CNN "Newsroom" - Transcript: ACA and Government Shutdown

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BALDWIN: On Capitol Hill, House Republicans are just now walking out of this meeting, plotting the next move in this standoff. One of the Congressmen who was in that meeting joins me now there from the hill.

He is Congressman James Lankford from Oklahoma. Welcome. I know this meeting you have been part of lasted an hour and a half, it just ended. Tell me your party's strategy now that the U.S. Senate has rejected your plan.

REP. JAMES LANKFORD (R), OKLAHOMA: It's ironic is the U.S. Senate didn't actually reject it. They just tabled it. They said we're not going to vote on this, we're going to push it away.

There are two proposals. One is to protect the military to make sure they were fully funded, and they tabled the latest proposal on the funding.

What we will do is send a proposal back to fully fund the government, but eliminate the individual mandate. The president has already waived the businessman date.

We will waive the individual mandate for the next year and eliminate any kind of exemptions that members of Congress or members in the White House or political appointees would have in Obamacare.

That means the White House political appointees and all members of Congress would go directly into Obamacare as was originally intended in this law.

Those two things go back over to the Senate.

BALDWIN: When it comes to those two things, we heard from other House Republicans earlier on CNN, some of whom didn't necessarily agree with that, wanted to say enough is enough, let's go ahead and vote on this, this continuing resolution, and be done with it.

Did you need any convincing or are you on board from the get-go?

LANKFORD: No, I'm on board with this. We shouldn't have some sort of special exemption in the middle of all this with Obamacare.

The way the law was written, whether you like or don't like the law, the way the law was written is it made sure that members of Congress and their staff are fully into Obamacare.

The Office of Personnel Management shifted that language around and said, no, we're going to provide additional subsidies which is right to have employer provided health care, but the way the law is written doesn't allow for that.

We're pushing that back out and also coming back and saying it's only right that if you have a business exemption, you have an individual exemption.

Right now if you're an individual, you have to do all these different things or you'll be fined. A business does not.

BALDWIN: So this is this version that then presumably you all will kick back over to the Senate. You know the math.

You were exactly right in saying tabling amendments which is presuming that the Democrats and the Republicans on the Senate side vote as they did in the last hour.

They will then table those amendments you just discussed, it goes back to you all so really, the question is Congressman, would you be willing to vote for a clean bill at some point by midnight tonight?

LANKFORD: Yes. The challenge of that is first members of the Senate have to step in and say we're going to vote to make sure we have the special exemption the rest of the American people have and vote to say business should have an exemption but individuals should not have an exemption. That's where it stands right now.

We're trying to create a fair playing field for everyone. If we're in Obama care it needs to be fair for everyone. Right now there's a lot of exemptions and waivers out there and we will pull those out.

BALDWIN: So back to the question, would you ultimately vote for a clean continuing resolution in order to prevent this government, the funding to continue after midnight?

LANKFORD: No. I'm waiting on the Senate to be able to respond to this. We sent over two different proposals. This will be our third on it. They've got to be able to answer back.

BALDWIN: OK. Congressman, we will be watching. Thank you so much, sir.

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