Sen. Pat Toomey & Others Urge Denying Medicaid Expansion

toomey signThe U.S. House of Representatives will vote later today on repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act but before they do so, Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey would like you to know that the law has been “discredited;” everyone hates it; and, by the way: Don’t you dare implement the Medicaid expansion, governors.

“The Supreme Court has ruled significant parts of the Medicaid expansion of the President’s health care law unconstitutional as well as ruling that the individual mandate violated the Commerce Clause and will therefore be implemented as a punitive tax on the middle class,” the letter from GOP members of the U.S. Congress to the National Governors Association begins. “Do we allow this reprehensible law to move forward or do we fully repeal it and start over with commonsense solutions?”

While the health care law was OK’d by the U.S. Supreme Court, states were given the option of whether to expand Medicaid or not. Several governors, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, have already said they will not expand Medicaid to the poor of their respective states, saying they can’t afford it and setting up future conservatives to point to those states as the reason why “Obamacare doesn’t work.”

The letter partially serves as a battle cry in the ongoing GOP fight to repeal the president’s healthcare bill and replace it with … well, they’ll get back to you on that.

“Implementation of this law is not inevitable and considering more than half of the American people oppose the law, it is improbable,” continues the letter, which notes the GOP needs to “focus on solutions that make health care more affordable and accessible for every American” but does not offer a solution—as has been the case with the GOP since President Obama’s 2009 inauguration.

While at the time the letter was written and signed by a number of GOP representatives and senators it was true that 53 percent opposed the law, those numbers have changed. In fact, as of July 3, a CNN poll found 52 percent of Americans supported the law while 47 percent were opposed.

Here’s Toomey’s awesome signature:

toomey signature

And here’s someone else’s. We have no idea whose it is:

wtf signature

Today’s largely symbolic vote on repealing the law is titled Repeal of Obamacare Act, which is a little lame considering past efforts have been referred to as the Religious Freedom Tax Repeal Act and the Repealing the Job-Killing Health-Care Law Act. While it is likely to pass with a Republican majority and a number of vulnerable Democrats supporting, it will die in the Senate—as most things do.

One Response to “ Sen. Pat Toomey & Others Urge Denying Medicaid Expansion ”

  1. Power Player says:

    Toomey consistently takes positions that any conservative of any strip can appreciate and support. He is one of our generations brighter stars. I would be utterly amazed if he is not picked as VP. His overall record from his days as Congressman, Senator, Club for Growth President and Businessman make too much sense and is so continually consistent. Romney would put Pa right into the middle of ‘12 race if he picks Sen. Toomey. It would also put NJ, NY, DE, WV and OH in play simply because of the media markets Pa overlaps in….It would be a smart, logical choice in my opinion.

Leave a Reply

Follow PW

Got a news tip?

If you see something interesting, odd, funny or, of course, illegal, let us know by emailing tips@philadelphiaweekly.com