House Republicans finally pulled the pin in a budgetary grenade, voting Friday to defund Obamacare as part of an emergency measure to keep the government running through mid-December. The question is whether the economy could soon explode, President Obama somehow capitulates, or GOP lawmakers ultimately back down.
Just one congressional Republican — Virginia Rep. Scott Rigell — opposed the continuing resolution, while 228 GOPers voted for it. The measure received two Democratic votes from Utah Rep. Jim Matheson and North Carolina Rep. Mike McIntyre.
FULL LIST: LAWMAKERS WHO VOTED TO SHUT DOWN THE GOVERNMENT
“It was a bipartisan vote,” claimed House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Kind of. The three partisan breaks reflected the composition of congressional districts, rather than some kind of coalition.
This was the moment when the GOP distaste for the 2010 Affordable Care Act — which mandates health insurance coverage — tipped from solid protest to the threat of mutually assured destruction. Without a budget or continuing resolution in place, the government would have to shutter its non-mandatory work on Oct. 1.
The Fiscal Times provides a full list of which members of the House voted to defund Obamacare, so that hundreds of lawmakers who are often part of a vague and nameless mass can be identified. We’ve broken down the names by state, so you can better see how your local lawmakers voted.
This same group is prepared to again demand the defunding of Obamacare as a requirement for lifting the $16.7 billion debt ceiling in the middle of October. The mere possibility of a stalemate could be enough to damage the economy, said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who stunned markets this week by keeping stimulus measures in place ahead of this showdown.
