WASHINGTON The Republican Party's ardent campaign against President Barack Obama's health care law gained new momentum Wednesday as lawmakers reacted angrily to assertions by an architect of the policy that it was crafted in a deliberately deceptive way to pass Congress. <\/p>\n
On both sides of the Capitol, leading conservatives said they may call economist Jonathan Gruber to testify about his remarks, which were made last year and surfaced this week in a video on social media. In the video, Gruber suggests that the administration's signature health care legislation passed in part because of the \"stupidity of the American voter\" and a \"lack of transparency\" over its funding mechanisms. <\/p>\n
\"The strategy was to hide the truth from the American people,\" said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who is to chair the Senate Budget Committee next year. \"That is a threat to the American republic.\" <\/p>\n
Gruber has been a complicated figure in the history of the health care law. He helped the Obama administration craft the measure and has been a leading advocate of it, but he has also made sporadic comments sparking political brushfires that have been problematic for the law's supporters. In the recently surfaced video, Gruber expresses frustration with the political process surrounding the law, rather than with the law itself. <\/p>\n
The White House sought Wednesday to distance itself from Gruber and his comments. <\/p>\n
\"The Affordable Care Act was publicly debated over the course of 14 months, with dozens of congressional hearings, and countless town halls, speeches and debates,\" White House spokeswoman Jessica Santillo said in a statement. \"The tax credits in the law that help millions of middle-class Americans afford coverage were no secret, and in fact were central to the legislation. Not only do we disagree with (Gruber's) comments, they're simply not true.\" <\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the widely circulated video has again made the health care law a primary focus for congressional Republicans, even after an election in which the party played down its zeal to repeal it. Now, rank-and-file conservatives and their grass roots supporters are using the Gruber video to pressure congressional leaders to be more aggressive in their efforts to dismantle the law. <\/p>\n
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and an influential tea party voice, said House Republicans may hold hearings on the matter, given the intensity of the reaction. <\/p>\n
Michael Steel, a spokesman for Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said House leadership is also closely monitoring reaction to the video. \"(Gruber's) comments are a sad reminder that this awful law was passed in the worst possible way, with lies, secrecy and more lies from Washington Democrats,\" he said in an email. <\/p>\n
According to his allies, Boehner plans to gauge the reaction among his members this morning at a closed-door conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol. <\/p>\n
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Health care law's opponents riled by 'stupidity' video<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WASHINGTON The Republican Party's ardent campaign against President Barack Obama's health care law gained new momentum Wednesday as lawmakers reacted angrily to assertions by an architect of the policy that it was crafted in a deliberately deceptive way to pass Congress. Continue reading