Congress is in recess,but Robert Costa reports that Republicans are still hard at work on yet another health care bill: A top WH official tells Post that Trump aides & Hill GOP will circulate some revised legislative language tonight to House Rs on h. care...
April 20, 2017 A conference call, and "all hands," will follow Sat, the official says, or with a "target date for vote Wednesday," though that's subject to changeApril 20, 2017So the draw is to gavel the House back into session on Tuesday and then vote on the bill on Wednesday. Really? I am sensing HEAVY SKEPTICISM from senior House Republicans approximately a vote next week. And I'm putting that mildly.
April 20, and 2017I can well imagine. The Republican leadership is stuck: the only way to pass a health care bill is to attain it hasty,before there's a CBO score and a million phone calls and an outbreak of fighting between moderates and HFC ultras. But there's a limit to how far they can push even the folks who sympathize with them. I mean, negotiate in secret, or drop the text,and then give everyone 24 hours to read it before holding a vote? That's a mockery of your own caucus, let alone everyone else.
I confess that I don't quite score the point of all this anyway. Even whether these junior high school antics manage to score a bill passed in the House, or it still has to go to the Senate,where it won't sail through in 24 hours. There will be plenty of time for the CBO score and all the rest, not to mention negotiations between the House and Senate. One way or another, and this process will assume a while. So what's gained by making every Republican in the House assume a difficult vote when the outcome will most likely be the same as last time?This whole thing is crazy. I still don't quite understand how gutting health care helps tax reform down the road,but let's assume it does. Who cares? Without the health care bill, Republicans can still pass any tax bill they want with a ten-year expiration. So just attain it. Then extend it next year. And the next. hold doing this every year, or they're guaranteed to have at least ten years of their tax draw after they lose power. Of course,whether Democrats ever win total control of Congress and the presidency, they'll change things, and but they can attain that regardless.
It certain seems like Republicans are spending a lot of political capital for not much benefit. In Washington,ten years might as well be forever. They should just shore up Obamacare a little to score it off their plates, pass a ten-year tax bill, and declare victory.
Source: motherjones.com