DEVELOPING: Mitch McConnell delays health care vote in face of GOP defections

[Valin]

Washington Times

Associated Press

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

 

In a bruising setback, Senate Republican leaders are delaying a vote on their prized health care bill until after the July 4 recess, forced to retreat by a GOP rebellion that left them lacking enough votes to even begin debating the legislation, two sources said Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., delivered the message to GOP senators at a private lunch attended by Vice President Mike Pence and White House chief of staff Reince Priebus. The decision was described by a Republican aide and another informed person who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the closed-door decision.

House Speaker Paul Ryan says he has faith in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s ability to round up the votes for the Republican health care bill despite growing opposition in the Senate. (June 27)

All GOP senators were planning to travel to the White House later Tuesday to meet with President Donald Trump, one source said.

 

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[Valin]

HHS Secretary Tom Price’s Triage of the Senate Health Care Bill

 

Audio

 

(Snip)

 

HH: So Secretary Price, give us an idea of the schedule ahead. Now obviously, there’s not going to be a vote this weekend. The July 4th recess is coming. I don’t know when the Senate comes back. But what’s your understanding of when Waterloo will be? I thought we were going to Waterloo on Thursday. We’re not. Waterloo’s been postponed. When’s it coming?

TP: Well, I think it’s important for folks to appreciate that once the vote was postponed, or the scheduled vote was postponed yesterday, that people didn’t just retreat to their corners and not continue this conversation. Work is going on literally as we speak on what kinds of things are necessary in order to get the support that’s needed to get this over the finish line in the Senate. So I think within a number of days, not weeks, but a number of days, we will know whether or not we’re able to fashion a solution, and then make certain that that bill can be written and scored. It’ll have to be scored once again by the Congressional Budget Office, and we’ll have to once again battle with folks who are a little distant from reality, and then hopefully, the vote will occur the week after the 4th of July when the Senate comes back in.

 

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