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House|Senate

112th Congress, Vote 285; House of Representatives #1213

Repealing Funding for State Health Benefit Exchanges


Official Title: To repeal mandatory funding provided to States in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to establish American Health Benefit Exchanges.

HR 1213: Repealing Funding for State Health Benefit Exchanges
Passed House May 3, 2011, 238-183 (11 abstentions).

Synopsis: This bill set out to repeal the mandatory funding that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) promises to the states to help them set up American Health Benefit Exchanges.

These Exchanges are meant to serve as one-stop marketplaces where individuals and small businesses will find it easier and more affordable to purchase insurance. Consumers will no longer have to choose from a crazy quilt of insurance plans.

Beginning in 2014, Exchanges in each state are expected to offer consumers a choice of health plans that provide a uniform package of “essential benefits.” The Exchanges also will offer standardized information about premiums, co-pays, deductibles and coverage that will make comparisons easier.

Initially, the Exchanges will be open to smaller employers with up to 100 employees as well as individuals purchasing insurance on their own. By purchasing insurance in an Exchanges, they will automatically become part of a larger pool of buyers, and so enjoy the lower premiums that insurers offer to large companies. In addition, when purchasing insurance through the Exchanges, low and middle-income individuals will be eligible for federal subsidies. A few years after the Exchanges are established, states would have the option of opening them to larger employers.

Why supporters pushed for this bill

  • It would reduce federal spending by $14 billion over 10 years.
  • Many saw this spending on Exchanges as a “blank check.” “The Administration is already using this unlimited slush fund to seduce states into collaborating in the implementation of Obamacare and has hinted at tapping it to bail out exploding state Medicaid budgets,” wrote Matt Kibbe, president and CEO of FreedomWorks, in a letter to supporters.
  • Federal funding for the Exchanges represents a “dangerous, irresponsible and unconstitutional delegation of money and power to the Executive Branch” Kibbe added. “Under our Constitution, only Congress has the power of the purse. To formally delegate the President the power to appropriate funds from the Treasury without stint or limit breaches the separation of powers.”

Why opponents tried to stop the bill

  • They argued that many states would not be able to get Exchanges up and running without federal support.
  • Opponents pointed to a Congressional Budget Office study which said that 85 percent of the total $14 billion in cuts would come at the expense of low and moderate-income Americans.
  • The CBO study estimated that without reliable funding for the Exchanges, by 2015, 2 million fewer people would be enrolled in insurance through the Exchanges, and 500,000 more Americans would be uninsured.
  • Opponents also noted that the funding to the states is not open-ended. The actual money provided to states is estimated to be $1.9 billion between 2012 and 2015. The ACA prohibits any of these funds from being used by states beyond January 1, 2015, when the exchanges must become self sustaining.
05/03/2011 Status: House passed

More: select a member to see his or her other key health care votes.

