New US Congress prepares to undo Obamacare

A new, Republican-controlled US Congress convenes on Tuesday eager to repeal major portions of President Barack Obama's healthcare law and roll back environmental and financial industry regulations.

Despite his promise to unite a deeply divided country, US President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in on 20 January leading a Republican Party that early on will push legislation through Congress without significant Democratic support, Reuters news agency reported.

According to a Gallup poll released on Monday, Trump will take office with less than half of Americans confident in his ability to handle an international crisis, use military force wisely or prevent major ethics lapses in his administration.

Leading Democrats on Monday warned of a fierce fight over the Affordable Care Act (ACA), widely known as Obamacare, which is expected to have 13.8 million people enrolled in the programme that aims to provide health insurance to economically disadvantaged people and to expand coverage for others. Republican leaders in the House and Senate have signalled that their first target in the 115th Congress will be Obamacare and have made clear they will not wait for Trump’s inauguration to start dismantling it.

Obama is scheduled to meet on Wednesday with congressional Democrats to discuss strategies for fending off Republican attacks on Obamacare. But the party’s ability to resist is hampered by Republican legislative tactics designed to minimise the power of the minority, and the fact that 10 Democratic senators will face re-election two years from now in states won by Donald Trump, making them reluctant to defy him.

In light of such handicaps, Democrats are likely to focus their limited political resources on fighting confirmation of Trump nominees for high office, particularly in the supreme court, and to join forces with Republican senators pushing for a thorough investigation of the Russian role in the presidential election.

"We're going to fight as hard as ever to protect the ACA,” Representative Steny Hoyer, the House of Representatives' second-ranking Democrat, said.

Speaking to reporters, Hoyer and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said they would launch an effort to mobilise grassroots support for Obamacare by explaining how repeal would create a ripple effect hurting a majority of Americans.

According to Reuters, Republicans have hammered away at Obamacare for years, insisting it was unworkable and was hampering job growth. With control of Congress and the White House, they will be in a position to enact a repeal bill.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence will meet with his fellow House Republicans the same day to rally them on repealing Obamacare, Politico reported.

Republicans in coming weeks will try to steer legislation through Congress using procedures that would not require Democratic cooperation. Their bill, which has not been unveiled, is expected to repeal Obamacare, but postpone the actions for two or three years while also maintaining some of the law's provisions.

“Repeal and replace” legislation has been developed since the ACA came into place in 2010, awaiting the arrival of a sympathetic president. The Democrats’ last line of defence is in the Senate, where they control 48 of the 100 seats, including two independents who normally vote with them. That gives them the power to hold up major legislation through filibusters that would require 60 votes to overcome.