Literally at the same time that House Republicans were celebrating their Trumpcare vote with popular vote loser Donald Trump, like they'd won the Super Bowl or something, Senate Republicans were throwing the bill under the bus. They are starting over from scratch.
Several key Senate Republicans said they will set aside the narrowly passed House health-care bill and write their own version instead, a sign of how difficult it will be to deliver on seven years of promises to repeal Obamacare.Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who chairs the Senate health committee, and Roy Blunt of Missouri, a member of GOP leadership, both described the plan, even as the House was celebrating passing its repeal after weeks of back and forth. The decision will likely delay even further the prospect of any repeal bill reaching President Donald Trump’s desk.
But in the wake of the House’s razor-thin 217-213 vote, the Senate made clear it was going in a different direction. Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, who has been very critical of the House bill, said Thursday she hopes they start with "a clean slate" in the Senate. […]
In short, without changes, the House bill arrives in the Senate well short of the 50 votes, plus a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence, that will be needed to pass.
"We are not under any deadlines, so we are going to take our time," No. 2 Senate Republican John Cornyn of Texas said. "When we have 51 senators we will vote but not until then."
For his part, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell emerged from his shell long enough to send out a statement which avoids any real mention of anything actually in the Trumpcare bill beyond acknowledging that the House passed it. "As Congress considers this legislation," he says in the statement, "the Administration will continue working to deliver relief and stabilize health markets, and Congress will continue to act on legislation to provide more choices and freedom in health care decisions." Half of Congress just acted, McConnell. Any comment on it? No? It's like Trumpcare doesn't even exist.
It's pretty darned clear that the bill Paul Ryan and pals are still toasting is, well, toast when it comes to the Senate. As it now stands. So McConnell has to come up with something that will get through the Senate with just 51 votes. How that then gets by the House Freedom Caucus maniacs is a mystery. No wonder no one in Senate leadership is rushing to get this done.
Sign and send a petition to your Senators, demanding they say NO to Trumpcare.
from Daily Kos http://ift.tt/2pLp54b
0 التعليقات:
Post a Comment