Republicans face September 30 deadline to use reconciliation for health care repeal

WASHINGTON—The Senate parliamentarian has dealt a new blow to Republicans’ Obamacare repeal campaign, ruling that the GOP can use a special procedure to advance repeal legislation with 50 votes only until the end of September.

Republicans have been relying on a process known as budget reconciliation to try to roll back the 2010 health care law.

This process—which prevents legislation in the Senate from being filibustered—was critical to passing a repeal bill because Republicans have only 52 votes in the Senate, short of the 60 normally required to override a filibuster.

But the process is limited by a budget resolution, which Congress passed earlier this year laying out how repeal legislation can be advanced.

The parliamentarian ruled that resolution expires Sept. 30, according to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the senior Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee.

“Today’s determination by the Senate parliamentarian is a major victory for the American people and everyone who fought against President Trump’s attempt to take away health care from up to 32 million people,” Sanders said in a statement.

If Republicans want to renew their repeal push after Sept. 30, they would have to pass a new budget resolution.

But that threatens to complicate their efforts to push other legislation overhauling the tax code.