Senate Republicans are trying to mount one final push to repeal Obamacare before their magical ability to do so with 51 votes disappears at the end of September. The Graham-Cassidy bill is a classic Republican one: it targets poor people, old people, children, people with disabilities, and blue states for major cuts. It would probably lead to major premium spikes. And Republicans are probably just a couple votes short of passing it and sending it on to the House to take it or leave it with no changes.
“McConnell and his team are engaged and serious about the vote and working with the conference to build support for Graham-Cassidy,” a source familiar with the bill’s prospects said Sunday. The “White House is also operating with all hands on deck.”
White House officials began making calls last week to Republican Senate officesand plan to whip Senate votes this week, an administration official said. Supporters of the Graham-Cassidy bill have tried to keep their efforts to round up votes quiet so far, this official said, but the push is ramping up.
It’s not clear how close Republicans are to rounding up the votes, but it could be frighteningly close:
“All we need is one more,” Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said of the repeal effort, which failed in July after GOP Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted no on a slimmed-down repeal bill.
You know what that means. It is time to call your senator’s office and make yourself heard. It’s time to save health care again.
URGENT: There’s a new Obamacare repeal bill in the Senate. (Yes, AGAIN.) Call your Senators at (202) 224-3121 and tell them to save our healthcare. (After you call, please tell us how it went.)