(Natural News) Earlier this year the Republican-controlled Senate was responsible for killing off a full repeal-and-replacement of Obamacare, leading many to question whether the GOP was capable of leading and keeping key campaign promises.

Now, however, Republican senators appear set to at least eliminate the very unpopular individual mandate, which forces all Americans to buy a product — health insurance — for the first time in U.S. history.

As reported by CNBC:

The proposed Republican tax reform bill will include repeal of Obamacare's individual mandate requiring most Americans to have some form of health insurance or pay a tax penalty, GOP leaders said Tuesday.

The decision means that Republicans, yet again in 2017, will attempt to gut a key element of the Affordable Care Act.

"We're optimistic that inserting individual mandate repeal would be helpful," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. on Tuesday afternoon after a lunch meeting with the Republican conference.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., added, "I'm pleased the Senate Finance Committee has accepted my proposal to repeal the Obamacare individual mandate in the tax legislation."

"Repealing the mandate pays for more tax cuts for working families and protects them from being fined by the IRS for not being able to afford insurance that Obamacare made unaffordable in the first place," Cotton continued. "I urge the House to include the mandate repeal in their tax legislation."

Other Republican leaders were also optimistic and said that getting rid of the onerous mandate, which many believe has led to sharp increases in health premiums, would be a huge money-saver for tens of millions of Americans at the lower end of the income spectrum.