"This is about basic fairness," House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, told reporters in Washington today. "To say that while we're going to relax this mandate for a year on American business but we're going to continue to stick it to individuals and families is strictly and simply unfair to the American people."
The legislation stands no chance of advancing in the Democratic-led Senate.
"It is pointless pandering," said Senate Budget Committee Patty Murray, Washington Democrat.
The measures are meant to fuel lawmakers' talking points for the five-week congressional recess that starts in August. Republicans ran against the health-care law in 2010, a move that helped them win a majority in the House.
The House has voted 37 times to repeal or defund at least part of the health-insurance law, including three times to nullify the entire Affordable Care Act.
Republicans have sought to block Obama from implementing the law. The administration announced July 2 that it would delay the employer mandate until 2015. In addition to today's votes, Republicans scheduled three House committee hearings this week on the Affordable Care Act.
Obama has said he would veto the Republican bills. The measure to delay the employer mandate is "unnecessary," and legislation postponing the individual requirement "would raise health insurance premiums and increase the number of uninsured Americans," according to a statement of White House policy.
Taken together, the two bills would "cost millions of hard-working middle-class families the security of affordable health coverage and care they deserve," the administration statement said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Roxana Tiron in Washington at rtiron@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jodi Schneider at jschneider50@bloomberg.net
