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New GOP plan to repeal Obamacare meets fatal opposition
Senate Republicans' Plan B to gut Obamacare is poised for failure, as three GOP senators said Tuesday they will vote against a procedural motion to advance repeal of the health law without a replacement - effectively dooming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s latest effort.
The opposition from GOP Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins came a day after Senate Republicans’ bill to replace Obamacare collapsed, and further imperiled President Donald Trump's vow to dismantle the health law.
McConnell said Tuesday that he would still move to hold a vote soon, which would put senators on the record even if the vote's outcome was preordained.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, who leads a committee that oversees health care, said he would schedule hearings on repairs to the health care system as soon as the vote is held. And senators who are former governors are again preparing bipartisan talks on health care.
McConnell's earlier promise to bring up a 2015 bill taking down major parts of Obamacare flipped at least two “no” votes: Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), whose opposition torpedoed the GOP’s health bill on Monday night.
But while Trump and conservatives clamored to resurrect the bill that was vetoed by President Barack Obama, other Republicans hailing from states that benefited from the 2010 health law quickly threw up opposition to repealing it without a replacement.
"As I have said before, I did not come to Washington to hurt people," Capito of West Virginia said. "I cannot vote to repeal Obamacare without a replacement plan that addresses my concerns and the needs of West Virginians.”
"I said back in January that if we are going to repeal we have to do a replacement," said Murkowski of Alaska. Collins of Maine, the only Republican senator still in office who voted against the 2015 plan, also confirmed that she would still oppose proceeding to the bill.
With those votes against the motion, McConnell would not have the 50 votes he needs to begin debate.
Trump appeared resigned to defeat Tuesday and sought to blame Democrats for any future problems with the health system, perhaps in hopes of bringing them to the negotiating table.
“Let Obamacare fail," he told reporters. "It’ll be a lot easier, and I think we’re probably in that position where we’ll just let Obamacare fail. We’re not going to own it. I’m not going to own it. I can tell you the Republicans are not going to own it.”
If the bill fails, the Senate HELP Committee will hold hearings before the August recess on potential bipartisan solutions for people who could have no insurance options next year, Alexander told reporters. He said he wants the Senate to vote "promptly" on the Obamacare repeal bill.
"However the vote comes out, my main concern is the 350,000 Tennesseans and 18 million Americans who might have zero options for health insurance in 2018 and '19," he said.
Elsewhere in the Senate, lawmakers were beginning to ramp up bipartisan efforts on health care. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) were rounding up senators who are former governors for a meeting as early as Tuesday evening.
"We're going to be talking about what we can do," Rounds told reporters. "I think we look at it pretty pragmatically."
Several senators who have been on the fence on the repeal effort, such as Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.), also declined to say how they would vote on motion to proceed, but few predicted success earlier Tuesday.
“We have about five, six people at least that have indicated they’re going to vote no on that,” said Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.).
Portman, who like Capito is worried about massive Medicaid cuts and voted for the 2015 measure, aired concerns about doing a repeal-only bill.
“We have to look and see what the so-called repeal bill entails,” Portman said on MSNBC. “But if it is a bill that simply repeals, I believe that will add to more uncertainty and the potential for Ohioans to pay even higher premiums, higher deductibles, and so we'll have to see.”
Other Republican senators said they were undecided on whether to proceed to the health care measure. The bill that was passed by the Senate in 2015 would get rid of Obamacare’s medical device and Cadillac taxes, as well as the Medicaid expansion and subsidies that help consumers buy insurance. The bill would delay repeal for two years, in order to give lawmakers more time to come up with a replacement.
The bill would also effectively cancel the individual and employer mandates by making the associated fines $0, while defunding Planned Parenthood for one year.
“We will find out” whether Republicans have the votes on the 2015 bill, said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas. “We passed it once and President Obama [vetoed] it, but I think that’s one of the purposes of having the vote soon, is to find out where the votes are and where we go from here.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) also took a shot at some of his colleagues in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt Tuesday, saying, "I don’t see how any Republican senator who voted just 18 months ago for this very piece of legislation could now flip-flop."
First, 50 GOP senators must decide to vote to open debate on the House-passed health bill before senators can consider the 2015 repeal effort as an amendment. Lee and Moran were among four GOP senators, including Collins and Rand Paul of Kentucky, opposed even opening debate on McConnell's bill.
An aide to Paul said he was “encouraged by the decision to move to a clean repeal bill.”
But Lee is seeking assurances that the Obamacare repeal version that passed in 2015 would be the final product now, a spokesman said. Moran, while saying he would vote to advance the new health care effort, added that he hopes “that then lends itself to full legislative consideration, hearings and committee action.”
McConnell has not said yet said publicly when the health care votes would begin. He initially delayed votes following the absence of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is recovering at home after surgery to remove a blood clot. But leadership aides say the chamber could hold a vote before McCain returns to Washington, and Cornyn also said votes this week on health care are possible.
