New poll finds Americans split on repeal; Divide on Capitol Hill deepens

Jan 7 2011

A new Gallup Poll found that public opinion is "closely divided" over whether Congress should vote to undo the health law. And on Capitol Hill, the divide is deep and entrenched, closely tracking with political loyalties. Even as GOP leaders point to the push to stop the health law as a way to "send a signal" to the American people, Senate Dems are plotting actions of their own.

USA Today: Gallup Poll: U.S. Split On Health Care Law Repeal
Americans are closely divided over whether the new Republican-controlled House should vote to repeal the health care law that was enacted just last year, a Gallup Poll finds (Page and Kennedy, 1/7).

Politico: Eric Cantor: GOP Still Pushing To Repeal Health Law
A top House Republican said Thursday that the GOP is going full speed ahead to repeal President Barack Obama's health care reform to "send a signal" to the American people, even though Senate Democrats have the votes to thwart any rollback (Epstein, 1/6).

Politico: Anti-Reform Dems Cool To Repeal Vote
Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) attacked the health care bill in March as a massive government overreach, weighted down with new taxes but short on real reforms. But repeal it, the way House Republicans would? No way, says Shuler, one of his party's most conservative members (Brown and Haberkorn, 1/7).

CQ HealthBeat: HELP Committee Plans Hearings On Health Care Law To Counter House GOP
Senate Democrats are joining in an all-hands-on deck effort to defend their embattled health care law with a series of hearings on the measure's benefits announced Thursday for the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee (Norman, 1/6).

Roll Call: White House: Health Care Repeal Won't Happen
The White House issued a statement of administration policy indicating that Obama "strongly opposes" a bill introduced by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) that would repeal the overhaul, which was signed into law last year (Bendery, 1/6).