115th United States Congress

[Quicklet]

Basically the Republican "moderates" (Graham, McCain, Johnson, etc.) don't want to be blamed for killing the bill, but also don't want to take responsibility for voting for the bill, so they're acting like they'll vote yes to get it to conference even though there's a good chance the House would just take the skinny bill (which is terrible) and vote on that instead of going to conference.

So they're about to vote yes on a bill they don't want to become law but will probably become law.

[archibaldcrane]

What’s In The Bill

We have a “skinny repeal” bill.

It’s just eight pages. It includes a provision that would prevent Medicaid funding from going to Planned Parenthood for a year, a provision the Senate parliamentarian has advised is outside the bounds of Senate rules. It would effectively end the individual mandate, as well as the employer mandate. It would extend the delay on the medical device tax to 2020 and increase limits on health savings accounts. It also would expand waivers that states could use to get around the regulations on insurance markets imposed by the ACA.

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[archibaldcrane]

How can they vote for PP funding to be stripped if the Parliamentarian says no?

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[Headspace]

How can they vote for PP funding to be stripped if the Parliamentarian says no?

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So they can say to their donors they tried.

[Headspace]

So they can say to their donors they tried.

Or nuclear option

[archibaldcrane]

So they can say to their donors they tried.

Isn't that a poison pill though?

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[TsingTao]

If this passes I think it warrants a day off to drink heavily. Who's with me?

[Headspace]

Isn't that a poison pill though?

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For the last eight years, America has elected any knuckle dragging mongoloid who ran on "Obama bad". These dudes don't care. They got 18 months to 5.5 years to make bank until they get ousted or are in incredibly safe seats.

[Quicklet]

When the health insurance markets blow up they'll just blame Democrats and say they need 60 Republicans in the Senate to "fix" it.

[tyven]

When the health insurance markets blow up they'll just blame Democrats and say they need 60 Republicans in the Senate to "fix" it.

psh since when do business fail in a free market?

[synistar]

In before "Health Insurance companies are too Bigly..." Fuck I can't even finish that sentence.

[EternityEnd]

https://twitter.com/SenBobCasey/stat...55538954448896

Senator Bob Casey breaks down the "bill."

[archibaldcrane]

But...

Doesn't the Parliamentarian look at the bill, say "this requires 60 votes, I already told you that" and hits the Senators in the nose with a rolled up newspaper and say "you shall not pass"?

I don't understand how this can go back to the House with only 50 votes?

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[EternityEnd]

you and your checks or balances or rules

[Deftscythe]

Didn't we learn last week that Pence can just overrule the parliamentarian?

[Quicklet]

McConnell can change the Senate rules with 50 (plus Pence as tiebreaker). Not sure what you're specifically referencing though.

[tyven]

Can't wait for this shit to pass so that the old GOP lie about obamacare being "rammed through in the middle of night" actually becomes the truth about their bill.

[Deftscythe]

From wikipedia regarding the Byrd Rule:

Any senator may raise a procedural objection to a provision believed to be extraneous, which will then be ruled on by the Presiding Officer, customarily on the advice of the Senate Parliamentarian. A vote of 60 senators is required to overturn the ruling. The Presiding Officer need not necessarily follow the advice of the Parliamentarian, and the Parliamentarian can be replaced by the Senate Majority Leader.[26]The Vice President as President of the Senate can overrule the parliamentarian, but this has not been done since 1975.[27] In 2001, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott fired Parliamentarian Robert Dove after dissatisfaction with his rulings, replacing him with Alan Frumin.[28]

[Quicklet]

Interesting. It's kind of amazing how much of the functionality of the Senate has been based on respecting decades-old norms, and how quickly that's all gone out the window thanks to McConnell deciding that power is more important than norms.

[EternityEnd]

CBO scored.

20% premium increase every year through 2026. 15m more uninsured by next year, for a total of 43m. By 2026 7m lose medicaid, 2m lose employer-based care.