Why the House May Have To Vote Again On the Health Care Bill

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House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. meets with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 18, 2017, after the Justice Department appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller to lead an investigation into President Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

by Michael John Scott

Well, it ain’t over until it’s over and that goes for business as usual in the US Congress. Most people assumed that when the House narrowly passed its health care bill last week, it was then sent along to the Senate for a vote, where it was expected to fail resoundingly in its present form. However, according to a report from Bloomberg, that isn’t actually the case, and now the House might have to vote on the bill all over again. I call that Karma.

Apparently, Republican House leaders may have to rewrite parts of the American Health Care Act depending on Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates, which are expected to be released next week, in order to make sure it follows Senate rules allowing it to be passed with a simple majority.

Changes would be necessary if the CBO determines the AHCA wouldn’t save at least $2 billion. If they sent it to the Senate, they’d likely lose the ability to make those changes.

The news that Paul Ryan was holding onto the bill before sending it to the Senate surprised Republican representatives. Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer , however, says that’s what happens when the House voted on a bill “before they knew what was in it.”

Changes to the so-called AHCA would require at least some sort of vote, and that vote isn’t guaranteed to go Republicans’ way after weeks of backlash following the passing of the bill.

A recent poll cited by US News & World Report found 53% of Americans prefer Obama’s Affordable Care Act to the AHCA, with only 27% favoring the AHCA. This all sounds like a Monty Python skit. Never have I seen such chaos during the first few months of any administration, not from the congress, and certainly not from their feckless president.

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Professor Mike

Professor Mike is a left-leaning, dog loving, political junkie. He has written dozens of articles for Substack, Medium, Simily, and Tribel. Professor Mike has been published at Smerconish.com, among others. He is a strong proponent of the environment, and a passionate protector of animals. In addition he is a fierce anti-Trumper. Take a moment and share his work.

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