Today on the Hill: ACA Repeal Debate Begins; House to Counter Obama on Regs, Israel

The Senate made its opening move in the repeal process of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) yesterday, voting 51-48 to begin fifty hours of debate on a budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 3) that will direct relevant committees to craft a budget reconciliation bill including the language necessary to dismantle the 2010 health care reform law. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) broke with his party voting against the resolution, citing concerns that the repeal plan without a viable replacement would add to the federal debt. Debate on the resolution will likely spill into next week, which will then lead into a vote-a-rama on an open-ended number of amendments that Democrats can use as a means to slow down the process.

Today, the House will open their legislative business with a ceremonial reading of the Constitution before moving on to a pair of contentious measures targeting Obama Administration policies. One bill (H.R. 26) would undermine the executive branch’s ability to put forth regulations by requiring all major rules to have congressional approval before going into effect – effectively allowing the opposition of a single chamber of Congress to block any significant regulation from being implemented. A similar bill was passed by the House last year, but it was not acted upon in the Senate. The lower chamber will also consider a resolution (H. Res. 11) that would object to a recently approved United Nations Security Council resolution that criticized Israel and characterized its settlement program as an impediment to a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. President Obama has faced criticism for failing to use the United States’ veto on the UN’s move and many Democrats are expected to break with the President by voting in favor of the House resolution.