Congress took its first swipes at Obamacare on Thursday with the House approving a bill to cancel the law’s 30-hour workweek provision, though only a dozen Democrats bucked President Obama on the vote.
Republicans set the showdown as an initial test of how many Democrats would be willing to defect against a lame-duck president and after the GOP relentlessly attacked Obamacare in November’s election campaigns, riding those attacks to big gains.
he legislation would repeal the provision that defines the 30-hour-per-week work threshold that determines when businesses have to face the health insurance coverage mandate. Critics say it scraps the traditional 40-hour workweek and takes pay out of Americans’ pockets because some employers are cutting hours to below 30 a week to get around the law.
“It’s the fantasyland of Obamacare,” said Rep. Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
The bill cleared on a 252-172 vote, with more than enough opposition from Democrats to sustain a presidential veto. Senate Democrats are vowing opposition and could muster support to filibuster it.
“If members of Congress want to start the year off right, they should support American workers, not play political games that jeopardize their hard-earned health care benefits,” said Sen. Christopher Murphy, Connecticut Democrat and a vocal champion for Obamacare.
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