House Postpones Vote To Repeal Health Care Reform

The House has postponed a vote on the repeal of the health care reform law following this weekend’s shooting in Tucson, Arizona that left Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) in critical condition and 6 dead.

“In consultation with the Speaker and the Democratic Leadership, I have postponed all previously-scheduled legislation for the coming week to accommodate any action needed in light of yesterday’s tragic events in Arizona,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said in a statement.

While most legislative action will be put on the back burner, Cantor said that the House will consider a resolution to honor Giffords and the other victims of the shooting, which included a Federal Judge and a young Giffords’ staffer.

The repeal vote was initially scheduled for this Wednesday. When it is eventually taken up, some Democratic lawmakers will likely push to change the legislation’s language, which currently refers to the reform law as “job killing.”

“Is it really necessary to put the word “killing” in the title of a major piece of legislation? I don’t think that word is in there by accident — my Republican friends know as well as anyone the power of words to send a message,” Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Me.) said in an opinion piece published on the Huffington Post. “But in this environment and at this moment in our nation’s history, it’s not the message we should be sending.”