Protesters disrupt Senate hearing on health care bill that may be dead
CLOSE
Hundreds of disability rights activists and others opposed to the Republican Graham Cassidy health care bill stood in line outside the Senate Finance Committee room Monday to show their opposition as a hearing into the measure got underway. (Sept. 25)
AP
WASHINGTON — The Republican bill to replace Obamacare appears all but dead in the Senate, but the chamber’s Finance Committee proceeded with a hearing on it anyway Monday afternoon.
Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch asked by a reporter what chance the bill has of passing, replied “Zero. … I don’t think it has much chance. The Democrats aren’t going to support it. They’re too interested in demagoguing it.â€
As soon as the hearing began, disability rights advocates, many in wheelchairs, began chanting their opposition to Medicaid cuts, and Capitol Police struggled to remove them from the hearing room. Hatch gaveled the hearing into recess for several minutes while order was restored.
“If the hearing is to devolve into a sideshow … there is absolutely no reason for us to be here,†the Utah Republican said when he finally was able to start the hearing. “It hasn’t gotten here yet but it’s close.” Chants from protesters could still be heard from outside the hearing room as lawmakers plowed on with their opening statements.
The committee is considering health care legislation by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Bill Cassidy, R-La., Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis.
Graham and Cassidy both spoke in favor of their bill along with former Pennsylvania Republican senator Rick Santorum, who helped craft the legislation.Â
Posted!
Marilee Adamski-Smith from Brookfield, Wis., left, and Colleen Flanagan of Boston, center, join others outside a hearing room where the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing to consider the Graham-Cassidy healthcare proposal, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 25, 2017. Adamski-Smith, who was born with no legs and arms and Flanagan belong to a group fighting for the rights of people with disabilities. Â
Laura Halvorson of Fairfax, Va., center, and Jensen Caraballo of Rochester, N.Y., right, join others outside a hearing room where the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing to consider the Graham-Cassidy healthcare proposal, on Capitol Hill, Sept. 25, 2017, in Washington. Â
1 of 10
2 of 10
3 of 10
4 of 10
5 of 10
6 of 10
7 of 10
8 of 10
9 of 10
10 of 10
pulled the plug on efforts for a bipartisan bill to stabilize the individual health insurance market, saying he couldn’t get a deal with Democrats. But the committee’s top Democrat, Washington Sen. Patty Murray, said she believe those talks were canceled only to avoid competition with the Graham-Cassidy bill.
The Graham-Cassidy bill would keep most of the taxes that fund Obamacare in place but give the money to states in the form of block grants to craft their own health care insurance systems. It also would end in 2020 the expansion of low-income eligibility for Medicaid that was part of the Affordable Care Act.
Read more:
GOP health care bill appears doomed as Collins, Cruz express doubts
McCain says he is a ‘no’ on Graham-Cassidy bill, leaving Obamacare repeal in peril
What would the Graham-Cassidy health care bill mean for you?
Graham and Cassidy updated their legislation over the weekend to give more grant money to states that didn’t expand Medicaid. The bill also added a provision that would give Hawaii and Alaska more money for traditional Medicaid payments; Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski is a key swing vote and has said she is undecided on the bill.Â
With no Democratic support, the bill will fail if Republicans lose more than two votes from their own caucus. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is one “no” vote: on Monday, he called the Graham-Cassidy bill a “fake repeal†that keeps most of Obamacare’s taxing and spending.
During a weekend meeting with President Trump, he pushed a compromise proposal that would keep the expansion of health savings accounts and waivers for governors while capping entitlement spending.
“To my mind, the compromise does not include the block grants,†Paul said. The grants were pitched by the bill’s sponsors as a centerpiece of the legislation because it gives states flexibility to design their own health systems.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Sunday he was not ready to support the bill, and an aide said Monday his view had not changed.Â
The hearing was an attempt to create a normal legislative process for a bill that critics say is being rushed through by GOP leaders to meet a Sept. 30 deadline. Republicans have until midnight Saturday to pass legislation under a budget procedure that allows them to approve bills with a simple 51-vote majority.
The lone hearing for the bill does not appear to be enough to assuage concerns from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who announced Friday that he will oppose his party’s latest attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare. McCain said the bill should have gone through the normal process of public hearings, debates and rewrites — a process that can take weeks or months.
“Health care reform legislation ought to be the product of regular order in the Senate,” McCain said. “Committees of jurisdiction should mark up legislation with input from all committee members, and send their bill to the floor for debate and amendment.”
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Sunday on CBS’ Face the Nation that one hearing “isn’t even close to enough.” Collins said on CNN that she can’t imagine supporting the bill.
“It’s very difficult for me to envision a scenario where I would end up voting for this bill,” Collins said on CNN’s State of the Union. “I have a number of serious reservations about it.”
Contributing: Nicole Gaudiano