‘The Senate is starting from scratch,’ says GOP lawmaker on health bill
BRANCHBURG, N.J. — President Donald Trump urged Senate Republicans on Sunday to “not let the American people down,” as the contentious debate over overhauling the U.S. health care systems shifts to Congress’ upper chamber, where a vote is potentially weeks, if not months, away.
Some senators have already voiced displeasure with the health care bill that cleared the House last week, with Republicans providing all the “yes” votes in the 217-213 count. They cited concerns about potential higher costs for older people and those with pre-existing conditions, along with cuts to Medicaid.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate Republican whose vote will be critical to getting a bill to Trump’s desk and who voiced similar concerns, said the Senate would not take up the House bill.
“The Senate is starting from scratch. We’re going to draft our bill, and I’m convinced we will take the time to do it right,” she said.
“Nobody dies because they don’t have access to health care.”
— REP. RAUL LABRADOR, R-IDAHO
Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s budget director, also said the version that gets to the president will likely differ from the House measure. Such a scenario would then force the House and Senate to work together to forge a compromise bill that both houses can support.
Collins also complained that the House rushed a vote before the Congressional Budget Office could complete its cost-benefit analysis.
Eager to check off a top campaign promise, Trump sought Sunday to pressure Senate Republicans on the issue.
“Republican senators will not let the American people down!” Trump tweeted from his private golf course in central New Jersey, where he has stayed since late Thursday. “Obamacare premiums and deductibles are way up — it was a lie and it is dead!”
Trump has said the current system is failing as insurers pull out of markets, forcing costs and deductibles to rise.
Major medical and other groups, including the American Medical Association, opposed the House bill. Democrats are also refusing to participate in any effort to dismantle Obama’s law, while some Republican senators — Rob Portman of Ohio, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Cory Gardner of Colorado and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — object to cutting Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor and disabled.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., appeared resigned to the legislative reality that the bill he unveiled with great fanfare, after years of Republican pledges to replace what’s become known as Obamacare, will be altered as part of a “multistage process.”
“We think we need to do even more support for people who are older and also more support for people with pre-existing conditions,” Ryan acknowledged. “The Senate will complete the job.”
Some House lawmakers have been challenged by the public over the House vote.
Conservative Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, drew boos Friday at a public meeting for his response to a constituent who said the House bill tells people on Medicaid to “accept dying.
Labrador responded: “That line is so indefensible. Nobody dies because they don’t have access to health care.” The comment traveled quickly on social media.