Senate GOP aims for health care vote
Senate Republicans are nowhere near having enough votes to pass a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, but that isn’t stopping the No. 2 Republican from being bullish on the chances of a vote next week.
“We’re just trying to get a good picture of what the alternatives are, and, hopefully, next week we’ll be prepared to take the bill up and vote on it,” Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the Republican whip, told reporters Monday. Cornyn said a new draft of the health care bill could come out as early as this week.
When asked about a timeline for a new draft bill, McConnell’s spokesman David Popp was more vague.
“I don’t have any expectations of an exact bill release date, but the leader said over the past couple weeks that a (Congressional Budget Office) score is forthcoming,” Popp told USA TODAY. The non-partisan CBO analyzes costs and impacts of legislation and is reviewing changes to the draft health care bill Republicans are floating in hopes of winning support from more senators.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., canceled a vote on the health care bill before the July Fourth break after it became clear there was not enough support to pass the legislation.
No Democrats are expected to vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act, so Republicans can only lose two votes and still pass their replacement bill. At least 10 GOP senators have come out against the bill in its current form.
The challenge Republican leaders are encountering is that each senator has their own issues with the bill and any concessions to one faction of the party — say, making the bill more conservative to bring on Texas Sen. Ted Cruz — could bleed votes from another faction of the party.
While moderates and conservatives tussle over what to include in a bill, pressure is mounting for them to come together — and fast. Lawmakers are expected to take a month-long break in August, and Republican leaders want to get legislation passed before they have to head home and hear from angry constituents.
President Trump also wants them to pull off a successful vote.
On Monday, he tweeted: “I cannot imagine that Congress would dare to leave Washington without a beautiful new HealthCare bill fully approved!”
Outside Cruz’s office, protesters were handcuffed, with one even being lifted into the air by Capitol Police.