GOP Congressman Rips ‘Frustrating’ Obamacare Bill Steamroll

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said the way GOP House leadership has rammed its health care bill through committees with no amendments is “not how American democracy is supposed to work” during an interview Monday on “The Laura Ingraham Show.”

Jordan, a founding member and former chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, expressed his frustration over the American Health Care Act proposal introduced in the House last week. Saying the bill fails to fulfill the Republican Party’s promise of completely repealing and replacing Obamacare, Jordan indicated that he cannot support the legislation in its current form.

“It’s not like you introduce it and, ‘Oh, no one gets to amend it. No changes can be made. Take this or leave it.’ That’s not how American democracy is supposed to work, for goodness’ sake.”

“Let’s rework the legislation and let’s get it into a form that is actually what we told the American people we were going to do,” Jordan told LifeZette Editor-in-Chief Laura Ingraham. “It’s not like you introduce it and, ‘Oh, no one gets to amend it. No changes can be made. Take this or leave it.’ That’s not how American democracy is supposed to work, for goodness’ sake.”

The fact that the bill was pushed through two committees already without GOP leaders allowing any amendments, Jordan said, is preventing congressional Republicans from fulfilling their promise to the American people.

“I represent three-quarters of a million people in west-central and north-central Ohio. They’d kind of probably want me to weigh in on the process and actually try to fight for what I told them I was going to do when they elected me last fall,” Jordan said. “Let’s actually have the debates. I’d like amendments to be made, Laura. I’d like changes to be made and actually bring down the cost of insurance that will be consistent with what we told the American people that we’re actually going to repeal all of Obamacare.”

Calling the way the process has unfolded “frustrating,” the Ohio congressman insisted “there is no way” that the legislation will accomplish “what we told the voters we were going to accomplish if they gave us the House and the Senate and the White House.”

“We didn’t say that we were going to repeal Obamacare and keep some of the taxes. We didn’t say we were going to repeal Obamacare and have insurance subsidies in there. We didn’t say we were going to repeal Obamacare but also take the Medicaid expansion and expand it … we didn’t say that,” Jordan said. “Let’s not keep the Obamacare structure. Let’s be consistent with what we said.”

Jordan noted that nearly “every major conservative organization” has expressed its opposition to the bill, as well as a number of conservative health care experts, at least five senators, and “a whole bunch of conservatives in the House.”

“But when you have that much opposition, that should make people step back and say, ‘Wait a minute. Maybe instead of rushing this through, we should rethink it and do it right,'” Jordan said. “That should tell us something. Maybe this is not consistent with what we told the voters we were going to do. So let’s redo it and let’s do it right.”

Although President Donald Trump has backed the three-phase House GOP bill, Jordan said he was encouraged by Trump’s attitude and his willingness to negotiate.

“I was pleased with his attitude. He was open to hearing. He was open, I think, to making this thing, this bill better. That’s come through I think very clearly,” Jordan said.

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But when Ingraham brought up the president’s reported threat, issued last week, that midterm congressional elections would be a “bloodbath” for those Republicans who refuse to back the bill, Jordan said he didn’t think that Trump “is really going to be opposed to the very people who worked so hard to help him be the president of the United States.”

“And my attitude is, I’m focused on accomplishing what the American people sent us here to accomplish,” said Jordan, who is up for re-election in 2018. “I’m not worried about what may or may not happen in primaries.”

“The focus should be: Let’s actually do what the American people sent us to Washington to do. Let’s remember that they hired us,” Jordan added. “But let’s do a Phase 1 that unites Republicans and actually is consistent with what we told the American people.”