Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised a “robust amendment process” when the House version of the American Health Care Act comes to the Senate floor for consideration.
“I look forward to taking it up in the Senate where there will be a robust amendment process, and I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues to pass it,” McConnell said in remarks on the Senate floor.
Moments earlier in his remarks, McConnell noted that Thursday marked the 7th anniversary of Obamacare’s enactment.
On this anniversary, he said, “Americans deserve a better way forward, and thankfully, we finally have a Congress and a president committed to delivering much-needed reform.”
“The legislation currently before the House will help bring relief – it will repeal and replace Obamacare, which is exactly what we promised the American people we would do,” he said. “Instead of forcing Americans to buy something they may not want, this bill gives Americans the freedom to choose what type of coverage is right for them.”
The Kentucky Republican has repeatedly pledged to allow GOP lawmakers to make changes to the healthcare bill, and the budget reconciliation process Republicans are using allows for an extended amendment process.
But McConnell’s promise to allow additional changes in the Senate on Thursday comes on a pivotal day for the measure. On the other side of the Capitol, conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus and others in the Senate are demanding more changes to the bill in order to pass it in the House.
These conservatives want the House GOP leadership to jettison what is known as the “essential health benefits” mandates in Obamacare for plans to include certain insurance benefits, including the requirement that insurance companies do not discriminate based on pre-existing conditions.
