Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pointed to President Trump’s support for the Obamacare replacement bill that House Republicans unveiled Monday night, which conservative Republicans and Democratic leaders immediately panned for very different reasons.
“The legislation the House introduced last night is the next step along” the path of repealing and replacing the healthcare law, the Kentucky Republican said. “It’s a result of a long conversation with many voices, and it’s supported by the one person who can actually sign the bill into law — the president of the United States.”
This new House measure, he said, moves the policy process forward.
“We’ve come a long way — we have a lot further to go, but we are making significant progress,” he said.
McConnell cited a letter he received from one constituent complaining about the impact of Obamacare on his medical options for him and his family.
The constituent, McConnell said, said he was “extremely displeased” and the new 2017 Obamacare insurance options that he argued are “all inferior” to his 2016 plan. “Pay more for less — that’s Obamacare for you,” he concluded.
This is just one example, McConnell said, of the different problems with the law.
“This is a law that cannot be fixed — this is not a law that can be saved. It has to be repealed and replaced,” he said. “We promised the American poeple we can do that. We’re keeping our promise.”
At one point, McConnell said, “I encourage every member to review it because I hope to call it up when we receive it from the House,” which some interpreted as a suggestion that he was planning to put the bill directly on the Senate floor should it pass the House. But Don Stewart, a spokesman for the leader, told the Washington Examiner that the interpretation was “premature.” He said, “The leader hasn’t announced anything on that front. He did say that the Senate will consider the bill after the House finishes its work.”
