U.S. Senate Democrats said they plan to slow Senate business to a crawl
starting Monday evening to protest behind-the-scenes Republican work on
repealing former
President Barack Obama's healthcare law, known as Obamacare.
Democrats will take advantage of Senate rules which allow any member to
object to moving forward with routine business, a Democratic aide said. This
could slow Senate operations by forcing the Republican majority to hold
additional procedural votes in order to move ahead.
Democrats object to closed-door meetings that Republicans have held in
recent weeks to craft legislation to replace Obamacare, formally known as the
Affordable Care Act. Republican leaders would like a vote in July, even before
the July 4 recess if possible.
"What Democrats are aiming to do is highlight how appalling it is
for Republicans to try to jam through a bill that impacts one-sixth of our
economy, and would undermine the health and financial security of patients and
families nationwide, without so much as a single public hearing or a robust
floor debate," said the Democratic aide, who asked not to be named.
It was unclear how long the Democrats would stage their protest. Asked
to comment, a spokesman for Republican Majority leader Mitch McConnell said
only that the Senate intended to vote on nominees for Trump administration
positions in the coming days.
Senate Republicans also face pressure from the right. In the House of
Representatives, conservatives wrote to McConnell about media reports on the
Senate's work. Conservatives worry that the changes may make it harder to pass
the legislation in the House.
Reports that Senate Republicans are considering phasing out the
Obamacare Medicaid expansion over three to seven years, instead of ending it in
2020 as the House bill would, have upset some House conservatives, as have
other details that have leaked from the Senate talks. Medicaid is the
government healthcare program for the poor.
"We write to express our serious concerns," the letter from
House conservatives said, that the Senate efforts "are headed in a
direction that may jeopardize final passage in the House of
Representatives."
The Republican Study Committee, the largest group of House
conservatives, was circulating the letter for signatures, said a House
Republican aide, who asked not to be named. The group is chaired by
Representative Mark Walker.
Even without outside pressure, Senate Republicans have struggled to
coalesce around an Obamacare replacement bill, with moderates and conservatives
in the party pushing in different directions.
The House narrowly approved its version of repeal last month. However,
Republican President Donald Trump last week urged the Senate to pass a more
generous replacement program.
REUTERS*
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