groups launched ad campaigns to discourage enrollment. Repeal efforts PPACA was the subject of many unsuccessful repeal efforts by Republicans in the 111th, 112th, and 113th Congresses: Representatives Steve King (R-IA) and Michele Bachmann (R-MN) introduced bills in the House to repeal PPACA the day after it was signed, as did Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) in the Senate. In 2011, after Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives, one of the first votes held was on a bill titled "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act" (H.R. 2), which the House passed 245–189. All Republicans and 3 Democrats voted for repeal. In the Senate, the bill was offered as an amendment to an unrelated bill, but was voted down. President Obama stated that he would veto the bill had passed. On February 3, 2015, the House of Representatives added its 67th repeal vote to the record (239 to 186). This attempt also failed. 2013 federal government shutdown Strong partisan disagreement in Congress prevented adjustments to the Act's provisions. However, at least one change, a proposed repeal of a tax on medical devices, has received bipartisan support. Some Congressional Republicans argued against improvements to the law on the grounds they would weaken the arguments for repeal. Republicans attempted to defund its implementation, and in October 2013 House Republicans refused to fund the federal government unless it came with an implementation delay, after the President unilaterally deferred the employer mandate by one year, which critics claimed he had no power to do. The House passed three versions of a bill funding the government while submitting various versions that would repeal or delay PPACA, with the last version delaying enforcement of the individual mandate. The Democratic Senate leadership stated the Senate would pass only a bill without any restrictions on PPACA. The government shutdown lasted from October 1-17. 2017 repeal effort During a midnight congressional session starting January 11, the Senate of the 115th Congress of the United States voted to approve a "budget blueprint" that would allow Republicans to repeal parts of the law "without threat of a Democratic filibuster." The plan, which passed 51–48, was named by Senate Republicans the "Obamacare 'repeal resolution. Democrats opposing the resolution staged a protest during the vote. House Republicans announced their replacement, the American Health Care Act, on March 6. On March 24 the effort failed amid a revolt among Republican representatives. On May 4 the House voted to pass the American Health Care Act by a margin of 217 to 213. The Senate Republican leadership announced that Senate Republicans would write their own version of the bill, instead of voting on the House version. Leader McConnell named a group of 13 Republicans to draft the substitute version in private, raising bipartisan concerns about a lack of transparency. On June 22 Republicans released the first discussion draft, which would rename it the "Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017" (BCRA). On July 25 although no amendment proposal had garnered majority support, Republicans voted to advance the bill to the floor and begin formal consideration of amendments. Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski were the only two dissenting Republicans making the vote a 50–50 tie. Vice President Mike Pence then cast the tiebreaking vote in the affirmative. The revised BCRA failed, 43–57. A subsequent "Obamacare Repeal and Reconciliation Act" abandoned the "repeal and replace" approach in favor of a straight repeal, but that too failed. 45–55. Finally, the "Health Care Freedom Act", nicknamed "skinny repeal" because it would have made the least change to PPACA, failed by 49–51, with Collins, Murkowski, and McCain joining all the