House Democrats have cast 4,775 votes to repeal, modify, delay or defund the Affordable Care Act, according to an analysis from the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Former President Barack Obama and congressional leaders such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D., Cali.) have often touted the benefits of Obamacare, saying it has succeeded in every way and Republicans are trying to sabotage the law. Their voting record shows, however, that they have concerns about the legislation.
A report from the Congressional Research Service outlined all pieces of legislation put forth in the 112th, 113th, and 114th Congresses that would modify or adjust funding for programs established by the Affordable Care Act. During this time, there were 65 pieces of legislation put forward that attempted to alter the law.
The committee evaluated the vote count for these bills and found that Democrats cast 4,775 "yes" votes in response to these pieces of legislation, which represented 27 percent of all votes on these bills.
One example of the type of legislation included in this count is the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, which would repeal Obamacare’s requirement that employers automatically enroll full-time employees in health insurance coverage if they have more than 200 employees.
According to the committee’s count, there were 187 Democrats who voted for this measure.
In the 113th Congress, a bill that was introduced to suspend Obamacare’s individual mandate penalty for one year was supported by 27 Democrats.
The committee also found that 20 of the bills that would modify the Affordable Care Act were signed into law by President Barack Obama himself.
"I would note for the record, there have been multiple pieces of legislation since Obamacare was enacted that have received Democrat and Republican votes, and actually signed by the President to repeal problems in Obamacare," said Rep. Greg Walden (R., Ore.), who chairs the committee. "Democrats combined cast 4,775 votes to repeal, to reform, to change Obamacare."
"We’re working to repeal Obamacare," he said. "It’s not working. It’s left a lot of wreckage. We’re here to clean it up."