Sen. Lindsey Graham promised that if Republicans take control of the House, Senate and presidency in 2020, he would push for the repeal of Obamacare.
“If we can get the House back and keep our majority in the Senate, and President Trump wins reelection, I can promise you not only are we going to repeal Obamacare, we’re going to do it in a smart way where South Carolina will be the biggest winner,” the South Carolina Republican said on a Greenville, S.C., radio station.
“We’ve got to remind people that we’re not for Obamacare,” he added. “If we could get the money back to the states, Democratic policies would be tested against our policies.
“This scares the hell out of the Democrats. This is what 2020 is about,” he said.
Mr. Graham’s repeal bill would eliminate subsidies that help citizens buy health insurance as well as roll back Medicaid expansion for low-income citizens in 36 states, shifting the money to states that didn’t expand Medicaid, such as South Carolina. It could force states that did expand their Medicaid eligibility to cut programs and deny service.
Mr. Graham’s comments are the latest chapter in congressional conservatives’ push to repeal Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act. That effort has been partly credited with fueling the Democrats’ takeover of the House in the 2018 midterm election.
Democrats ran on protecting the health care law and are expected to repeat that strategy next year.
Republicans’ efforts to repeal Obamacare fell short in 2017, losing by one vote after Republican Sens. Susan Collins and the late Sen. John McCain opposed the measure.
Mr. Graham assured that the repeal would be different in 2021.
“We were one vote short in the Senate,” he said.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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