Rep. Garrett Announces Intent to File Discharge Petition on Obamacare Repeal

WASHINGTON, July 19 -- Rep. Thomas Garrett, R-Va., issued the following news release:

Today Congressman Tom Garrett (VA-05) took the reins on healthcare replacement in the U.S. House of Representatives by holding a press conference announcing his intent to dismantle Obamacare at it's core. Over a dozen members from the House Freedom Caucus joined Garrett in calling for an end to the attempts for omnibus legislation by first supporting a clean-repeal of the flawed Affordable Care Act.

Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus have repeatedly stated the best path to meaningful healthcare legislation revolves around a standalone repeal with the designation for a future replacement date set. In 2015, the House decisively passed a bill repealing Obamacare. That very same bill subsequently passed the Senate only to be vetoed by then President Obama. Rep. Jim Jordan reintroduced that legislation in 2017, where it languishes in committee.

Today, 5th District Rep. Tom Garrett addressed the ongoing healthcare debate by saying:

"I commend both the President and Republican leadership for working to replace the monstrosity that is Obamacare. However, we have seen discussions for replacement continue to stall and we must change our approach to reforming healthcare."

Garrett went on to say, "The House should lead with an incremental approach by supporting a clean-repeal bill and then enter into replacement negotiations. As such, I just initiated a seldom-used parliamentary procedure to advance H.R. 1436 through a discharge petition. The overwhelming majority of my Republican colleagues cast their vote in support of this legislation in 2015, and I have faith they will do nothing short of that now."

The process of a discharge petition requires legislation to have been in Committee for 30 legislative days. Once that criteria is met, it must receive a simple majority of signatures to advance directly to the floor for a vote. Today's resolution, introduced by Rep. Garrett, must sit in committee for 7 legislative days prior to filing of the petition itself.

The full video from today's press conference may be seen here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ps-FcuOpC4).