By Bob Unruh
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
One of the biggest targets should the GOP regain control of either the U.S. House or Senate in November's elections, according to many polls, will be Obamacare, the president's plan that effectively nationalized the decision-making process for health-care issues.
But a little-reported move to begin demolition of the health-care system takeover already is pending in the House and has gained about three-quarters of the support it needs to repeal the law that demands citizens buy insurance or pay financial penalties.
As of last night, the discharge petition sponsored by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, had collected 162 signatures of the 218 it would need to advance – even in the face of continued opposition from Obamacare promoter House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Under the provisions of the discharge procedures in the House, such a move is required to have the support of 218 members, a majority, of the 435-member chamber before moving forward.
But since it requires a majority, it is virtually assured of approval once it reaches the point of being advanced.
Share your thoughts about the Obamacare nationalization of health-care decision-making.
The newest names, all from just the last few days:
1. Ed Whitfield, Kentucky
2. Walter B. Jones, North Carolina
3. Vernon J. Ehlers, Michigan
4. Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin
5. Doc Hastings, Washington
6. Don Young, Alaska
7. Ginny Brown-Waite, Florida
8. Patrick J. Tiberi, Ohio
9. Mike Rogers, Michigan
10. Joe Barton, Texas
11. Adam H. Putnam, Florida
12. Dave Camp, Michigan
King has told WND the entire GOP leadership team in the House is on board, as well as the full delegations from California and Texas. He's working on obtaining the last few GOP signatures before turning his attention to the Democrats.
All of the GOP representatives and 34 Democrats opposed Obamacare when it was passed on a narrow 219-212 vote earlier this year. King said 212 representatives, at least, should be in favor of overturning it, since they opposed it before.
Then it will be up to the four, five or six Democrat votes that would be needed to turn from endorsement to rejection for it to advance.
"This is starting to come together," King told WND just days ago. "All the Republicans [earlier] voted no. We should all be for repeal."
He said he's counting on the 34 Democrats who voted no to "demonstrate the courage of their convictions" by supporting a repeal plan.
Many will be running for re-election, King noted, in districts where the majority of voters want the law repealed. And there are Democrats who voted for Obamacare who face election challenges in a field of voters irritated by the law's new taxes and intrusions into their lives.
King told WND that if the discharge petition is successful, it will be a "resounding message" to Pelosi, who said Congress would have to vote for the health-care takeover before people could know what was in it.
King's plan is to "pull out by the roots" the legislation that, among other things, will require citizens to provide their "body-mass index" rating to the government and purchase "government-approved" health insurance whether they want it or not.
Summer sizzle: Obamacare could be repealed before election
The proposal states: "Pursuant to clause 2 of rule XV, I, Steve King of Iowa, move to discharge the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, Education and Labor, the Judiciary, Natural Resources, Rules, House Administration and Appropriations from the consideration of the bill (H.R. 4972) to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was referred to said committees on March 25, 2010, in support of which motion the undersigned Members of the House of Representatives affix their signatures."
Its target is the $940 billion, or greater, bill adopted by the Democrat-controlled Congress in March.
Advocates say constituents need to call their representatives to tell them to get on board right away so that the petition is positioned to move forward whether or not the GOP becomes the majority in the House after the 2010 fall elections.
The move by King also has prompted an online petition campaign to rally the public to the cause.
"Who would have thought we might have a chance to repeal Obamacare – this term?" exclaimed Joseph Farah, editor and CEO of WND, in response to the plan by King.
Now it's time for the public to turn up the pressure, he urged. Farah's public petition drive is intended to coalesce support for King's measure.
King has explained, "Republicans are the proponents of limited government, personal responsibility and constitutional liberties, principles which 'Obamacare' violates. Recognizing this fact, every House Republican voted against 'Obamacare' just three months ago. Now that our repeal effort has been endorsed by House GOP leadership, House Republicans should stand by their votes by signing onto discharge petition No. 11."
He said, "The American people did not want Obamacare passed, and they have consistently called for their representatives to show that they stand with them by repealing the legislation. Our discharge petition provides an avenue for repeal that even Speaker Pelosi cannot block. Republicans recognize that a clean, 100-percent repeal bill is the best strategy for uprooting 'Obamacare' lock, stock and barrel, and will continue to show their commitment to Obamacare's repeal by quickly signing our discharge petition."
Congressional officials said Pelosi, an adamant advocate for government-controlled health care, never would allow a vote on a plan to overturn Obamacare. But through the discharge-petition process in the House, if a majority of members sign on, she cannot stop it. It still would need to be moved through the Senate and, ultimately, the Oval Office, possibly by a veto override.
