House delays vote on repeal of health care law

CBS News: Following Gabrielle Giffords Shooting, House Postpones Vote to Repeal Health Care Law
In the wake of the shooting rampage today in Tucson, Ariz., at an event held by Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the House has postponed all legislative business for the next week. This most importantly includes the vote to repeal President Obama's health care law, which was scheduled for Wednesday and would have be the first major vote of the House since Republicans took control last week. A statement from Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the House Majority leader, announced tonight that all legislation scheduled to be considered by the House next week has been postponed "so that we can take whatever actions may be necessary in light of today's tragedy" (Hechtkopf, 1/8).

ABC News: Health Care Repeal Vote Postponed After Arizona Shooting
Lawmakers voted last week to schedule debate and a vote on repealing health care reform on Wednesday. Repeal was expect to pass in the House, but chances were less likely in the Senate and the White House threatened to veto it (Parkinson, 1/8).

The Wall Street Journal:  House To Postpone Votes In Wake Of Shooting
The statement didn't say when House business might resume. ... The House was supposed to vote on a repeal of the health care law early next week before Republicans decamp to their annual retreat in Baltimore. Repealing the law remains a top priority for a number of newly elected Republicans. The debate around passage of the law sparked acrimony around the country, including an act of vandalism in Ms. Giffords' Tucson office (Boles and O'Connor, 1/8).

Meanwhile, several senators spoke on the Sunday morning news shows about the House Republican efforts to repeal the health law.

Politico: Durbin "Open" To Amending Health Care Law
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) say on Sunday he's open to amending health care reform around the edges, but says a full scale GOP-pushed repeal efforts has "no legs." Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, Durbin was asked if he favored tailoring the law at the margins. "Of course, of course," he told CNN's Candy Crowley. "The only perfect law I know of was carried on stone tablets down a mountain by Senator Moses. All the other efforts that have been made ... have been subject to review and should be, and I'm open to that conversation." ... Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said he favored limiting the expansion of Medicaid in the states, saying it represented an unfunded mandate on stretched local governments. He also predicted that all "almost all if not all" Republicans would vote for repeal if it hit the upper chamber (Thrush, 1/9).

Politico: Reid Likens Repeal Bill To Lawmakers Sleeping In Offices
Speaking in a pre-taped interview with David Gregory for NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday (Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid) said the push to repeal the legislation is a "gesture in futility." And he ridiculed the House GOP's decision to call their bill a repeal of the "job-killing" health care law. ... Asked if the individual mandate would stay, Reid said: "Sure." (Raju, 1/9).

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This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.