All bills are subject to compromises of one sort or another, and the American Health Care Act is no exception, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., said Thursday.
"I can't read minds or tell fortunes," he told Fox News' "America's Newsroom," when asked if he believes the bill will make it through the House Budget Committee.
"There's no such thing as a perfect bill. Everything is a compromise to one extent or another. That's the nature of the process, but I am confident the measure before us is moving us in the right direction."
McClintock said he would have preferred a more comprehensive piece of legislation, "rather than a piecemeal approach," but he still thinks the AHCA will mean a "much more functional healthcare system where people have a wide variety of choices to choose the plan that best meets their needs and a tax system that will support their ability to at least have a basic plan within their financial grasp."
The lawmaker said he is also confident the bill will eventually be molded into legislation that will get the required 218 votes it needs to pass the House.
"There is no option for failure," he said. "Obamacare is collapsing on this country. It has been the most prominent issue in the last four elections, and they delivered us a mandate to repeal and replace for a system that works . . . we're moving in that direction. The entire deliberative process is geared to assure we can reach a consensus, and I think we're well on our way to doing that."
McClintock said he does not agree with Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who has called for a House vote against the bill because it is not workable.
"It will be improved through the process, and for that to happen it has to move through the process," McClintock said. "I have to reject that advice as much as I respect Tom Cotton."
Meanwhile, it is also important to ensure a smooth transition from Obamacare to the competitive market, McClintock said, as a different Congress will end up repealing the new legislation.
"We're accountable for the results that this process ultimately delivers, and we have to get it right," he said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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