Senate rejects GOP move to send healthcare bill back to committee
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The Senate today firmly rejected a GOP effort to send the healthcare overhaul bill back to committee, by voting down a proposed amendment.
Only 42 senators voted for the amendment, which needed 60 votes to pass. Fifty-eight senators voted no.
The amendment was sponsored by Arizona Sen. John McCain, who argued that the current healthcare bill would hurt seniors by cutting Medicare payments. Democrats countered that the dollar cuts would not lower services to the elderly, a position supported by AARP, the lobbying group for the retired.
The healthcare debate in the Senate is in its fourth day, but weeks more are expected before the Senate takes up the final bill. Throughout, Republicans have argued that the elderly, a key voting bloc, would be hurt by the proposed cuts.
To ease that concern, Democrats offered language to assure that seniors would be protected. That amendment, by Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, said that no benefits in traditional Medicare will be cut by the legislation. It passed 100-0.
There was little suspense in today’s vote because the Democrats and their allies weren’t going to allow the deliberations to go back to Square One. Democrats are trying to get the healthcare bill through the chamber by Christmas. The House has passed a different version.
--Michael Muskal
