U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, today released the following statement after voting for final passage of the 2017 budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 3), which will guide the legislative process to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
"The Affordable Care Act has led to high premiums, rising out-of-pocket costs, and reduced choice across the Volunteer State, and I am pleased Congress has initiated the repeal and replace process," said Corker. "We need a health care system that works for the American people, and I am encouraged that the debate has shifted in recent weeks from "repeal only' to "repeal and replace' in a thoughtful and deliberative manner. It is important to provide the incoming Trump administration, including its top health care official Dr. Tom Price, with time to review the regulatory and legislative steps needed to replace the Affordable Care Act with a responsible alternative that works well for Tennesseans and does not waste taxpayer resources."
Title II of the 2017 budget resolution instructs House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over the ACA to develop legislation that would reduce the budget deficit by at least $1 billion each over the next ten years. The resulting reconciliation legislation is expected to include language to repeal and replace the ACA. Corker tonight withdrew his amendment, which would have extended the deadline for reconciliation instructions, following assurances from Senate leadership that Congress will follow a responsible timeline for replacing the health care law.