House Republicans Vote to Defund Obamacare; Senate Vote Looms

The House of Representatives voted to defund Obamacare in exchange for averting a partial federal shutdown by a Friday vote of 230 to 189. That vote was largely held along party lines, with two Democrats - Reps. Jim Matheson (Utah) and Mike McIntyre (N.C.) - joining the Republicans in voting "yes" and one Republican, Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.) joining the Democrats in opposition.

"The House has listened to the American people. Now it's time for the United States Senate to listen to them as well," said House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), according to the Washington Post.

Chances of that happening are slim. The Democratic Party controls the Senate by a 54 to 46 vote, and many in the progressive caucus consider the president's health care legislation - which will provide universal coverage to all Americans - to be the signature achievement from his first term in the oval office. A challenge to the constitutionality of Obamacare was defeated by the Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling last June, with Republican-appointed Chief Justice John Roberts the deciding vote in favor of the legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D - Nev.) has called the defunding bill dead on arrival and the coming vote a "waste of time".

"Republicans are simply postponing for a few days the inevitable choice they must face: pass a clean bill to fund the government, or force a shutdown," Reid said in a statement. "I have said it before but it seems to bear repeating: the Senate will not pass any bill that defunds or delays Obamacare."

In the passed legislation, Obamacare has been lumped together with the debt ceiling; the federal government will be unable to fully operate in the coming fiscal year unless government credit spending is extended, something House Republicans have been loathe to approve. If the current bill is enacted, Obamacare will be defunded in exchange for an increased debt ceiling through December.

Currently, there are 48 million Americans who are uninsured, according to the New York Times. President Obama has threatened to veto any bill that defunds the Obamacare program.