Bid to revive ‘health’ bill:
Top White House officials met moderate and conservative Republicans in the US House of Representatives on Monday in an effort to revive a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Key members of the administration, including Vice President Mike Pence, invited a group of moderate Republicans known as the “Tuesday Group” to the White House. Pence then went to Capitol Hill to meet the Freedom Caucus, a group of House conservatives who last month derailed a healthcare bill backed by President Donald Trump.
The White House would like to see a revised bill come up for a vote as early as week’s end, before the House breaks for a spring recess, and the text of the new proposal could be ready some time on Tuesday, lawmakers said.
“It was clear the president would be very happy come Friday to have this passed,” said US Representative Chris Collins, a member of the Tuesday Group and a Trump ally.
“This could move fairly quickly,” he said.
Just 10 days ago, House Speaker Paul Ryan was forced to cancel a vote on a bill to replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, when it was clear he could not deliver the votes needed for it to pass.
The defeat was a big political setback for Trump and fellow Republicans in Congress who were elected on pledges to repeal and replace former Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law. (RTRS)