Heritage Action on Wednesday announced that the group would no longer urge Republican lawmakers to vote against the House bill to repeal and replace Obamacare if a newly proposed amendment from Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) is adopted.
Last month the conservative group initially issued a key vote alert calling on members to vote against the American Health Care Act (AHCA), indicating that the group would not support members who voted in favor of the legislation.
Though Heritage Action will no longer pressure Republican members to vote against the bill, the group did not issue a resounding endorsement of the legislation.
“Representatives MacArthur and Meadows deserve tremendous credit for their good faith negotiations to improve the bill. Their proposed amendment advances the debate and raises key issues for the Senate to consider as the effort to repeal Obamacare moves forward,” Heritage Action CEO Michael Neeham said in a statement.
“To be clear, this is not full repeal and it is not what Republicans campaigned on or outlined in the Better Way agenda,” he continued. “The amendment does, however, represent important progress in what has been a disastrous process. Given the extreme divides in the Republican Party, allowing Texas and South Carolina to make different decisions on health insurance regulations than New York and New Jersey may be the only way forward.”
The new amendment drafted by moderate MacArthur and House Freedom Caucus Chair Mark Meadows (R-NC) prompted the Freedom Caucus to officially back the AHCA if the amendment is included. The amendment would allow states to apply for waivers from certain Obamacare mandates.
Though the amendment has brought conservatives on board, it’s not yet clear whether the changes will bring the bill too far to the right to win over moderate Republicans.
