House narrowly passes Obamacare repeal-and-replace bill

House Republicans squeaked by with a one-vote victory to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, after months of negotiations and failed attempts to unite the conservative and moderate factions of the party.

With four empty seats in the House of Representatives, the GOP needed 216 votes to pass the American Health Care Act and fulfill their seven-year-old promise to rid the country of Obamacare. The AHCA passed 217-213, with no Democrats voting for it.

It is one of the first major legislative victories for President Donald Trump, who made repeal-and-replace a cornerstone of his campaign.

The House first tried to pass the AHCA, which would eliminate major financial provisions of Obamacare, in March. However, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) pulled the bill ahead of a scheduled vote, admitting that they didn’t have a consensus within the party.

In that attempt, for every vote gained by making large concessions to conservative members in the House Freedom Caucus, several moderate GOP representatives bailed.

Thursday’s vote passed because of two amendments worked out between members of the Freedom Caucus and the moderate Tuesday Group.

Via RT. This piece was reprinted by RINF Alternative News with permission or license.