Summarized by Jennifer Rae Vliet, News Editor of The Plain Truth
Original article published by The Washington Stand
The House Freedom Caucus is urging Republicans to act on long-promised conservative reforms before the current Congress ends. At a Capitol Hill news conference Wednesday, caucus members discussed the GOP’s midterm losses and what the party could still accomplish. Missouri Rep. Eric Burlison pointed to health care as an area where Republicans had made promises and failed to deliver.
What the House Freedom Caucus warned before the election
Burlison said caucus members had raised the same concern with Republican colleagues in January and again in June. They warned that voters could send lawmakers home if Congress failed to deliver on major promises. After the election, he returned to that warning and argued that the results reflected frustration lawmakers had heard for months. House Freedom Caucus news conference
Burlison pointed to the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. He said Republicans had spent years talking about repealing, replacing, or overhauling the law. In his view, the party’s failure to follow through mattered to voters worried about what they pay for coverage.
Why Burlison put premiums at the center of his argument
Burlison cited an annual family premium figure of about $28,000 during the news conference. He used that figure to illustrate the pressure families face and argued that Republicans had given too little attention to an issue voters cared about.
He also backed President Donald Trump’s proposal to direct money toward individuals so they can make their own health care choices. Burlison presented that approach as a way to give people more control over how they pay for care. He also voiced opposition to Medicare for All, arguing that it would give federal officials more influence over health care decisions.
For Burlison, the weeks left in the current Congress are a chance for Republicans to act on an issue they have campaigned on for years.
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