Sen. John McCain delivers a potentially fatal blow to GOP effort to repeal Obamacare

[WestVirginiaRebel]

LA Times

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) dealt a critical blow to Republicans’ last-ditch attempt to roll back the Affordable Care Act on Friday, announcing he will not vote for sweeping repeal legislation that GOP leaders plan to bring to the Senate floor for a vote next week.

“We should not be content to pass healthcare legislation on a party-line basis,” McCain said in a lengthy statement criticizing the GOP rush to pass a repeal bill without any hearings and little public scrutiny.

McCain’s move raises serious questions about whether Republicans have the votes to pass the latest repeal bill, authored by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.).

The party, which has 52 votes in the Senate, can lose only two or the bill will fail.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has already said he will oppose the Graham-Cassidy bill, which he has criticized for maintaining too much of the current law’s government spending on healthcare.

And Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a centrist Republican who helped sink the last GOP repeal effort in July, has signaled strong reservations about the current proposal.

McCain also opposed that previous effort, casting a dramatic middle-of-the-night vote against the measure and calling for his colleagues to stop trying to rush through major healthcare legislation.

McCain reiterated those calls Friday in announcing his opposition to Graham-Cassidy.

“As I have repeatedly stressed, healthcare reform legislation ought to be the product of regular order in the Senate. Committees of jurisdiction should mark up legislation with input from all committee members, and send their bill to the floor for debate and amendment,” the veteran lawmaker said.

________

Mac strikes again.

[Draggingtree]

12 hours ago, WestVirginiaRebel said:

LA Times

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) dealt a critical blow to Republicans’ last-ditch attempt to roll back the Affordable Care Act on Friday, announcing he will not vote for sweeping repeal legislation that GOP leaders plan to bring to the Senate floor for a vote next week.

“We should not be content to pass healthcare legislation on a party-line basis,” McCain said in a lengthy statement criticizing the GOP rush to pass a repeal bill without any hearings and little public scrutiny.

McCain’s move raises serious questions about whether Republicans have the votes to pass the latest repeal bill, authored by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.).

The party, which has 52 votes in the Senate, can lose only two or the bill will fail.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has already said he will oppose the Graham-Cassidy bill, which he has criticized for maintaining too much of the current law’s government spending on healthcare.

And Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a centrist Republican who helped sink the last GOP repeal effort in July, has signaled strong reservations about the current proposal.

McCain also opposed that previous effort, casting a dramatic middle-of-the-night vote against the measure and calling for his colleagues to stop trying to rush through major healthcare legislation.

McCain reiterated those calls Friday in announcing his opposition to Graham-Cassidy.

“As I have repeatedly stressed, healthcare reform legislation ought to be the product of regular order in the Senate. Committees of jurisdiction should mark up legislation with input from all committee members, and send their bill to the floor for debate and amendment,” the veteran lawmaker said.

________

Mac strikes again.

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

 

 

[Valin]

[Draggingtree]

John McCain Just Stopped Repeal of Obamacare — Again

Announcement that he will vote against his good friend’s bill all but kills efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act

by Brendan Kirby | Updated 22 Sep 2017 at 4:28 PM

 Sen. John McCain likely killed the Senate’s final effort this year to repeal Obamacare.

The longtime Arizona Republican, whose dramatic 11th-hour decision in July spelled doom for the so-called “skinny repeal” of the Affordable Care Act, released a statement Friday saying he could not support the latest repeal effort either.   http://www.lifezette.com/polizette/john-mccain-just-saved-obamacare-maybe-for-good/

[Draggingtree]

The protector of Obama’s legacy declares he will not vote for Graham-Cassidy

By Dan Calabrese

 

 

This might turn out worse than “skinny repeal.” I really thought the fact that it was his buddy’s bill might get him on board. Guess not:

[Valin]

A Graham-Cassidy News Roundup

By Robert VerBruggen

September 24, 2017