By Eric Bradner
January 13, 2017
House Speaker Paul
Ryan said Thursday Republicans plan to repeal President Barack Obama's health
care law at the same time they approve a GOP replacement plan.
"We want to do
this at the same time, and in some cases in the same bill," Ryan said
during a town hall in Washington sponsored by CNN and moderated by Jake Tapper.
"So we want to advance repealing this law with its replacement at the same
time."
Ryan said Republicans
are moving "as quickly as they can" to repeal and replace the
Affordable Care Act, but said he doesn't yet have a date, and it will take
"a little bit of time" to do so.
"We're working
on this as fast as possible," he said, adding that the GOP will act
"definitely within these first 100 days" of Trump's presidency.
Ryan's comments
align the speaker with President-elect Donald Trump, who said at a news conference
Wednesday that repealing and replacing Obamacare should happen
"essentially simultaneously." Some Republicans on
Capitol Hill have urged more caution, however, as the party tries to
find consensus on a plan to replace the law that has insured millions of
people.
At the outset of
the town hall, Ryan didn't say that the government has an obligation to insure
every American.
"I clearly
think there's a role for the government in health care, no doubt about
it," the Wisconsin Republican said.
He added that he
supports elements of the health care law -- including that "people with
pre-existing conditions, no matter how much money they make," should have
access to insurance.
But, he said,
"The law is collapsing, and so we've got to rescue people."
Ryan faces a tough
balancing act as he leads the House at the outset of Trump's administration.
He's attempting to hold together an unruly set of Republicans that includes
Trump loyalists who want to see the President-elect's populist policies swiftly
enacted, fiscal hawks who fret about the price tag of those policies and
moderates still leery of the President-elect. Meanwhile, Democrats appear set
to deny the GOP even limited support on any major initiatives.
Ryan, who waited
weeks to even endorse Trump after he clinched the GOP nomination, also now
knows his party's electoral fate is largely tied to his ability to help Trump
succeed. And he remains committed to his own, much more detailed policy
platform, years in the making. Ryan had long sought a Republican president to
sign his entitlement reforms and budget cuts into law -- but hadn't counted on
this Republican president.
'Do you think that
I should be deported?'
Ryan was asked
point-blank by a woman whose parents brought her to the US as an undocumented
immigrant at age 11, and who has remained in the country for 21 years since:
"Do you think that I should be deported?"
"I can see
that you love your daughter and you're a nice person who has a great future
ahead of you, and I hope your future's here," Ryan responded.
Trump has pledged
to repeal Obama's executive actions that allowed undocumented immigrants
brought into the country as children and their families to remain in the
country without fear of deportation.
Ryan said lawmakers
are talking with Trump's transition team about those immigrants -- and said
Trump's focus is on violent criminals and building a US-Mexico border wall.
"That's the
problem he wants to focus on. This is not the focus. And so what we have to do
is find a way to ensure that you can get right with the law," he said.
"We have to figure out how to fix this, but to do that, people need to
have confidence that our laws are being followed, people know who's coming and
going and we need to have a secure border."
"What we have
to do is figure out how to have a humane solution to this very legitimate,
sincere problem, and respect the rule of law," Ryan said.
Tapper asked Ryan
if Republicans would seek a law barring the federal government from using
information submitted by those allowed to remain in the US through Obama's
executive actions to deport those individuals.
Ryan responded that
though some fear a deportation force, "it's not happening."
Tapper responded
that Trump had actually talked of creating a "deportation force" on
the campaign trail.
"I know, I
know," Ryan said, laughing. "But I'm here to tell you, in Congress,
it's not happening."
He did, however,
take a hard line on "sanctuary cities" that don't deport undocumented
immigrants.
"Sanctuary
cities are a violation of the rule of law, and they are not to be
tolerated," he said. "That means if you want federal assistance,
you're not going to get it. You've got to enforce the law," Ryan said,
referring to cities that adopt such policies.
Russia
Ryan took a tough
line on Russia, saying the United States must "step up our game" and
adopt a "stronger Russia engagement policy, for sure, across the
board."
"The fact that
a foreign government tried to meddle in another government's election is
wrong," Ryan said, calling for stronger sanctions against the country.
He called Russia a
"global menace led by a man who is menacing."
"Vladimir
Putin does not share our interests," Ryan said. "He frustrates our
interests. He violates his neighbors. ... He's not democratic. I really think a
lot of the things that he is doing is to try to delegitimize the other
democracies so that his illegitimate democracy doesn't look as illegitimate by
comparison."
That's a contrast
to Trump, who has praised Putin, the Russian president. The President-elect
acknowledged at the Wednesday news conference that he thought Russia was
responsible for the hack but blamed poor cybersecurity at the Democratic
National Committee and said Putin wouldn't take such actions under a Trump
administration.
Ryan said he
believes intelligence -- including a two-page summary of unverified claims that
Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information
about Trump -- that CNN exclusively
reported was presented to Trump and Obama last week -- "has
been politicized."
Still, he defended
the intelligence community, saying of Trump: "I think he's going to learn
that there are a lot of good men and women in the intelligence community who
risk their lives to keep us safe."
But, in a nod to
Trump's complaints that some news organizations published the uncorroborated
details, Ryan said: "I completely understand why he's frustrated that
eight, nine days before his inauguration, this junk gets thrown out
there."
CNN has not
published or aired any of the uncorroborated details from the memo.
Planned Parenthood
The speaker was
pressed at the town hall on the GOP's push to block Planned Parenthood from
receiving federal health care dollars for services provided to women because
the organization provides abortions -- even though abortions are not covered by
taxpayer dollars.
"We don't want
to commit taxpayer funding for abortion, and Planned Parenthood is the largest
abortion provider," he said.
Tapper pressed
Ryan, noting that existing law blocks taxpayer dollars from funding abortions.
But, Ryan argued, "money's fungible, and it effectively floats these
organizations."
He said Republicans
would rather shift those dollars -- and redirect Planned Parenthood's patients
using those dollars -- to federal community health centers.
"You don't
have these controversies by funding health centers," he said.
The vast majority
of federal money that Planned Parenthood does receive funds preventive health
care, birth control, pregnancy tests, and other women's health care services.
Trump on Twitter
Ryan said he
doesn't expect Trump to get off Twitter when he moves into the White House --
and he doesn't know how the President-elect's social media use will affect
foreign and domestic policy.
"I think he's
going to keep doing this, and I think he's going to be probably a little more
restrained in his tweets probably, but it's all relative," Ryan said.
"But I do believe it's been extremely effective for getting elected
president, I've got to tell you. He was able to touch and tap into people's
hearts and minds."
Ryan joked about
his own viral sensation -- when a congressman's
son left the Wisconsin Republican confused with his Cam Newton-style
move in a photo with the speaker.
"I actually do
know what a dab is," he said to laughter. But, he said, the young man was
dabbing incorrectly. "I thought he was sneezing."
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