Big GOP donors spending millions to stop Trump health care bill

The House Rules Committee meets to shape the final version of the Republican health care bill before it goes to the floor for debate and a vote, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 22, 2017. From left to right are, House Budget Committee Chair Diane Black, R-Tenn., Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., the Budget Committee ranking member, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the ranking member of Ways and Means, and Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. At top center on dais are Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, left, and Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the vice chair. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The House Rules Committee meets to shape the final version of the Republican health care bill before it goes to the floor for debate and a vote, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 22, 2017. From left to right are, House Budget Committee Chair Diane Black, R-Tenn., Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., the Budget Committee ranking member, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the ranking member of Ways and Means, and Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. At top center on dais are Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, left, and Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the vice chair. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) - The conservative Koch network is promising to spend millions of dollars to defeat the health care overhaul backed by President Donald Trump and top House Republicans.

The network's leading organizations, Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Partners, announced late Wednesday the creation of a special fund to support House members who vote against the health care bill.

The announcement, which comes on the eve of the House vote, marks the influential conservative network's most aggressive move against the health care proposal, which is under attack from the right and the left.

"The bill as it stands today is Obamacare 2.0," said James Davis, executive vice president of Freedom Partners, in a statement announcing the new fund. He added, "We will stand with lawmakers who keep their promise and oppose this legislation - and work toward a solution that reduces costs and provides Americans with the relief they need and deserve."

The organizations backed by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch declared their formal opposition to the GOP health care proposal Monday.

Like other conservatives, they decried the legislation as a new entitlement program that doesn't go far enough in repealing President Barack Obama's health care law. Moderate Republicans, meanwhile, are concerned by projections of 24 million Americans losing coverage in a decade and higher out-of-pocket costs for many low-income and older people.

The Koch-backed fund is being described only as "seven figures" and will go toward political ads, direct mail and other grassroots activity.

"We have a history of following up and holding politicians accountable, but we will also be there to support and thank the champions who stand strong and keep their promise," Americans for Prosperity president Tim Phillips said.

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