An inside congressional source told WND the pressure also will be on all other members as the November 2010 elections approach, since poll after poll has indicated a significant majority of Americans dislike Obamacare to the point of seeking its repeal.
The issue is expected to play a role in the elections, with voters, especially supporters of tea-party principles, calling on their representatives to stand up against what a multitude of lawsuits already are describing as an unconstitutional power grab by Democrats.
Both Democrats and Republicans will have to answer to voters on the issue, the source said.
And, whether the Republicans or the Democrats are in a majority after the fall elections, the petition will put the issue in a position to be forwarded immediately.
"This isn't a battle we want to give up on," the source told WND. "Obamacare needs to get pulled out by the roots."
House members who previously endorsed King's plan are:
1. Steve King, Iowa
2. Connie Mack, Florida
3. Michele Bachmann, Minnesota
4. Todd Tiahrt, Kansas
5. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee
6. Tom Price, Georgia
7. Paul C. Broun, Georgia
8. Jerry Moran, Kansas
9. Tom Graves, Georgia
10. Rob Bishop, Utah
11. Joseph R. Pitts, Pennsylvania
12. Mike Pence, Indiana
13. Lynn A. Westmoreland, Georgia
14. Glenn Thompson, Pennsylvania
15. Jeb Hensarling, Texas
16. Louie Gohmert, Texas
17. Judy Biggert, Illinois
18. John Boozman, Arkansas
19. Kenny Marchant, Texas
20. Jim Jordan, Ohio
21. Jason Chaffetz, Utah
22. Gary G. Miller, California
23. Bob Goodlatte, Virginia
24. Doug Lamborn, Colorado
25. Robert E. Latta, Ohio
26. Tom Cole, Oklahoma
27. Trent Franks, Arizona
28. K. Michael Conaway, Texas
29. Jo Bonner, Alabama
30. Dan Burton, Indiana
31. J. Gresham Barrett, South Carolina
32. John Linder, Georgia
33. Bill Posey, Florida
34. Lynn Jenkins, Kansas
35. Mike Coffman, Colorado
36. Roscoe G. Bartlett, Maryland
37. Virginia Foxx, North Carolina
38. John Campbell, California
39. Mike Rogers, Alabama
40. Randy Neugebauer, Texas
41. Charles K. Djou, Hawaii
42. Pete Sessions, Texas
43. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Wisconsin
44. Howard Coble, North Carolina
45. Candice S. Miller, Michigan
46. Steve Scalise, Louisiana
47. Robert B. Aderholt, Alabama
48. Phil Gingrey, Georgia
49. Kevin Brady, Texas
50. Pete Olson, Texas
51. C.W. Bill Young, Florida
52. Tom McClintock, California
53. Joe Wilson, South Carolina
54. Mac Thornberry, Texas
55. John R. Carter, Texas
56. John Shimkus, Illinois
57. Mary Fallin, Oklahoma
58. Gus M. Bilirakis, Florida
59. John Fleming, Louisiana
60. Jeff Flake, Arizona
61. W. Todd Akin, Missouri
62. Peter Hoekstra, Michigan
63. Donald A. Manzullo, Illinois
64. Eric Cantor, Virginia
65. Scott Garrett, New Jersey
66. John A. Boehner, Ohio
67. Henry E. Brown, Jr., South Carolina
68. Kay Granger, Texas
69. Parker Griffith, Alabama
70. Ted Poe, Texas
71. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington
72. Rodney Alexander, Louisiana
73. Fred Upton, Michigan
74. Jean Schmidt, Ohio
75. John Sullivan, Oklahoma
76. Peter J. Roskam, Illinois
77. Blaine Luetkemeyer, Missouri
78. Michael C. Burgess, Texas
79. Ken Calvert, California
80. Lee Terry, Nebraska
81. Patrick T. McHenry, North Carolina
82. Mary Bono Mack, California
83. Spencer Bachus, Alabama
84. Jeff Miller, Florida
85. John B. Shadegg, Arizona
86. Gregg Harper, Mississippi
87. John Abney Culberson, Texas
88. Dana Rohrabacher, California
89. David P. Roe, Tennessee
90. J. Randy Forbes, Virginia
91. Bill Cassidy, Louisiana
92. Brett Guthrie, Kentucky
93. Denny Rehberg, Montana
94. Sue Wilkins Myrick, North Carolina
95. Tom Latham, Iowa
96. Michael K. Simpson, Idaho
97. John Kline, Minnesota
98. Ron Paul, Texas
99. Thomas J. Rooney, Florida
100. Daniel E. Lungren, California
101. Darrell E. Issa, California
102. Harold Rogers, Kentucky
103. John J. Duncan, Jr., Tennessee
104. Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania
105. Duncan Hunter, California
106. Sam Graves, Missouri
107. Bob Inglis, South Carolina
108. Edward R. Royce, California
109. Ralph M. Hall, Texas
110. Timothy V. Johnson, Illinois
111. Michael T. McCaul, Texas
112. Thaddeus G. McCotter, Michigan
113. Robert J. Wittman, Virginia
114. Lamar Smith, Texas
115. Cynthia M. Lummis, Wyoming
116. Wally Herger, California
117. Vern Buchanan, Florida
118. Christopher H. Smith, New Jersey
119. Geoff Davis, Kentucky
120. Jack Kingston, Georgia
121. Brian P. Bilbray, California
122. Zach Wamp, Tennessee
123. Jerry Lewis, California
