WASHINGTON – Today, the House of Representatives passed, 217-213, H.R. 1628, known as the American Health Care Act (AHCA) of 2017, which repeals major provisions of ObamaCare and defunds Planned Parenthood for one year.

H.R. 1628 is a special type of legislation called a "reconciliation bill." This means that it cannot be blocked in the Senate by filibuster and will only need 51, rather than 60, votes to pass.

Planned Parenthood currently receives approximately $553 million in federal funding per year. For one year, the AHCA eliminates more than $390 million, or 80 percent, in annual federal funding to the largest abortion mill in the nation.

AHCA repeals the ObamaCare premium tax credits, which subsidize abortion on demand. It also eliminates the ObamaCare employer and individual mandate penalties, which allows employers or individuals to forgo offering or purchasing coverage if doing so violates their conscience. AHCA’s ObamaCare replacement components include pro-life funding restrictions regarding tax credits, the Patient and State Stability Fund, and the Federal Invisible Risk Sharing Program. The AHCA also repeals some of the other ObamaCare mandates and allows states to pass a waiver of certain other mandates that have driven up insurance costs.

“The vote to repeal ObamaCare and defund Planned Parenthood is a victory for the American people,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “A few days ago, Senate Democratic leaders said with excitement that they had defeated President Trump’s agenda. Today, those same people are sad puppies. Obama’s so-called legacy is melting before our eyes,” said Staver.

“Going forward, the Senate Republican leadership must do away with the filibuster rule. It makes no sense to need 60 votes to pass legislation. The only possible sense in having a filibuster is to temporarily delay a vote to have more time to consider the bill. But to allow a filibuster to permanently block a vote makes no sense. Fortunately, today’s action by the House is not subject to the filibuster rule in the Senate,” said Staver.

Liberty Counsel represents Sandra Merritt, the journalist whose courageous undercover work exposed Planned Parenthood’s barbaric practices of harvesting organs from babies and selling them to StemExpress and other organ procurement organizations for extreme profit. The videos she helped produce stirred the conscience of America and led to the defunding of Planned Parenthood in more than 10 states.

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.