Why McCain [probably] killed Trumpcare
Senator John McCain just announced that he will vote against the so-called “Graham-Cassidy” bill intended to repeal andf replace the increasingly popular Affordable Healthcare Act (a.k.a. “Obamacare”). MaCain’s pending “nay” may be a death blow to one of the top goals of former reality show host Donald J. Trump’s agenda. CNBC reports:
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Friday said he “cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham Cassidy proposal.
McCain is one of four Republican senators who have been undecided on the GOP healthcare overhaul, and his opposition dealt the bill’s chances a significant blow.
Also on Friday, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she is leaning toward voting no on Graham Cassidy. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has already expressed his opposition to the bill, which he said didn’t fully repeal the Affordable Care Act.
If all three of these votes are nays, the bill would not pass. Republicans have until Sept. 30 to pass a health care bill with a simple majority. After that, they will need 60 votes, a nearly impossible threshold to meet.
If Republicans fail to repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act, they will effectively break a promise that GOP lawmakers, and President Donald Trump, have been making to voters ever since Obamacare was first signed into law in 2010.
McCain released this statement concerning his decision:
As I have repeatedly stressed, health care reform legislation ought to be the product of regular order in the Senate. Committees of jurisdiction should mark up legislation with input from all committee members, and send their bill to the floor for debate and amendment. That is the only way we might achieve bipartisan consensus on lasting reform, without which a policy that affects one-fifth of our economy and every single American family will be subject to reversal with every change of administration and congressional majority.
I would consider supporting legislation similar to that offered by my friends Senators Graham and Cassidy were it the product of extensive hearings, debate and amendment. But that has not been the case. Instead, the specter of September 30th budget reconciliation deadline has hung over this entire process.
We should not be content to pass health care legislation on a party-line basis, as Democrats did when they rammed Obamacare through Congress in 2009. If we do so, our success could be as short-lived as theirs when the political winds shift, as they regularly do. The issue is too important, and too many lives are at risk, for us to leave the American people guessing from one election to the next whether and how they will acquire health insurance. A bill of this impact requires a bipartisan approach.“Senators Alexander and Murray have been negotiating in good faith to fix some of the problems with Obamacare. But I fear that the prospect of one last attempt at a strictly Republican bill has left the impression that their efforts cannot succeed. I hope they will resume their work should this last attempt at a partisan solution fail.
I cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham-Cassidy proposal. I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried. Nor could I support it without knowing how much it will cost, how it will effect insurance premiums, and how many people will be helped or hurt by it. Without a full CBO score, which won’t be available by the end of the month, we won’t have reliable answers to any of those questions.
I take no pleasure in announcing my opposition. Far from it. The bill’s authors are my dear friends, and I think the world of them. I know they are acting consistently with their beliefs and sense of what is best for the country. So am I.
I hope that in the months ahead, we can join with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to arrive at a compromise solution that is acceptable to most of us, and serves the interests of Americans as best we can.
The statement is classic McCain – breaking again with his party’s agenda while providing sufficient political cover for his allies. He almost certainly would have voted no anyway, but the wording of his statement acts as an open invitation for Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and perhaps others to join him in opposition to the bill.