124. Erik Paulsen, Minnesota
125. Roy Blunt, Missouri
126. Jo Ann Emerson, Missouri
127. Frank Wolf, Virginia
128. George Radanovich, California
129. Steve Austria, Ohio
130. Greg Walden, Oregon
131. Frank D. Lucas, Oklahoma
132. Adrian Smith, Nebraska
133. Jeff Fortenberry, Nebraska
134. Frank A. LoBiondo, New Jersey
135. Sam Johnson, Texas
136. Paul Ryan, Wisconsin
137. John L. Mica, Florida
138. Michael R. Turner, Ohio
139. Aaron Schock, Illinois
140. Cliff Stearns, Florida
141. Devin Nunes, California
142. David Dreier, California
143. Christopher John Lee, New York
144. Kevin McCarthy, California
145. Bill Shuster, Pennsylvania
146. Leonard Lance, New Jersey
147. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, California
148. Ander Crenshaw, Florida
149. Elton Gallegly, California
150. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, New Jersey
WND reported recently when House Minority Leader John Boehner gave Obamacare a failing grade for its first three months due to evidence of billions in new taxes, job losses it will trigger, its increase of the deficit and other impacts Americans now are discovering.
It's being revealed that nearly another half a billion dollars in taxes for Obama's plan will come from charity-based 501(c)(3) hospitals and a whopping $70 billion will come from those who don't buy "government-approved" health insurance or in some other way fail to comply with the law's demands.
A recent poll by the Obama-friendly CNN revealed 56 percent of the public disapproves of the law.
"While rushing their massive government takeover of health care through Congress, President Obama and congressional Democrats promised it would create jobs, lower costs, reduce the deficit, allow Americans to keep their health care, protect seniors' coverage, prohibit taxpayer-funded abortion and, of course, gain the support of the American people," Boehner's report said.
"It isn't just that none of these promises or predictions have turned out to be true. In every instance, Obamacare has made matters worse," the report said.
Among the study's conclusions:
* "Some of the nation's largest employers have announced they will be forced to make cutbacks as a result of Obamacare's job-killing mandates."
* "Two independent government entities … have confirmed that the new law fails to lower health-care costs and reduce the deficit."
* "Obamacare includes at least a dozen violations of President Obama's pledge to not raise taxes on middle-class families."
* "The government has confirmed that the new law's massive Medicare cuts will fall squarely on the backs of seniors, millions of whom will be forced off their current Medicare coverage."
The report also said Obama officials have confirmed their new law "will force some 87 million Americans to drop their current coverage despite President Obama's promise that Americans would be able to keep the coverage that they have."
The report further states Obama has done nothing to implement his executive order that was supposed to prevent taxpayer funding of abortions.
The result is that people like it no better now – or even less – than before they knew many of the details. Dozens of states also have revolted against the plan.
"This report chronicles Obamacare's broken promises in the three months since it became law," Boehner said. "The American people remain squarely opposed to this government takeover of health care that has already failed to live up to specific promises made by President Obama and Washington Democrats.
"Republicans are listening to the American people, and fighting to repeal Obamacare so we can replace it with common-sense reforms focused on lowering costs and protecting jobs," he said.
According to the plan, some $400 million will hit nonprofit hospitals, $17 billion will come from those "who do not purchase government-approved health insurance," another $52 billion will hit workers "who fail to fully comply with government health-insurance mandates," and a tax hike for Medicare will pull another $210 billion from the grocery budgets of Americans.
More than 130 top economists also submitted a document, according to the report, that "the health-care bill contains a number of provisions that will eliminate jobs, reduce hours and wages and limit future job creation."
Obama's law is facing a number of lawsuits contesting its constitutionality, claiming the federal government has no right to require consumers to participate in a business transaction – the purchase of health insurance – if they choose not to.