“It’s a much tougher process than people thought it was,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said of the GOP’s struggles. “We do have people with different points of view even though the vast majority of Republicans would like to get rid of Obamacare.”
politiD'OH
Senate Republicans' Plan B to gut Obamacare is poised for failure, as three GOP senators said Tuesday they will vote against a procedural motion to advance repeal of the health law without a replacement - effectively dooming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s latest effort.
The opposition from GOP Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins came a day after Senate Republicans’ bill to replace Obamacare collapsed, and further imperiled President Donald Trump's vow to dismantle the health law.
McConnell said Tuesday that he would still move to hold a vote soon, which would put senators on the record even if the vote's outcome was preordained.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, who leads a committee that oversees health care, said he would schedule hearings on repairs to the health care system as soon as the vote is held. And senators who are former governors are again preparing bipartisan talks on health care.
McConnell's earlier promise to bring up a 2015 bill taking down major parts of Obamacare flipped at least two “no” votes: Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), whose opposition torpedoed the GOP’s health bill on Monday night.
But while Trump and conservatives clamored to resurrect the bill that was vetoed by President Barack Obama, other Republicans hailing from states that benefited from the 2010 health law quickly threw up opposition to repealing it without a replacement.
"As I have said before, I did not come to Washington to hurt people," Capito of West Virginia said. "I cannot vote to repeal Obamacare without a replacement plan that addresses my concerns and the needs of West Virginians.”
"I said back in January that if we are going to repeal we have to do a replacement," said Murkowski of Alaska. Collins of Maine, the only Republican senator still in office who voted against the 2015 plan, also confirmed that she would still oppose proceeding to the bill.
With those votes against the motion, McConnell would not have the 50 votes he needs to begin debate.
Trump appeared resigned to defeat Tuesday and sought to blame Democrats for any future problems with the health system, perhaps in hopes of bringing them to the negotiating table.
“Let Obamacare fail," he told reporters. "It’ll be a lot easier, and I think we’re probably in that position where we’ll just let Obamacare fail. We’re not going to own it. I’m not going to own it. I can tell you the Republicans are not going to own it.”
If the bill fails, the Senate HELP Committee will hold hearings before the August recess on potential bipartisan solutions for people who could have no insurance options next year, Alexander told reporters. He said he wants the Senate to vote "promptly" on the Obamacare repeal bill.
"However the vote comes out, my main concern is the 350,000 Tennesseans and 18 million Americans who might have zero options for health insurance in 2018 and '19," he said.
Elsewhere in the Senate, lawmakers were beginning to ramp up bipartisan efforts on health care. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) were rounding up senators who are former governors for a meeting as early as Tuesday evening.
"We're going to be talking about what we can do," Rounds told reporters. "I think we look at it pretty pragmatically."
Several senators who have been on the fence on the repeal effort, such as Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.), also declined to say how they would vote on motion to proceed, but few predicted success earlier Tuesday.
“We have about five, six people at least that have indicated they’re going to vote no on that,” said Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.).
Portman, who like Capito is worried about massive Medicaid cuts and voted for the 2015 measure, aired concerns about doing a repeal-only bill.
“We have to look and see what the so-called repeal bill entails,” Portman said on MSNBC. “But if it is a bill that simply repeals, I believe that will add to more uncertainty and the potential for Ohioans to pay even higher premiums, higher deductibles, and so we'll have to see.”
Other Republican senators said they were undecided on whether to proceed to the health care measure. The bill that was passed by the Senate in 2015 would get rid of Obamacare’s medical device and Cadillac taxes, as well as the Medicaid expansion and subsidies that help consumers buy insurance. The bill would delay repeal for two years, in order to give lawmakers more time to come up with a replacement.
The bill would also effectively cancel the individual and employer mandates by making the associated fines $0, while defunding Planned Parenthood for one year.
“We will find out” whether Republicans have the votes on the 2015 bill, said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas. “We passed it once and President Obama [vetoed] it, but I think that’s one of the purposes of having the vote soon, is to find out where the votes are and where we go from here.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) also took a shot at some of his colleagues in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt Tuesday, saying, "I don’t see how any Republican senator who voted just 18 months ago for this very piece of legislation could now flip-flop."
First, 50 GOP senators must decide to vote to open debate on the House-passed health bill before senators can consider the 2015 repeal effort as an amendment. Lee and Moran were among four GOP senators, including Collins and Rand Paul of Kentucky, opposed even opening debate on McConnell's bill.
An aide to Paul said he was “encouraged by the decision to move to a clean repeal bill.”
But Lee is seeking assurances that the Obamacare repeal version that passed in 2015 would be the final product now, a spokesman said. Moran, while saying he would vote to advance the new health care effort, added that he hopes “that then lends itself to full legislative consideration, hearings and committee action.”
McConnell has not said yet said publicly when the health care votes would begin. He initially delayed votes following the absence of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is recovering at home after surgery to remove a blood clot. But leadership aides say the chamber could hold a vote before McCain returns to Washington, and Cornyn also said votes this week on health care are possible.
“It’s a much tougher process than people thought it was,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said of the GOP’s struggles. “We do have people with different points of view even though the vast majority of Republicans would like to get rid of Obamacare.”
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