A document House Majority Leader Eric Cantor distributed to all House Republicans on Tuesday, obtained by Breitbart News, confirms that he is planning to make it appear as though the House is voting to defund Obamacare while using a legislative procedural trick which would allow the Democrat-controlled Senate to strip defunding language from the Continuing Resolution.
“Many House Republicans have stated that they want to pass a CR that affirmatively defunds the implementation and enforcement of Obamacare,” Cantor wrote to House Republican members. “In addition to firmly putting the House on record, such an effort would force the Democrat Senate to confront the issue of defunding, providing Senate Republicans the opportunity to challenge Senate Democrats to join Republicans in blocking the further implementation of this awful and unpopular law.”
“Tactically, we want to engage this battle in a manner that unites House Republicans, provides as few opportunities as possible for Senate Democrats to duck the issue, and ensures that if defunding does not occur that Democrats are held to account,” Cantor added.
Cantor then laid out “The Plan” he and other members of the House GOP leadership will use allowing them to claim they support defunding Obamacare while leaving the fate of the defunding effort in the hands of the Democrat-controlled Senate.
First, he said the House will “simultaneously” consider a Continuing Resolution (CR) that funds the government “at sequester levels” along with a rule, or a “H.Cong.Res. that would amend the CR to include full defunding language.”
The House would vote on the CR, a vote that would include the rule and then send it to the Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid can then remove the rule’s language after considering it. “The rule for the CR/Defund package provides that the CR cannot be transmitted to the Senate until the Senate has considered the defunding language,” Cantor writes in step number 4 of “The Plan” section of the document.
In step number 5 of “The Plan,” Cantor admits that the Senate can remove the rule language. “If the Senate passes defunding then it gets added to the CR as it goes to the president,” Cantor writes in step 5. “If they defeat it, then the Senate can consider whether they want to pass the CR. If they do, without amendment it goes to the president.”
Breitbart News reported on this plan from Cantor and others in House GOP leadership on Monday evening. After that story, a prominent House conservative source told Breitbart News that members who support defunding Obamacare are organizing and plan to whip against Cantor’s ploy.
“Expect a significant whip effort against the rule among the rank and file if they try to pull the trick on defunding,” the conservative source said.
In a statement provided to Breitbart News, ForAmerica chairman Brent Bozell denounced Cantor’s and Boehner’s ploy. “The latest move announced today by Speaker Boehner and House Republican leadership is nothing more than a cheap parliamentary trick. Once again these Republican ‘leaders’ have failed to commit to defund ObamaCare by any means necessary,” Bozell said.
“Instead they are hiding behind smoke and mirrors by ‘putting the responsibility on the Senate’ to defund ObamaCare. Conservatives and the tea party are fed up with these stupid government tricks,” he continued. “Now it’s the GOP leadership playing them.”
“What they didn’t say was that the vote they will push to the Senate to defund ObamaCare is meaningless and won’t get the job done — and they know it. It is a slap — a cynical, dishonest slap — across the face of everyone who voted for them. This will cost them,” Bozell warned.
“If they do not defund ObamaCare by any means necessary the GOP will own it and they will pay a hefty political price for breaking their promise,” he declared. “To those rank and file members playing this three card monte game, I can say only one thing: Get ready for some primaries.”
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