Uncertainty and a wide partisan divide over health care vote in Virginia

Daily Press (Newport News, VA)

May 05--Thursday's House vote to repeal Obamacare, a rush job after amendments broke a logjam Wednesday on the long-lingering Trump campaign promise, left Virginia politicians at odds over just what the bill would mean back home.

Most of that division was along party lines, but even Republicans praising a step toward the potential death of the Affordable Care Act were were trying to absorb nuances of the legislation after the vote and hoping for changes as it heads to the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland, said the bill ticked off enough boxes for him to support it, and he believes it "puts in place policies that will expand health care choices, increase access to care, and reduce costs."

Wittman also said the bill "does what is necessary to protect individuals with pre-existing conditions."

All of that is in contention, and Democrats blasted the vote Thursday as one Republicans would rue come the 2018 congressional elections. This amended version of the American Health Care Act didn't draw any "yes" votes from Democrats, and 20 Republicans voted no. Among Virginia Republicans, only U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock, who represents a swing district in Northern Virginia, voted no.

U.S. Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, D-Newport News, spoke against the bill on the House floor Thursday, rising to inform his Republican colleagues how many of their constituents would lose health insurance under the measure.

U.S. Rep. Scott Taylor, R-Virginia Beach, accused Democrats of lying about the bill's effect and said the bill represents a path away from the "biggest taxing scheme in the history of our nation." He called the bill "far from a final piece of legislation," but also "the vessel that will rid us of D.C.-mandated health care."