Yes (238)
R Don Young AK
R Robert Aderholt AL
R Spencer Bachus AL
R Jo Bonner AL
R Mo Brooks AL
R Martha Roby AL
R Mike Rogers AL
R Eric Crawford AR
R Tim Griffin AR
R Steve Womack AR
R Jeff Flake AZ
R Trent Franks AZ
R Paul Gosar AZ
R Ben Quayle AZ
R David Schweikert AZ
R Mary Bono Mack CA
R Ken Calvert CA
R John Campbell CA
R Jeff Denham CA
R David Dreier CA
R Elton Gallegly CA
R Walter Herger CA
R Duncan Hunter CA
R Darrell Issa CA
R Jerry Lewis CA
R Daniel Lungren CA
R Kevin McCarthy CA
R Tom McClintock CA
R Howard McKeon CA
R Gary Miller CA
R Devin Nunes CA
R Dana Rohrabacher CA
R Edward Royce CA
R Mike Coffman CO
R Cory Gardner CO
R Doug Lamborn CO
R Scott Tipton CO
R Sandy Adams FL
R Gus Bilirakis FL
R Vern Buchanan FL
R Ander Crenshaw FL
R Mario Diaz-Balart FL
R Connie Mack FL
R John Mica FL
R Jeff Miller FL
R Richard Nugent FL
R Bill Posey FL
R David Rivera FL
R Thomas Rooney FL
R Ileana Ros-Lehtinen FL
R Dennis Ross FL
R Steve Southerland FL
R Clifford Stearns FL
R Daniel Webster FL
R Allen West FL
R C. Young FL
R Phil Gingrey GA
R Tom Graves GA
R Jack Kingston GA
R Tom Price GA
R Austin Scott GA
R Lynn Westmoreland GA
R Steve King IA
R Tom Latham IA
R Raúl Labrador ID
R Michael Simpson ID
R Judy Biggert IL
R Bob Dold IL
D Luis Gutiérrez IL
R Randy Hultgren IL
R Timothy Johnson IL
R Adam Kinzinger IL
R Donald Manzullo IL
R Peter Roskam IL
R Robert Schilling IL
R John Shimkus IL
R Joe Walsh IL
R Larry Bucshon IN
R Dan Burton IN
R Mike Pence IN
R Todd Rokita IN
R Marlin Stutzman IN
R Todd Young IN
R Tim Huelskamp KS
R Lynn Jenkins KS
R Mike Pompeo KS
R Kevin Yoder KS
R Geoff Davis KY
R Brett Guthrie KY
R Harold Rogers KY
R Ed Whitfield KY
R Rodney Alexander LA
R Charles Boustany LA
R John Fleming LA
R Jeff Landry LA
R Steve Scalise LA
R Roscoe Bartlett MD
R Andy Harris MD
R Justin Amash MI
R Dan Benishek MI
R Dave Camp MI
R Bill Huizenga MI
R Thaddeus McCotter MI
R Candice Miller MI
R Mike Rogers MI
R Fred Upton MI
R Tim Walberg MI
R Michele Bachmann MN
R Chip Cravaack MN
R John Kline MN
R Erik Paulsen MN
R W. Akin MO
R Sam Graves MO
R Vicky Hartzler MO
R Billy Long MO
R Blaine Luetkemeyer MO
R Gregg Harper MS
R Alan Nunnelee MS
R Steven Palazzo MS
R Dennis Rehberg MT
R Howard Coble NC
R Renee Ellmers NC
R Virginia Foxx NC
R Walter Jones NC
R Patrick McHenry NC
D Mike McIntyre NC
R Sue Myrick NC
R Rick Berg ND
R Jeff Fortenberry NE
R Adrian Smith NE
R Lee Terry NE
R Charles Bass NH
R Frank Guinta NH
R Rodney Frelinghuysen NJ
R Scott Garrett NJ
R Leonard Lance NJ
R Frank LoBiondo NJ
R Jon Runyan NJ
R Christopher Smith NJ
R Stevan Pearce NM
R Joseph Heck NV
R Dean Heller NV
R Ann Marie Buerkle NY
R Christopher Gibson NY
R Michael Grimm NY
R Richard Hanna NY
R Nan Hayworth NY
R Peter King NY
R Tom Reed NY
R Steve Austria OH
R Steve Chabot OH
R Bob Gibbs OH
R Bill Johnson OH
R Jim Jordan OH
R Steven LaTourette OH
R Robert Latta OH
R James Renacci OH
R Jean Schmidt OH
R Steve Stivers OH
R Patrick Tiberi OH
R Michael Turner OH
D Dan Boren OK
R Tom Cole OK
R James Lankford OK
R Frank Lucas OK
R John Sullivan OK
R Greg Walden OR
D Jason Altmire PA
R Lou Barletta PA
R Charles Dent PA
R Michael Fitzpatrick PA
R Jim Gerlach PA
D Tim Holden PA
R Mike Kelly PA
R Tom Marino PA
R Patrick Meehan PA
R Tim Murphy PA
R Joseph Pitts PA
R Todd Platts PA
R Bill Shuster PA
R Glenn Thompson PA
R Jeff Duncan SC
R Trey Gowdy SC
R Mick Mulvaney SC
R Tim Scott SC
R Joe Wilson SC
R Kristi Noem SD
R Diane Black TN
R Marsha Blackburn TN
R Scott DesJarlais TN
R John Duncan TN
R Stephen Fincher TN
R Charles Fleischmann TN
R David Roe TN
R Joe Barton TX
R Kevin Brady TX
R Michael Burgess TX
R Francisco Canseco TX
R John Carter TX
R K. Conaway TX
R John Culberson TX
R Blake Farenthold TX
R Bill Flores TX
R Louie Gohmert TX
R Kay Granger TX
R Ralph Hall TX
R Jeb Hensarling TX
R Kenny Marchant TX
R Michael McCaul TX
R Randy Neugebauer TX
R Pete Olson TX
R Ronald Paul TX
R Ted Poe TX
R Pete Sessions TX
R Lamar Smith TX
R Mac Thornberry TX
R Rob Bishop UT
R Jason Chaffetz UT
