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House Dems Go On Tweet Storm Attacking Obamacare Repeal

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Robert Donachie Capitol Hill and Health Care Reporter
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Democrats in the House of Representatives attacked Senate Republicans on Twitter Wednesday for trying once again to repeal and replace Obamacare.

The attacks from Democrats over the repeal bill, known as Graham-Cassidy, took their usual form. The criticisms lambasted Republican senators for stripping coverage from hardworking American families, ripping protections from those with pre-existing conditions, and allowing insurance companies to prey on consumers.

The Democratic representatives were referencing a bill chaired by Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Dean Heller of Nevada and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin that would repeal major portions of Obamacare and fundamentally change the system’s funding mechanism in an attempt, according to the senators, to promote state innovation in the implementation of health care.

The bill is expected to go up for a vote on the Senate floor next week, and is currently awaiting scoring from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). It will also have at least one formal, public committee hearing in the Senate Monday.

Republican leadership still could face a few holdouts from members of their own party. GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky are signaling they will vote no on Graham-Cassidy.

Paul told The Daily Caller News Foundation that he does not support either the Graham-Cassidy bill or the bipartisan proposal expected to make its way out of the Senate HELP Committee.

Paul told reporters Tuesday that Graham-Cassidy is “immortalizing Obamacare.” He said what his Republican colleagues are doing is “keeping it forever,” and he considers their efforts “to be petty partisanship.”

Collins cited “a lot of concerns” to reporters Tuesday at the Capitol with regards to her feelings about Graham-Cassidy.

If three Republican senators vote against the measure, the bill is dead. Effectively, the Graham-Cassidy bill could come down to how Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska decide to vote. Both senators notably voted against all three Republican proposals to repeal and replace Obamacare in late July.

Graham said Tuesday that Speaker of the House Paul Ryan told him directly, “If you pass it, we pass it.” It remains unclear, with the fervent opposition from House Democrats, how likely it is that the scenario Ryan is painting pans out.

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