Senate majority leader pushes back the start of break by three weeks, in order to complete revised bill that has been ‘stalled by a lack of cooperation’

The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, has announced plans to delay the start of August recess by three weeks – cutting the break in half – in order for Republicans to complete work on a healthcare plan and other legislative items.



Republican senators return to work on healthcare bill amid resistance Read more

Republicans on Capitol Hill are poised to unveil a revised healthcare bill later this week. On Tuesday, McConnell cited other pressing matters, such as nominations stymied by Democratic opposition and the need to pass a defense authorization bill.

“In order to provide more time to complete action on important legislative items and process nominees that have been stalled by a lack of cooperation from our friends across the aisle, the Senate will delay the start of the August recess until the third week of August,” the Kentucky senator said.

The Senate was meant to start a five-week recess at the end of July, but a number of Republicans called for a delay amidst struggles within the party to reach a deal on healthcare. In a tweet on Monday, Donald Trump said: “I cannot imagine that Congress would dare to leave Washington without a beautiful new healthcare bill fully approved and ready to go!”

McConnell outlined an ambitious timeline for the healthcare bill, saying he expected to hold a procedural vote by the end of next week. An updated draft would be released on Thursday, the Republican leader said, with a new Congressional Budget Office score following as early as Monday.

As Republican leaders huddled with their members in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, the contours of the bill remained unclear. Senators kept mum when asked what revisions were laid out, many saying they would need to see a final product and an updated CBO score before taking a position.

“From my perspective, it is not sufficient to just make minor changes in the bill,” said Susan Collins of Maine, who was among the first to announce her opposition to the previous Senate healthcare plan. “I hope there’s going to be a complete overhaul, but I have no idea.”

The initial version of the Senate bill, which the CBO projected would leave 22m Americans without insurance by 2026, left at least 10 Republicans opposed. Republicans hold 52 seats, meaning they can afford to lose just two votes if their bill is to pass with the vice-president, Mike Pence, breaking the tie.

Among the revisions under discussion are $45bn in funding for combatting the opioid crisis. At least two Republicans, Rob Portman of Ohio and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, opposed the initial plan in part because it would have gutted coverage for addiction and included only $2bn to address opioid problems.

Some Republicans leaving Tuesday’s meeting said McConnell would probably keep in place at least two Affordable Care Act (ACA) taxes on high-income earners – a 3.8% investment tax and a 0.9% payroll tax. The taxes, which apply to households earning more than $250,000 and individuals earning more than $200,000, would provide about $230bn over a decade. Republicans said that could be directed toward a fund to mitigate out-of-pocket costs and thus persuade some holdouts.

Nonetheless, satisfying the moderate and conservative wings of the party remains a challenge. Staunch conservatives, such as Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky, have argued that the bill must go further in eliminating the regulatory requirements of the ACA.

Cruz and Lee are pushing for an amendment that would allow insurers to offer plans that do not meet the existing law’s coverage requirements. That path has been rejected by most of their colleagues, out of concern that it would undermine coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Republicans are using a process known as reconciliation to pass the plan, which requires a simple majority vote so long as the bill is limited to spending, taxes and the deficit.

The lack of consensus on how to fulfil a seven-year pledge to dismantle the ACA, known popularly as Obamacare, prompted Republican senators to agree on at least one thing: the need to stay in Washington a few weeks longer.

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“We’ve got a chance to get this thing done,” said David Perdue of Georgia, who was among those leading the calls to shorten the August recess.

John Kennedy, a freshman senator from Louisiana, said the debate boiled down to “trying to making adult decisions on the allocation of scarce resources”.

“I want every American to have quality healthcare and good health insurance but we don’t have enough money to pay for everybody’s healthcare in America,” Kennedy said.

One Republican, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said he was beginning work on his own alternative proposal.

“I want to do the best I can,” Graham said, “and I think the best we can is not on the table right now.”

Additional reporting by Ben Jacobs



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