Conservative caucus wants fast health law repeal

a bill Obama vetoed last year, which would have killed much of his overhaul. Leaders of the caucus, whose roughly 40 members are among the House’s most hard-line conservatives, said they also want a simultaneous vote on a GOP package replacing that law.

Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, told reporters that if forthcoming GOP legislation annulling Obama’s law doesn’t go as far as last year’s vetoed legislation, “We’re not going to vote for that.”

Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., leader of a broader group of conservatives, called the Freedom Caucus’ demands “a common sense position” and said he wanted a vote “as soon as possible.” He said at one closed-door meeting Tuesday where GOP lead- ers described options, lawmakers posed many questions and the reception was “intense”

In one unresolved dispute, conservatives oppose a Ryan idea to help people pay medical bills with refundable tax credits — which would mean checks from the IRS for people with little or no income. Conservatives say the idea invites fraud and removes an incentive for people to work, and Freedom Caucus leader Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said he believes the proposal lacks enough votes to pass.

Conservatives say they’re worried that this year — with President Donald Trump eager to sign repeal legislation — lawmakers nervous about angering constituents who could lose coverage might water it down.