President Obama formally vetoed, as expected, a budget reconciliation bill that would have effectively killed the Affordable Care Act.
The budget reconciliation bill, H.R. 3762, passed in the Senate in December and cleared the House nearly along party lines on Jan. 6.
whitehouse.gov
President Barack Obama
In announcing the veto, President Obama said in a statement that the bill would increase the number of uninsured by 22 million after 2017 and “would cost millions of hard-working middle-class families the security of affordable health coverage they deserve. Reliable health care coverage would no longer be a right for everyone: It would return to being a privilege for a few.”
He also noted that provisions that would defund Planned Parenthood would limit access to health care and disproportionately impact low-income individuals.
“Because of the harm this bill would cause to the health and financial security of millions of Americans, it has earned my veto,” he said.