With the Graham-Cassidy health care bill looking all but dead, Republican lawmakers are looking for a path forward to repeal and replace Obamacare.
GOP lawmakers face a Sept. 30 deadline to use the Fiscal Year 2017 budget as reconciliation vehicle — allowing the measure to pass with just a simple majority in the Senate — to repeal the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare. But with Sen. Susan Collins of Maine joining Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Rand Paul of Kentucky, all Republicans, opposing the bill, Republican leadership is short the 50 votes needed to send the measure to the lower House chamber.
Both Graham and Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin — a Republican who introduced the latest Obamacare repeal bill alongside Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Dean Heller of Nevada — said they would like to see reconciliation instructions for health care in the fiscal year 2018 or fiscal year 2019 budgets.
“We’re going to fight till the last day on this one and then we’ll keep fighting. My preference, obviously would be to pass this week, but if not the case, then I agree with Sen. Graham,” Johnson told reporters Monday. “We’re both on the Budget Committee and we’ll insist on having passed a budget that would have reconciliation instructions for both tax reform and health care reform.”
Graham noted Republicans ran campaigns on promises to reform the health care system, and argued the Sept. 30 deadline should not prevent the lawmakers form working to lower health care premiums.
“I’m going to do everything I can to keep the fight going — I promised to repeal and replace,” Graham said. “We’ll see what happens in the next day or two with votes. Well, I’m not stopping, to your point.”
Follow Juliegrace Brufke on Twitter
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.