Afternoon Roundup: Hiding TrumpCare Edition
A look at the headlines today shows Republicans in the Senate are following the lead of their House colleagues on TrumpCare. The Senate GOP has been meeting in secret to negotiate a bill and reports indicate they are finalizing a draft. Yet, they won’t let some of their own Members – let alone the American people – see what’s in the bill. It’s clear they want to hide the impact from the public and jam it through before heading home for the July 4th district work period. And press is taking note:
New York Times Editorial: The Senate Hides Its Trumpcare Bill Behind Closed Doors
“There is no mystery why the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, is trying to push this bill through quickly. The legislation would repeal major provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Opening it to scrutiny before a vote would be the congressional equivalent of exposing a vampire to sunlight.”
“As one Republican aide put it to Axios on Monday, ‘We aren’t stupid.’ Better to pass a terrible bill in the cover of darkness just as the House did with its version, the American Health Care Act, in the hopes that critics do not have much time to raise a stink.”
“By contrast, instead of public drafts and hearings, we now have to settle for a series of leaks from Capitol Hill about what is or isn’t in the bill… The country is getting only glimpses of half-formed policies and mere hints of the back-room deals offered to win support for them.”
CNN: Closed-door Drama Of GOP Health Care Talks
“There's no way around it -- there are no hearings. No legislative language is leaking. Details are sparse. Many Senate aides (and some senators) are in the dark on the most in-the-weeds provisions. (Many more plead ignorance to protect the negotiations themselves.)”
“It is likely to remain this way even after a proposal is sent to CBO, according to aides. It's possible that leadership does not release a draft publicly so that members can continue to give feedback.”
“Top GOP aides are keenly aware of what will happen when this thing hits the light of day and are attempting to forestall that as long as possible.”
USA Today: Senate Republicans Draft Obamacare Repeal Bill Behind Closed Doors
“Top Senate Republicans and their staff are plowing ahead with a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare in the hopes of getting legislation on the floor by mid-summer — even if their own GOP colleagues have no idea what the bill will contain.”
“‘We're getting close to having a proposal to whip and to take to the floor,’ Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters… But that confidence was lost on rank-and-file Republicans, many of whom told reporters at the Capitol on Monday that they had no idea what was being drafted.”
“‘I want to know exactly what’s going to be in the Senate bill, I don’t know it yet,’ Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson told reporters. ‘It’s not a good process.’”
“Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters he didn’t know any details about the bill, except that ‘they’re writing it.’”
Roll Call: Republican Senators Unaware of Health Care Details
“Several Republican senators have no knowledge of the specific policy proposals GOP leadership is weighing for inclusion in the pending legislation to overhaul the U.S. health care system.”
“The lack of widespread knowledge among members about the exact policy under review calls into question whether Republicans will be able to advance a bill before the Fourth of July recess, the timeline that GOP aides say Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is operating under.”
“GOP aides say it is atypical that members would be kept in the dark on more in-depth policy details at this stage in the process…”
Politico: Senate GOP Reins in Expectations for Killing Obamacare
“A public copy of the bill or the CBO score are not expected until just days before any vote, minimizing the ability of opposition to mobilize, aides said.”
“Senators said no draft bill has been completed, and aides said the party is fearful of leaks of the party’s plans falling into the hands of conservative or liberal activists who would seek to scuttle the GOP’s negotiations. Those factors are leading to a secretive and opaque process that Republicans say is the only way to have a chance at success without the party’s ideological divides bringing down any early draft.”
Axios: Senate GOP won't release draft health care bill
“Senate Republicans are working to finish their draft health care bill, but have no plans to publicly release it, according to two senior Senate GOP aides. ‘We aren't stupid,’ said one of the aides.”
MSNBC: The scandalous secrecy surrounding the Republican health care gambit
“A group of Senate Republican men have been meeting in secret for weeks, trying to craft their own health care plan, which is reportedly near completion. Once it’s done, the GOP blueprint will, oddly enough, remain a secret…”
“The plan, therefore, is for conservative senators to finalize a plan, quietly share it with the Congressional Budget Office, and then rush it onto the floor for a vote. There would no hearings, no amendments, no expert testimony, no input from industry stakeholders, no bipartisan negotiations, and no transparency.”