Arkansas GOP Senator Tom Cotton, whose fellow GOP colleague in the House, John Shimkus, asked why men should have to pay for prenatal care, is warning GOP House members not to throw away their majority in the House of Representatives by voting for the current bill that is being offered as a replacement of Obamacare. According to Cotton, by supporting the American Health Care Act, the GOP is risking not only losing their majority in the House, but also losing the same in the Senate, in 2018.
More unpopular than Obamacare
Cotton warned that some elements of the American Health Care Act may be more unpopular than Obamacare.
Speaking on the program, "This Week" on Sunday, Cotton alleged that health care insurance rates could escalate to levels beyond anyone's control and that clients could feel more helpless than they do under Obamacare currently. Cotton also added that he feels that the American Health Care Act could not pass in the Senate after it passes the House. The insidious result, as Cotton sees it, is that voters will see another instance of a divided Congress that broke its promise to come up with an Obamacare replacement bill.
Retribution from the voters
Cotton fears that the voters, in turn, would take retribution on the GOP and that the Republicans would lose both houses of Congress. If that scenario were to play out, Donald Trump would be forced to serve the rest of his term as a GOP President with a Democratic Congress.
The same thing happened to Bill Clinton on the flip side in his first midterm election during his first term as President. Clinton, a Democrat, suddenly found himself with a GOP House and Senate in the midterm election of 1994. President Obama also found himself in the same position in his first midterm election in 2010.
As with all scenarios in which the incumbent president loses his/her party majority in both houses of Congress in a midterm election, the President's reelection chances are reduced.
However, some presidents who find themselves in this position use it to their advantage when running for reelection because they can blame Congress for the stalemates and inability to get anything done. However, this may prove to be more difficult for Trump because he so steadfastly promised to "repeal and replace" Obamacare in his first 100 days in office.
Trump will have been in office for two months on March 20, 2017.
Other things on the GOP agenda
Cotton reminded his GOP colleagues that they have other things on their agenda for the next two years besides just Obamacare. Among these things are managing the budget, cutting taxes and expanding the military. Cotton is fearful that if the GOP is not careful, that they will sacrifice all of these things in a desperate attempt to pass the American Health Care Act. As Cotton sees it, on election day in 2018, the nation could be looking at a divided GOP Congress that is being voted out, a repealed Obamacare plan that has not been replaced, and a beleaguered President Donald Trump who is seriously staring at the real possibility of a one-term presidency.
VA expands mental health care for veterans
Meanwhile, the Department of Veterans Affairs has expanded mental health care coverage to include veterans who had "less than honorable" discharges. The VA took the unprecedented action because of a severe mental health crisis among veterans and rising suicides. The VA has promised to offer services by phone to veterans in rural communities and to hire more mental health care workers for the urban areas.
