Senate Dems block effort to undo health law

The tea-party-led effort, which was defeated 52-45, attempted to add language to a government spending bill that would repeal the law's funding. But House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, says the House -- which approved the effort -- will vote again to repeal the measure.

Politico: Senate Dems Block Tea Party Bid To Cut Obamacare
A stopgap spending bill advanced in the Senate Wednesday with Democrats keeping to a middle path in hopes of improving their chances for a strong bipartisan showing -; and greater leverage with the Republican-controlled House. On a 52-45 vote, the majority quickly dispatched a tea-party-led bid to cut off funding for President Barack Obama's signature health care reforms (Rogers, 3/13).

The Associated Press/Washington Post: Democratic-Controlled Senate Rejects New Republican Effort To Repeal Obama's Health Care Law
The Democratic-controlled Senate has rejected a Republican effort to attach the repeal of President Barack Obama's health care law to a government spending bill. The 45-52 vote defeated the effort, which was led by conservatives. They say that when the law is fully in effect, it will jeopardize the nation's fragile economic recovery. But Obama's allies say national health care could help strengthen the economy in part by encouraging health maintenance and prevention. The law has been upheld by the Supreme Court (3/13).

The Hill: Boehner: House Will Vote Again To Block 'ObamaCare'
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Wednesday that the House will vote again soon to repeal or defund President Obama's healthcare law…The House held 33 votes over the last two years to repeal or defund all or part of the Affordable Care Act, but the repeal push has faded since the Supreme Court upheld the law and President Obama's reelection ensured that repeal votes would be futile (Strauss and Baker, 3/14).

Also in the news --

The New York Times: Clamor To Be Spared The Pain As Budget Cuts Descend
Anne Kauffman Nolon, the president of Hudson River HealthCare, which operates 22 community health centers in New York, is urging Congress to provide money to offset the cuts. If that is not possible, she said, it would be better to delay opening new clinics so she and her colleagues did not have to cut back care for patients they already served. Ms. Nolon said her clinics were losing $1 million of the $10.8 million they expected from the federal government this year to care for 87,000 patients. Nationwide, the number of clinics increased sharply under President George W. Bush, and Congress provided more money for clinics to serve people expected to gain insurance under Mr. Obama's health care overhaul. The pace of lobbying has picked up because of a widespread belief that this year's cuts are locked in and may be a prelude to further cuts in the same programs in each of the next eight years (Pear, 3/13).