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Democrats Leaning on Joe Biden to Help Save Obamacare From Repeal

Joe Biden / Getty Images
Joe Biden / Getty Images
March 20, 2017

Former Vice President Joe Biden will join House Democrats on Wednesday to rally together to save Obamacare the day before House Republicans vote on their repeal plan.

Biden will appear in front of the Capitol at 10 a.m. alongside House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif) and other House Democrats, Politico reported Monday. The event will be one of Biden's first major appearance since leaving office in January.

Democrats have also invited Americans who have benefited from the law to what is being deemed a celebration marking the seventh anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, which was signed on March 23, 2010.

House Republicans have scheduled to vote on their plan to replace Obamacare on Thursday, the actual anniversary of the law's signing.

GOP leaders and top White House officials worked over the weekend to get the minimum 216 votes needed to get their new health care bill passed.

Pelosi castigated the new Republican health care plan Sunday during an appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation, calling it a "terrible bill."

"What Republicans have put forth is a terrible bill–24 million people kicked off of health insurance which the [House] speaker calls 'an act of mercy,'" Pelosi said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) indicated Sunday that the GOP plan, called the American Health Care Act, will undergo changes that lawmakers are considering this week.

"We think we should be offering even more assistance than the bill currently does," Ryan said on Fox News Sunday.

Some 40 GOP representatives have said they will not vote for the bill in its current form, which would be enough to block the plan from moving forward, assuming all Democrats vote against it.