R Eric Cantor VA
R J. Forbes VA
R Bob Goodlatte VA
R H. Griffith VA
R Robert Hurt VA
R Edward Rigell VA
R Robert Wittman VA
R Frank Wolf VA
R Doc Hastings WA
R J. Herrera Beutler WA
R C. McMorris Rodgers WA
R David Reichert WA
R Sean Duffy WI
R Thomas Petri WI
R Reid Ribble WI
R Paul Ryan WI
R F. Sensenbrenner WI
R Shelley Capito WV
R David McKinley WV
R Cynthia Lummis WY
No (183)
Our pick
D Terri Sewell AL
D Mike Ross AR
D Raúl Grijalva AZ
D Ed Pastor AZ
D Joe Baca CA
D Karen Bass CA
D Xavier Becerra CA
D Howard Berman CA
D Lois Capps CA
D Dennis Cardoza CA
D Judy Chu CA
D Jim Costa CA
D Susan Davis CA
D Anna Eshoo CA
D Sam Farr CA
D Bob Filner CA
D John Garamendi CA
D Michael Honda CA
D Barbara Lee CA
D Zoe Lofgren CA
D Doris Matsui CA
D Jerry McNerney CA
D George Miller CA
D Grace Napolitano CA
D Nancy Pelosi CA
D Laura Richardson CA
D L. Roybal-Allard CA
D Linda Sánchez CA
D Loretta Sanchez CA
D Adam Schiff CA
D Brad Sherman CA
D Jackie Speier CA
D Fortney Stark CA
D Mike Thompson CA
D Maxine Waters CA
D Lynn Woolsey CA
D Diana DeGette CO
D Ed Perlmutter CO
D Jared Polis CO
D Joe Courtney CT
D Rosa DeLauro CT
D James Himes CT
D John Larson CT
D Christopher Murphy CT
D John Carney DE
D Corrine Brown FL
D Kathy Castor FL
D Theodore Deutch FL
D Alcee Hastings FL
D D. Wasserman Schultz FL
D Frederica Wilson FL
D John Barrow GA
D Sanford Bishop GA
D Henry Johnson GA
D John Lewis GA
D David Scott GA
D Colleen Hanabusa HI
D Mazie Hirono HI
D Leonard Boswell IA
D Bruce Braley IA
D David Loebsack IA
D Jerry Costello IL
D Danny Davis IL
D Jesse Jackson IL
D Daniel Lipinski IL
D Mike Quigley IL
D Bobby Rush IL
D Janice Schakowsky IL
D André Carson IN
D Joe Donnelly IN
D Peter Visclosky IN
D Ben Chandler KY
D John Yarmuth KY
D Cedric Richmond LA
D Michael Capuano MA
D Barney Frank MA
D William Keating MA
D Edward Markey MA
D James McGovern MA
D Richard Neal MA
D John Olver MA
D John Tierney MA
D Niki Tsongas MA
D Elijah Cummings MD
D Donna Edwards MD
D Steny Hoyer MD
D C. Ruppersberger MD
D John Sarbanes MD
D Chris Van Hollen MD
D Michael Michaud ME
D Chellie Pingree ME
D Hansen Clarke MI
D John Conyers MI
D John Dingell MI
D Dale Kildee MI
D Sander Levin MI
D Gary Peters MI
D Keith Ellison MN
D Betty McCollum MN
D Collin Peterson MN
D Timothy Walz MN
D Russ Carnahan MO
D Wm. Clay MO
D Emanuel Cleaver MO
D Bennie Thompson MS
D George Butterfield NC
D Larry Kissell NC
D R. Miller NC
D David Price NC
D Melvin Watt NC
D Robert Andrews NJ
D Rush Holt NJ
D Frank Pallone NJ
D Bill Pascrell NJ
D Donald Payne NJ
D Steven Rothman NJ
D Albio Sires NJ
D Martin Heinrich NM
D Ben Luján NM
D Shelley Berkley NV
D Gary Ackerman NY
D Timothy Bishop NY
D Yvette Clarke NY
D Joseph Crowley NY
D Eliot Engel NY
D Brian Higgins NY
D Maurice Hinchey NY
D Steve Israel NY
D Nita Lowey NY
D Carolyn Maloney NY
D Carolyn McCarthy NY
D Gregory Meeks NY
D Jerrold Nadler NY
D William Owens NY
D Charles Rangel NY
D José Serrano NY
D Louise Slaughter NY
D Paul Tonko NY
D Edolphus Towns NY
D Nydia Velázquez NY
D Anthony Weiner NY
D Marcia Fudge OH
D Marcy Kaptur OH
D Dennis Kucinich OH
D Tim Ryan OH
D Betty Sutton OH
D Earl Blumenauer OR
D Peter DeFazio OR
D Kurt Schrader OR
D David Wu OR
D Robert Brady PA
D Mark Critz PA
D Michael Doyle PA
D Chaka Fattah PA
D Allyson Schwartz PA
D David Cicilline RI
D James Langevin RI
D James Clyburn SC
D Steve Cohen TN
D Jim Cooper TN
D Henry Cuellar TX
D Lloyd Doggett TX
D Charles Gonzalez TX
D Al Green TX
D Gene Green TX
D Rubén Hinojosa TX
D Sheila Jackson Lee TX
D Eddie Johnson TX
D Silvestre Reyes TX
D Jim Matheson UT
D Gerald Connolly VA
D James Moran VA
D Robert Scott VA
D Peter Welch VT
D Norman Dicks WA
D Jay Inslee WA
D Rick Larsen WA
D Jim McDermott WA
D Adam Smith WA
D Tammy Baldwin WI
D Ron Kind WI
D Gwen Moore WI
D Nick Rahall WV
Not Voting (11)
D Gabrielle Giffords AZ
R Brian Bilbray CA
D Henry Waxman CA
R Paul Broun GA
R Rob Woodall GA
R Aaron Schock IL
R Bill Cassidy LA
D Stephen Lynch MA
R Jo Ann Emerson MO
D Heath Shuler NC
R Sam Johnson TX