The Trump administration is urging senators to back the motion to start debate on a bill repealing and replacing parts of Obamacare Tuesday, saying “inaction on healthcare reform is not an option.”
In a Statement of Administration Policy released Monday by the Office of Management and Budget, the White House said senators must not only vote in support of the motion to proceed but also to pursue a plan that would repeal Obamacare and replace it with reforms that “expand choice and lower costs.”
“As Obamacare exchanges continue a collapse that began years ago, the administration firmly believes that inaction on healthcare reform is not an option,” the OMB statement said. “The administration strongly encourages all senators to support the motion to proceed to H.R. 1628 and to move forward on repealing Obamacare and replacing it with true reforms that expand choice and lower costs.”
H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act, is the bill that narrowly passed the House in May.
The Senate is expected to vote on the motion to proceed to debate on the House-passed healthcare plan Tuesday. If the motion passes, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will strip the House bill out and replace it with either a bill repealing and replacing parts of Obamacare or a 2015 proposal that only dismantles Obamacare. The 2015 bill gives lawmakers two years to draft a replacement plan, and it passed both chambers of Congress, but was vetoed by former President Barack Obama.
It’s not clear which bill McConnell will bring up if the procedural motion passes, but the White House has said it supports three plans: the House-passed bill, the 2015 bill and the Senate healthcare bill, which is called the Better Care Reconciliation Act.
Tuesday’s vote on the motion to proceed is expected to be close, and Vice President Mike Pence plans to be in the Senate to break a tie if there is one, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price told reporters Monday.
President Trump made a last-minute appeal to Republican senators Monday during an event with families he said were hurt by Obamacare.
During the event, Trump said “Obamacare is dead” and issued a warning to any Senate Republicans planning to oppose the procedural vote.
“Any senator who votes against starting debate is telling America that you are fine with the Obamacare nightmare,” Trump said during remarks. “The question for every senator, Democrat or Republican, is whether they will side with Obamacare’s architects … or with its forgotten victims.”
