Senate health care debate devolves into empty political votes

 

WASHINGTON — The health care debate unfolding on the Senate floor Thursday turned into a series of “show votes” – with both parties trying to put the opposition in a tough position and nobody voting on legislation they actually think will pass.

Montana Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican, offered an amendment that would create a “single-payer” government run health care system, a favorite of progressive senators like Vermont’s Bernie Sanders.

The amendment is a political tactic designed to make Democrats vote against a policy popular with their base. Democrats, meanwhile, say they won’t participate in the health care debate anymore until they see a final version of legislation Republicans intend to offer.

“Sen. Daines doesn’t support the bill, he just wants to get Democrats on the record,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor. “All Republicans are going to vote against it. It’s just pure cynicism, pure politics. It’s not a serious effort to legislate.

“That’s the very definition of a political game. We Democrats aren’t going to go along,” Schumer said.

“I suspect that what Sen. Daines is doing is nothing more than an old political trick trying to embarrass Democrats,” Sanders said on the Senate floor. 

Josh Miller-Lewis, Sanders’ spokesman, said he couldn’t speak for the entire caucus, but he expects many Democrats to vote “present” on amendments until Republicans show them the bill.

Meanwhile, Daines defended his amendment — which is the same bill that Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich. introduced in the House — as an attempt to get everyone on the record.

“I do not support a single-payer system, but I believe Americans deserve to see us debate different ideas, which is why I am bringing forward this amendment,” Daines said. “It’s time for every Senator to go on the record on whether or not they support a single-payer healthcare system.” 

“As soon as my amendment was put on the Senate floor, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that Democrats wouldn’t debate anymore. Democrats are scared of their own proposal,” he continued.

Legislation that would repeal and replace Obamacare failed Tuesday night 43-57, with nine Republicans voting against it. And on Wednesday, a clean repeal of the health care law — with a two-year delay to come up with a replacement — failed 45-55. Six GOP senators who had supported the repeal bill in 2015 voted against it this week. The repeal bill passed both the House and Senate in 2015 but was vetoed by then-President Obama.

As senators continue to clash over amendments, the time allotted to debate the legislation continues to tick away.

Senators are expected to move into a “vote-a-rama” as early as Thursday afternoon, where an unlimited number of amendments can be offered to the legislation. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is expected to offer a final amendment at the end of the process that would leave most of the Affordable Care Act in place but make some narrow changes, like repealing the mandate for individuals to obtain insurance.

This has been nicknamed the “skinny repeal,” and the idea would be to just pass the bill out of the Senate and see if leaders can negotiate a broader deal with House Republicans.

The only problem — Republicans still aren’t sure what can pass in the Senate, and the package is still being assembled.

“We really don’t know what the skinny repeal is,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. said to reporters Wednesday afternoon. “(Republicans) were talking about what can we all agree on? What can we get at least 50?”

But there are some hints at what the legislation could include.

Johnson said he thought Republicans could agree on getting rid of the individual mandate.

Another provision expected to make it in the final version would eliminate the requirement that employers provide insurance.

Even if Republicans are able to come to consensus on a narrow bill, that’s not the end of the process. No bill can get to the president for his signature until both the House and Senate have approved it, and it is not at all clear whether House Republicans — who passed a far broader bill in May — would be comfortable with “skinny repeal” legislation.

Contributing: Nicole Gaudiano

Read More:

 

Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~/412920538/0/usatodaycomwashington-topstories~Senate-health-care-debate-devolves-into-empty-political-votes/