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Senate Republicans suddenly delay health care vote


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Senate Republicans suddenly delay health care vote

Liz Goodwin 9 minutes ago
 
Senate Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. (Photo: Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

 

 

Excellent.....

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WASHINGTON — Senate Republican leadership abruptly decided to delay a vote on their plan to begin voting on a sweeping and controversial overhaul of the nation’s health care system.

The Tuesday afternoon announcement came mere hours after key members of the Senate GOP had indicated that they would plow ahead on the vote this week. The vote is now tabled until after the chamber’s July 4 recess.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters earlier in the day that the first vote would happen sometime Wednesday. The first vote is a procedural one, in which at least 50 senators must allow debate to proceed on the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., had also repeatedly vowed to push through the bill before the end of the week. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., another member of Senate leadership, told reporters  that the odds of passing the legislation would not get better with time.

But they apparently lacked the votes.

Earlier, both moderate and conservative Republicans said they would not allow debate to go forward until significant changes are made to the bill. Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Susan Collins R-Maine, all have said they would not vote to let the bill proceed as it’s written right now. Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. and Dean Heller, R-Nev., indicated they could also vote no on starting debate.

The White House and Republican leadership appeared to be focusing on wooing the conservative senators instead of moderates, and Cornyn’s confidence on the vote timing may mean they think they can get Paul, Lee and Johnson on board with the plan. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has also said he’s opposed to the bill unless it moves to the right.

Paul met with President Trump at the White House, while Vice President Mike Pence came to woo senators at lunch at the Capitol. Several conservative senators, including Lee, are dining with Pence tonight, Politico reported. Meanwhile, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., told reporters she hadn’t “heard of any changes” from the leadership, and Collins said she also hadn’t heard from Senate leadership about gaining her support. Moderates were not being showered with the same amount of attention as conservatives.

If the bill moves significantly to the right — by loosening up requirements for what insurance plans must cover, for example — McConnell risks losing moderates further. Those lawmakers were likely already wary after the Congressional Budget Office’s Monday prediction that the bill would cause 22 million fewer Americans to have health insurance in 10 years.

But McConnell does nearly have $200 billion in extra deficit savings in his bill compared to the House legislation — which means he could dole out money for opioid treatment and other concerns moderates have been raising.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/senate-republicans-suddenly-delay-health-care-vote-180243185.html

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  • Trying to pay the bills, lol

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