Tuesday in the House: Repealing parts of the healthcare law

The House convenes at 10 a.m. Tuesday for morning speeches, then begins consideration of two bills at noon that would repeal two parts of last year's healthcare law.

H.R. 1213 would repeal federal funding to states for the purpose of setting up health insurance exchanges. The bill would save an estimated $14 billion over 10 years.

The House Rules Committee made five amendments in order, which will each be given 10 minutes of debate today. One from Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to post a public notice saying the funds were rescinded — these sorts of amendments from Democrats have been successfully included in recent legislation.

Other Democratic amendments are less likely to be accepted. One from Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) would require HHS to report to Congress after six months describing whether any states are having problems developing the health insurance exchanges without federal help. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) will propose a similar amendment today.

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) will propose an amendment requiring a Government Accountability Office study on the benefits of state-run exchanges compared to federally run exchanges. And one from Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) would keep $1.9 billion in funding for states that demonstrate progress toward developing information technology systems used to run state insurance exchanges.

Late Monday, the White House said it would veto H.R. 1213 if it were presented for Obama's signature. However, the bill (like many others House Republicans have passed) is unlikely to advance in the Senate.

The House will also take up H.R. 1214, which would end federal funding for the construction of school-based health facilities. That program runs through fiscal 2013, and would save at least $100 million if repealed.

The White House said only that it would "strongly oppose" this bill, and stopped short of a veto threat.

The House will first need to approve the rule for both bills; the Rules Committee approved a single rule for both on Monday. Final votes on the underlying bills are expected by 6 p.m.

— This story was updated at 9:12 a.m.