President Barack Obama has used his veto power to stop a Republican-backed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and to withhold funding from Planned Parenthood for one year.
The bill reached the president’s desk after receiving House approval on January 6th. The Senate approved the repeal effort in December when it passed by 51 votes as part of the budget process. Congress has attempted to repeal the ACA 62 times since it was signed into law in 2010. Congress has also tried to pull Planned Parenthood’s funding eight times over the past year.
According to the president, a repeal would have led to 22 million Americans becoming uninsured by 2017. Obama also noted that the effort to defund Planned Parenthood would have limited healthcare access for women, children, and men across the country and would have had a significant impact on lower-income families.
In his video response, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) indicated that he thought it was just a matter of time before the ACA was repealed. He stated that he would urge a vote to override the president’s veto. A congressional override does not seem likely at this time since Republicans do not currently have the two-thirds majority necessary to overturn the veto.