House GOP passes health law repeal

In what is considered to be a symbolic vote, House Republicans joined with three Democrats to fulfill a campaign pledge to pass a bill that would undo the sweeping health overhaul.The vote represented the Republican House majority's first official rebuke of the Obama agenda. Senate action, however, is unlikely.

The New York Times: House Votes For Repeal Of Health Law In Symbolic Act
The House voted Wednesday to repeal the Democrats' landmark health care overhaul, marking what the new Republican majority in the chamber hailed as the fulfillment of a campaign promise and the start of an all-out effort to dismantle President Obama's signature domestic policy achievement (Herszenhorn and Pear, 1/19).

Los Angeles Times: House GOP Passes Resolution To Repeal Healthcare Law
House Republicans passed a largely symbolic resolution Wednesday to repeal the nation's new health care law, fulfilling a top campaign promise and setting the stage for a renewed battle in the Senate. The Senate showdown may not begin for several weeks, but promises to be substantially messier and more drawn-out than the debate just completed in the House (Levey and Mascaro, 1/20).

The Washington Post: House Votes To Repeal Health-Care Law
In the first major act of the new Congress, the Republican-led House voted Wednesday to repeal the Democrats' health-care overhaul, fulfilling a pledge that GOP candidates made during the fall midterm campaigns. Three Democrats sided with a unified GOP in the 245 to 189 vote, a largely symbolic step that has little chance of being considered by the Democratic-controlled Senate (Goldstein and Aizenman, 1/20).

The Wall Street Journal: House Approves Health Law Repeal
The Republican-led House voted Wednesday to repeal the health-care overhaul that is a signature achievement of President Barack Obama, in a largely symbolic move that made good on a GOP election promise but left uncertain what the party would offer as an alternative (Adamy and Bendavid, 1/20).

USA Today: GOP-Led House Votes To Repeal Health Care Law
The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to repeal last year's health care law, the first major rebuke of the White House by the House since Republicans took control of it this month (Kennedy, 1/20).

Reuters: House Backs Repeal Of Obama Healthcare Law
Republican leaders said they were committed to trying to repeal it in order to honor a campaign pledge that helped them win control of the House and gain seats in the Senate in congressional elections last November (Smith, 1/19).

The Boston Globe: GOP Wins Vote Against Health Law
The vote was the first significant — although largely symbolic — victory for the newly empowered Republicans, but the eight hours of debate before the tally lacked the populist fireworks that for two years have punctuated the debate over health care (Viser, 1/20).

PBS NewsHour: House Republicans Pass Health Reform Repeal As Democrats Defend Law
House Republicans fulfilled a campaign promise Wednesday, passing what was largely viewed as a symbolic repeal of the health care reform law. The measure is not likely to clear the Senate. Betty Ann Bowser reports on the day's events, then Gwen Ifill talks to Political Editor David Chalian about the politics behind the debate (Bowser and Ifill, 1/19).

Roll Call: McConnell Vows That House-Passed Repeal Will Get Senate Vote
According to a GOP leadership aide, the Kentucky Republican is actively working on a plan to force a showdown on the Senate floor over President Barack Obama's signature legislative achievement of his first two years in office. Such a confrontation is likely "in the near future," the aide said (Stanton, 1/19).