Democratic Senator Backs Delay of Obamacare’s Individual Mandate

While President Barack Obama was addressing a crowd in Maryland and explaining the benefits associated with the Affordable Care Act, the news broke that one Democrat in the U.S. Senate was breaking ranks and supporting the Republican call for a delay in the health care reform law’s individual mandate. According to a report, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has come out in favor of delaying the mandate for individuals to purchase health insurance or pay a fine.

“There’s no way I could not vote for it,” Manchin told the attendees of a Bloomberg Government breakfast on Thursday when asked if he would support a mandate delay. “It’s very reasonable and sensible.”

RELATED: Jake Tapper Grills Mike Lee on Obamacare: When Did GOP Say It’s Okay to ‘Freeload?’

The mandate demands that individuals purchase health care coverage if they are not already covered. Congressional Republicans are considering attaching a delay in the mandate, as well as the insistence that federal employees be forced into the ACA exchanges, as part of future key provisions to ensure the government continues to function.

Manchin was reelected in 2012 and will not face West Virginia’s voters again until 2018.

h/t Bloomberg

[Photo via AP]

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