Government affairs

Following House passage legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act on May 5,  the bill proceeded to the Senate where many senators deemed it “dead-on-arrival,” opting to write new bill versions instead.

The subsequent months saw the introduction of three separate bills—the Better Care Reconciliation Act, the Health Care Freedom Act and the Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act (all amendments to H.R. 1628). Each was eventually voted down by the Senate, with a handful of Republicans joining Democrats in opposition. Each bill was judged by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office to take insurance from millions of working Americans, and the public’s response was overwhelmingly negative. NALC members mobilized quickly throughout the process, placing thousands of calls into senators' D.C. and district offices.

After the failure of the final bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that “it's time to move on,” though it is unclear whether Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act are over. The Senate leader has left the door open to revisiting the subject if/when there is consensus that it could actually pass the Senate.

"Thanks in part to the efforts of letter carriers and their families, the Senate must now go back to the drawing board," NALC President Fredric Rolando said at the time. "The fight is far from over, so I encourage members to continue educating their senators, urging them to oppose efforts to gut the Affordable Care Act.”