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Republicans have a problem. It's called governing.

For the past three elections, Republicans have rallied support to take over Congress and the White House by blaming President Barack Obama and Democrats for everything. The excuse of the Obama presidency and Democratic control of Congress is over.

Now Republicans have no one to blame but themselves. Six months into the year, not a single piece of major legislation has passed. If Republicans cannot produce and pass meaningful legislation on health care, tax reform, deficit and debt reduction, regulatory reform and strengthening the military they will answer for it at the ballot box next year.

This week, the Senate's substitute for the Affordable Care Act, the Better Care Reconciliation bill, died before ever making it to the Senate floor. Four Republican senators two conservatives, one moderate and one libertarian announced they would not support the measure. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell responded by saying he would bring to a Senate floor vote a simple repeal bill, which would not take effect for two years, giving lawmakers time to craft a replacement. Even though Senate Republicans passed a similar bill in 2015, that effort died as well when moderate senators voiced their opposition to repealing without replacing. With a two-vote majority, McConnell has little room for error.

To those of us who served in Congress during the original Obamacare debate, it is not surprising that moderate Republicans oppose repealing the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Once an entitlement program is received by the public, taking that benefit away is hard political sledding. Fiscal conservatives argued at the time that the United States could little afford a costly new program with a federal government $12 trillion in debt (today the debt is $20 trillion!).

Support for that position was found last week in a little-covered report by the trustees of the nation's largest entitlement programs. The trustees announced Social Security will be exhausted in 17 years (2034) and Medicare in 12 years (2029). Think that 2029 is far away? Does 2005 seem that long ago? Under current law, when the Social Security trust fund runs out, benefits will be slashed by 25 percent. In other non-headline-worthy news, the federal government managed to run another $90 billion in the red for the month of June even during a pretty good economy.

What should Senate Republicans do?

Split the replacement package into single-issue reforms and work to gain a consensus of 50 Republicans on each. For example, call a vote to abolish the taxes imposed by the Affordable Care Act. Call another vote to repeal, in whole or in part, Medicaid expansion. To soften the blow to states that have expanded Medicaid, consider limiting the expanded coverage to one year, much like an unemployment benefit, to encourage people back into the workforce. Call another vote to shore up the exchange to reduce premium increases. This single subject approach may garner 50 votes (with the vice president putting the measure over the top). A few moderate Democrats may even lend their support. Partial reform would be a better result than leaving the failing Affordable Care Act in place.

Having made some progress on health care, Congress could move on to the more important issue of tax reform and deficit reduction. Americans need a modern tax code that encourages business creation, hiring and expansion. The result would be more Americans working, rising wages and greater receipts by the federal Treasury to move us toward a balanced budget. The federal government is headed toward a fiscal crisis with 2 percent annual GDP growth and exploding entitlement costs (42 percent of federal spending!). The solution is for America to grow its way out.

Congressional Republicans would be wise to work through the August recess instead of heading home empty-handed. There is scant time for Republicans to post some legislative wins before next year's election cycle starts. It's time for Republicans to step up, or Americans will move them out of the way.

George LeMieux served as a Republican U.S. senator, governor's chief of staff and deputy attorney general.

LeMieux: Republicans need results or risk losing in 2018 07/20/17 [Last modified: Thursday, July 20, 2017 3:01pm] Photo reprints | Article reprints

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