Key GOP senators voice concern over ACA repeal-and-replace bill

Two key GOP senators voiced deep concerns Sunday about the Republican-led effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, appearing to further imperil the chances of the bill passing in the Senate.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in separate interviews expressed reservations about voting for the health care bill put forward by Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) that would undo much of the Obama administration’s signature health care legislation.

Cruz, speaking at a political conference in Austin, Texas, said “right now,” the bill does not have his support, but he stopped short of saying he would definitely vote “no,” saying it “depends” on what’s included in possible last-minute revisions to the plan. “Right now, they don’t have my vote,” he said.

Collins said on CNN’s “State of The Union” that “it’s very difficult for me to envision a scenario where I would end up voting for this bill.” She said she wanted more information on the legislation from the Congressional Budget Office.

“I have a number of serious reservations about it,” she said, noting concerns about the consequences to funding for Medicaid. She said Vice President Mike Pence had lobbied her on the bill on Saturday.

Cruz’s and Collins’ criticisms came as Republican leaders looked to keep other GOP senators from joining Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in opposing the plan, which needs the support of 50 of the Senate’s 52 Republicans to pass in that chamber.

Graham and White House officials in separate Sunday morning talk show interviews said despite the looming “no” votes from McCain and Paul, they were certain they would reach the 50-vote threshold this week.

Republican leaders are looking to lock in a vote by Sept. 30, before procedural rules allowing them to repeal the health care plan with just 50 votes are set to expire. Without the rules in place, Republicans will need 60 votes to pass the new plan.

President Donald Trump, when asked about the prospects of the bill passing, told reporters traveling with him from his estate in New Jersey to the White House: “I don’t know what they’re doing, but you know what? Eventually we’ll win, whether it’s now or later.”

White House legislative affairs director Marc Short told Fox News’ Chris Wallace on Sunday that “it’s not dead.” Short said supporters of the bill are “just days away from a final vote, and we’re trying to win over the support of the last couple of senators to get there.”

Graham told ABC’s “This Week”: “I think we’re going to get the votes.”

On Friday, McCain and Paul announced separately they would not vote for the plan. Paul argued the measure did not go far enough to eliminate the key provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

“No one is more opposed to Obamacare than I am, and I’ve voted multiple times for repeal. The current bill isn’t repeal,” Paul wrote in a Twitter post.

McCain, in a statement, said he could not endorse the plan in part because, “I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried.”

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Senate minority leader, urged other Republicans to abandon the Graham-Collins bill, saying, if approved, it could have “devastating” effects on thousands of U.S. veterans covered by Medicaid.

At a news conference in his midtown Manhattan office, Schumer said the proposed $4.15 trillion in Medicaid funding cuts to states over the next two decades, including $436 billion in cuts to New York, would endanger the Medicaid coverage of some 19,000 New York veterans enrolled in the government-subsidized health care plan.

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“The idea that you could cut health care, particularly from our veterans, is something that should send a shudder down the spine of every American,” Schumer said. With Emily Ngo

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com,scott.eidler@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa,

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.