Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) took to Twitter Monday morning, blasting his own party's legislative attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare.
President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress, most notably House Speaker Paul Ryan have advocated for the bill known as the American Health Care Act. But more conservative members of Congress have made no secret of their issues with the legislation, which several of them have referred to as "Obamcare Lite."
Amash is among the Republican members who oppose the proposed American Health Care Act in its current form. Amash voiced his disdain for the proposed bill in a tweet Monday morning.
"While I've been in Congress, I can't recall a more universally detested piece of legislation than this GOP health care bill," Amash tweeted.
Amash was first elected to the Congress in 2010. He assumed office in 2011. Amash was re-elected three times, most recently in 2016, according to Ballotpedia.
[graphiq id="yY9sN4hKq9" title="Justin Amash's Time in Congress" width="600" height="565" url="https://w.graphiq.com/w/yY9sN4hKq9" ]
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who is a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus, introduced a separate bill as an alternative to the AHCA. A majority of other Freedom Caucus members, including Rep. Louie Gohmert, (R-TX) said they generally support the concept behind Jordan's alternative.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced a bill in the upper chamber that would repeal Obamacare but not replace it.
“[After repeal] we can have a separate vote on replacement legislation that will deliver lower costs, better care, and greater access to the American people,” Paul said.
But, as Amash later noted Monday on Twitter, GOP leaders have so far "rejected" any of those proposals.
".@freedomcaucus has suggested multiple alternatives to unite Rs & earn support among Ds, but GOP leaders have so far rejected major changes," Amash tweeted.
During an interview with the Huffington Post, Amash referred to Trump saying Friday that "100 percent" of the Republicans leaning toward voting against the proposed American Health Care Act changed their positions to support the bill.
Amash called the president's statement "political theater." "Vote counts haven't changed," the Michigan congressman told the Huffington Post.
"Absolutely not true that conservatives have flipped to yes on the health care bill. It doesn't repeal Obamacare. It remains a disaster," Amash tweeted Friday.
"Who wants a health care bill that repackages Obamacare and avoids meaningful reforms?" Amash asked Friday in a separate tweet. "Not the millions of people we represent at home."
"This bill not only breaks that commitment [to repeal] but also avoids meaningful reforms to improve health care for all Americans," Amash tweeted Sunday.
The House is expected to vote Thursday on the proposed American Health Care Act, although it's not clear exactly what the legislation will look like. Ryan said he and other GOP leaders are "fine tuning" the bill so as to garner the number of votes needed for it to pass the lower chamber.
