Thursday is 'do or die' for Trump, GOP on healthcare bill

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By Susan Ferrechio (@susanferrechio) • 3/23/17

"It's tomorrow, do or die," Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., a member of the GOP whip operation, said Wednesday afternoon.

House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday declined to publicly promise passage, and couldn't deny the possibility that the bill might be pulled at the last minute if it lacks support.

Republican holdouts include more than two dozen staunch conservatives who want changes to the bill that will ensure lower health insurance costs and no federal mandates.

It's enough opposition to sink the bill.

If all current members are present, 216 votes would be needed for passage, and with no Democratic support expected, it would take only 22 GOP "no" votes to defeat the legislation. The GOP can fall short a vote or two if a few Democrats are absent, as expected.


http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/thursday-is-do-or-die-for-trump-gop-on-healthcare-bill/article/2618187

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GOP Lawmakers Struggle to Unite on Health Bill

GOP leaders weighed repealing the ACA’s requirement that insurance policies cover 10 specific benefit categories, known as essential health benefits. Those include maternity care, certain pediatric and mental-health services and preventive health services. Some Republicans believe the requirement has driven up premiums, while Democrats say it ensures that plans truly cover needed services.

Republicans are using a procedural shortcut that would enable them to pass the bill in the Senate with only GOP votes, requiring a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes that most legislation needs in the Senate. Republicans hold 52 seats in the chamber.

“What we just don’t want to do is put in a ‘fatal provision,’ ” Mr. Ryan had said Wednesday morning on a Wisconsin radio show.

But by the evening, House GOP leaders said they received new advice from Senate Republicans: While the change might not survive in the Senate, it wouldn’t enable Democrats to block the whole bill, a GOP leadership aide said.

About 30 House Republicans had remained opposed to the bill earlier in the day, a survey of House GOP members by The Wall Street Journal found. GOP leaders can lose no more than 22 Republican votes, since no Democrats are expected to support the bill.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/republicans-rally-support-for-health-care-bill-ahead-of-house-vote-1490200842

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High drama for ObamaCare vote

At press time, it appeared that Trump still lacked the votes in the House, but late-breaking developments suggested a deal that could win over House Freedom Caucus members was possible.

Trump promised a group of 18 GOP lawmakers at the White House that he would support an amendment in the Senate that would repeal ­ObamaCare’s essential health benefits.

That pledge, which also included a commitment from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), lawmakers said, was enough to bring on board a key conservative, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa).

After a series of meetings, Meadows vowed that they had enough votes to defeat the measure and called on leadership to “start over.”

Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), however, signaled they had no intention of calling the vote off, effectively daring Freedom Caucus members to vote against their president, who has said he is 100 percent behind the House bill.

House leadership is banking on Trump’s influence. Ryan told Fox News Wednesday that Trump is “closing the deal.”

Many conservatives represent districts won handily in the 2016 election by Trump, who warned them this week that they would lose in the midterm elections of 2018 if they fail to back the GOP healthcare bill.

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/325340-high-drama-for-obamacare-vote

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 Published on Mar 22, 2017

Rep. Thomas Massie joins Kate Bolduan to weigh in on the ongoing health care debate, noting that the GOP fears Trump would be a "one-term president" were the bill to pass.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BPw-Y0R7ek[/youtube]