Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks is not a favorite of Washington’s GOP leadership at the moment. Throughout the debate to repeal and replace Obamacare, the Huntsville-area Rep. became a thorn in the side of those who tried to aggressively pass the measure and a face for the House Freedom Caucus’s effort to prevent its approval. Now, as leaders talk of shifting their gaze to other policy priorities, Rep. Brooks says that he can force a vote to end the Affordable Healthcare Act.
After the legislation was pulled from a vote by House Speaker Paul Ryan, Rep. Brooks said that a simple parliamentary move could force the issue.
“These Republican congressmen who publicly oppose Obamacare yet support it behind closed doors constitute a ‘Surrender Caucus’ that hopes the Obamacare issue will simply go away,” Brooks said. “Inasmuch as ‘Surrender Caucus’ Members are in key legislative positions, I will file a discharge petition to by-pass their blockades in hopes of forcing a House Floor vote.”
A discharge petition is a procedural method that would compel the House chamber to vote on a bill if it receives at least 216 signatures.
Last week, Rep. Brooks filed a one-sentence bill to fully repeal Obamacare. Before a forced vote on the bill can take place, he says that he must first wait 30 days.
According to Politico, his proposal has not yet received full support from others in the Freedom Caucus. The group’s chairman, Rep. Mark Meadows (R- N.C.), said that he doesn’t believe there’s anything to the plan, while Rep. David Brat (R- Va.), said he is “not looking at that right now.”
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