The House Freedom Caucus, chaired by Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., will encourage members to sign a “discharge petition” allowing a bill similar to the December 2015 repeal of Obamacare—which passed both the House and Senate but was vetoed by then-President Barack Obama—to proceed to a floor vote.
If the petition receives 218 signatures, it will pull a March bill identical to the 2015 repeal of the Affordable Care Act out of committee and straight to a floor vote, a spokeswoman for Meadows said.
The parliamentary rule bypasses obstacles awaiting other Obamacare repeal efforts, in effect resurrecting the 2015 repeal legislation.
The petition, filed July 19 by Rep. Thomas Garrett, R-Va., and 24 other Freedom Caucus members, “discharges” the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health of its duty to consider the bill in full.
