Calling the bill "an enormous pro-growth fiscal bonus," the editorial board focused on the law's projected economic effects, as determined by the Congressional Budget Office, rather than the law's effects on healthcare coverage.
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Wall Street Journal editorial board comes out in favor of GOP Obamacare replacement plan
The Wall Street Journal's editorial board, a consistently conservative voice, called the GOP's American Health Care Act a historic opportunity to curtail government spending and cut taxes.
Paul Ryan
The editorial comes amid an intensifying battle within the Republican Party over the bill. President Donald Trump has pledgedhis full support for the AHCA, an effort led by House Speaker Paul Ryan, while conservative Republicans are calling it "Obamacare lite." Trump reportedly warned House Republicans of a "bloodbath" in the 2018 midterm election if the AHCA fails.
The Journal's board argued that the bill, which would reduce the federal budget deficit by $337 billion over a decade, is a unique opportunity for conservatives to prevent a debt crisis, large tax increases, and cuts to entitlement programs other than Medicaid.
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The board hailed the bill's significant cuts to Medicaid —
The editorial board argued that Republicans would regret taking a hardline against the replacement legislation.
"If conservatives fumble this repeal-and-replace moment, they won’t get another chance," the board wrote. "And they’ll have squandered their best opening in a generation to control the size and scope of the federal Leviathan."
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