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Republican Senator Vital to Health Bill’s Passage Won’t Support It Republican Senator Vital to Health Bill’s Passage Won’t Support It
(about 1 hour later)
WASHINGTON — Senator Dean Heller of Nevada, perhaps the most vulnerable Republican facing re-election in 2018, said Friday he would not support the newly-released Senate health care overhaul as written, dealing a blow to his party’s attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act. WASHINGTON — Senator Dean Heller of Nevada, perhaps the most vulnerable Republican facing re-election in 2018, said Friday he would not support the newly-released Senate health care overhaul as written, dealing a serious blow to his party’s attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act just days before a showdown vote.
Using remarkably caustic language, Mr. Heller, who is seen as a pivotal swing vote, denounced the Senate-drafted health care bill in terms that Democrats swiftly seized on.Using remarkably caustic language, Mr. Heller, who is seen as a pivotal swing vote, denounced the Senate-drafted health care bill in terms that Democrats swiftly seized on.
“I cannot support a piece of legislation that takes insurance away from tens of millions of Americans,” he said at a news conference in Las Vegas, standing next to Nevada’s Republican governor, Brian Sandoval. “I cannot support a piece of legislation that takes insurance away from tens of millions of Americans,” he said at a news conference in Las Vegas, standing next to Nevada’s Republican governor, Brian Sandoval, who accepted federal funding in the health law to expand Medicaid.
But Mr. Heller did not rule out ultimately voting for a version of the bill. After vowing for the last seven years to tear up what they call “Obamacare,” congressional Republicans and President Trump are under pressure from their conservative base to fulfill their campaign trail promises. But Republican lawmakers in swing states face an excruciating choice: risk angering their grass roots/grass-roots supporters by walking away from the repeal effort or expose themselves to ferocious Democratic attacks by pushing through a deeply unpopular bill.
Noting that he had spoken with Vice President Mike Pence and the Senate Republican leadership Friday morning, he said: “It’s going to be difficult to get me to a yes.” So far, five Republican senators have said they cannot vote for the Affordable Care Act repeal as written: Mr. Heller, whose concerns are with the bill’s benefits cuts, and four hard-line conservatives who say the bill is too generous.
Mr. Sandoval accepted federal funding in the health law to expand Medicaid in the state and praised the impact on Nevada, especially the 210,000 residents who obtained Medicaid coverage. Mr. Heller did not rule out ultimately voting for a version of the bill, leaving the battle for 50 votes ahead of a Senate showdown as early as next week still very alive. But his denunciation of what is one of the pillars of President Trump’s agenda gave fresh hope to Democrats that they may be able to torpedo the measure.
“These are our friends. These are our families. These are our neighbors,” Mr. Sandoval said. “There are folks who are worth fighting for.” And it offered a needed morale boost to the Democratic Party after a trying week full of recriminations about why they lost a special congressional election in Georgia on Tuesday, the latest in a series of demoralizing defeats they have suffered this year.
The senator said he was unlikely to support the overhaul unless it was amended to “protect Medicaid expansion states,” as he put it. “It’s an all-hands-on-deck moment,” said Anna Galland, the head of MoveOn.Org, an advocacy group firmly on the liberal wing of the party. “We are unified out of urgent, building-is-burning-down necessity. And health care is by far our top priority.”
Scrambling to halt or at least slow the Senate’s repeal effort, a range of Democratic and progressive leaders said Friday that they intended to intensify pressure on Republican lawmakers.
Liberal groups have already organized protests against the bill, and Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, plans to lead a campaign-style tour this weekend through West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio, three states with Republican senators that also expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Planned Parenthood, which would be defunded under the Senate bill, has been running television ads targeting Mr. Heller, as well as Senators Jeff Flake of Arizona, also up for re-election next year, and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia.
And in recent days, potential Democratic challengers have stepped forward against both Mr. Heller and Mr. Flake, the two Republicans most likely to face tough races in 2018. In Nevada, Representative Jacky Rosen has signaled she is likely to run against Mr. Heller, and Randy Friese, an Arizona state representative and trauma surgeon, said he is leaning toward challenging Mr. Flake. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, who is a Democrat, is also believed to be considering a campaign.
Senate Republicans crafted their bill behind closed doors, drawing considerably less news attention than House Republicans who wrote their version of the legislation earlier this year and formally drafted the bill in open sessions. But Democrats believe the coming week represents their best and perhaps final chance to thwart repeal of the health law.
“This is the one opportunity we have to shine a light on this legislation and we will do it day and night,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, projecting the bill’s passage “a jump ball.”