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Washington • Expecting to gain clout — if not control — of the House in the upcoming election, Republicans are promising a renewed effort to repeal President Barack Obama's health reform law. And if that's not possible, they will attempt to gut its funding.
But the president's point person on the issue said Monday that withholding federal cash isn't just a political game among those in Washington.
Rather, people with real needs — from seniors to small-business owners to the uninsured — would lose promised benefits.
"Do you say to young adults 'OK, we are not going to allow you to be on your parents' plan?' " said Kathleen Sebelius, the Health and Human Services secretary, citing benefits of the law to a group of regional reporters. "'We are not going to provide this help ... for business owners who already enrolled in the pre-insurance plan?' That is really where the resources go."
That argument doesn't persuade Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, one of the plan's chief congressional antagonists.
He said attempts to stop the law, whether through a lawsuit, legislation or the budget, is "driven by everyday Americans who will demand something be done about its tax increases, Medicare cuts and increasing debt."
The health reform debate that consumed Congress throughout 2009 and is now a centerpiece of the 2010 congressional campaigns, may continue to dominate the agenda in 2011, especially if current political projections hold. Republicans need to win 39 seats to claim control of the House.
The Cook Political Report, a leading political forecaster, estimates they will win 40.
If that happens, Republicans will control committee chairmanships and what bills are heard on the House floor. That would give them the ability to push back on health reform — but only to a point.
Current projections have the Democrats narrowly holding onto the Senate, and Obama will still be in the White House.
A full repeal of health reform is highly unlikely, since the president could simply veto it, but Republicans could make it difficult to fund implementation of the massive law.
Count on it, says Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.
"It creates so much uncertainly and it's that uncertainty that is leading to a lack of growth in jobs," he said. "The scary part of Obamacare is that nobody knows how it is going to work."
Hatch calls it a "Washington takeover of health care."
Sebelius has heard these criticisms before and says while opponents come up with a quick phrase to attack it, supporters must explain how the new framework will impact everything from Medicare's prescription drug plans to how people will be able to buy insurance.
Instead of a takeover by the federal government, Sebelius, a former governor of Kansas, called it "one of the most state-friendly pieces of legislation."
Election projection
The Cook Report and other analysts project Republicans in the mid-term elections could take control of the House. Most projections indicate the Senate will remain in the hands of Democrats. President Barack Obama, the main proponent of health care reform, does not stand election until 2012.