President Donald Trump called on House Republicans to “cut a little loose” on a long-standing federal budget provision that prohibits federal funding for abortion services, while the president is urging his party to pass health reform after Democrats criticized the GOP over a lack of Affordable Care Act subsidies, leading to skyrocketing premiums for enrollees.
Key data
Trump said Tuesday during a Republican retreat at the Kennedy Center that Republicans should “use their ingenuity” as they work with Democrats on a bipartisan effort to stabilize the Affordable Care Act markets.
His comments come as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, plans to hold a vote this week on a Democratic proposal that would reduce health care costs in the United States.
Among the obstacles facing Republicans and Democrats ahead of this week’s proposed vote are possible provisions to the Hyde Amendment, originally passed in 1976.
The Hyde Amendment restricts federal funding for most abortions, which, according to the Center for American Progress, “intentionally discriminates against poor women by prohibiting Medicaid… from covering abortion care.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the Hyde Amendment “probably the most challenging part” of health care reforms, but said there was “potentially a path forward.”
Trump’s comments have been met with opposition from some members of his party, including U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, who said his “commitment to these protections is immutable.”
“If Republicans abandon Hyde, they will abandon the American people,” declared Gavin Oxley, media relations manager for Americans United for Life. “No one should be forced to subsidize abortion against their conscience with their hard-earned tax dollars.”
Chief Critic
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the nonprofit Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said any act of flexibility would be “an abandonment” of the GOP’s commitment to oppose federal funding for abortions and suggested Republicans would lose the November midterm elections if such action is taken.
Key background
The dispute follows a government shutdown and failed attempts to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, pushing millions of Americans to pay significantly higher health care premiums or lose their coverage altogether.
Tangent
Also on Tuesday, the Wyoming Supreme Court struck down two abortion bans it ruled unconstitutional, keeping abortion legal in the conservative state.
This text was originally published in Forbes US.
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