President Donald Trump did not pressure Republican senators to rush a new draft of the health care bill at a Tuesday meeting, sources say.<\/b>
\nPresident Donald Trump did not pressure Republican senators to rush a new draft of the health care bill at a Tuesday meeting, sources say, but instead lamented the saga that took place on the House side, and said the bill that passed in the lower chamber was \u201cmean\u201d and the Senate bill should be more \u201cgenerous.\u201d
\u201cHe wasn\u2019 t prescribing deadlines, because I think he recognized what happened in the House wasn\u2019 t good, and he wants to make sure that we have a process that proceeds in an orderly way, \u201d said Sen. John Thune, R-SD, who attended the meeting at the White House.
Thune acknowledged that Trump was \u201copen to suggestions, and didn\u2019 t make any pronouncements one way or the other.\u201d
\u201cI think he was just sort of conveying that the thinks it\u2019s really important that we get this done, and it\u2019s OK that the Senate is going its own direction, \u201d Thune said. \u201cI think he was happy to hear that we\u2019 re making good progress, and is hopeful that we\u2019 ll be able to get this done soon because I think there is a sense of urgency.\u201d
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) called the meeting \u201cproductive.\u201d
Trump previously heaped praise on the bill after it was passed in a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden in May, saying it was „very, very incredibly well-crafted, and hailed it as „a great plan.“
So, where are they now?
Despite promises of progress made, most members could not answer basic questions about the status a draft or outline. Leaving a GOP team lunch today on the Hill, which Vice President Mike Pence attended, Sen Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said, \u201cWe\u2019 ve still got a ways to go\u2026let\u2019s put it this way, the total bill hasn\u2019 t been resolved.\u201d
\u201cWe\u2019 re a ways away [from a vote] , \u201d he went on. \u201cWe\u2019 re just talking right now. The Senate loves to talk.\u201d
Republicans still say they want to get a bill done by the July 4 recess, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters he could not give any \u201cspecificity“ on timing.
He punted entirely when asked about the July 4 recess.
\u201cOur goal is to move forward quickly, \u201d he said. \u201cThe status quo [of the Obamacare law] is unsustainable, \u201d he said. \u201cWe all know something has to be done and something has to be done soon\u2026 The idea is to get enough votes to pass it. Unfortunately, it will have to be a Republicans-only exercise and we are working hard to get there.\u201d
Earlier in the day, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S. C., told reporters he was under the impression that an outline was being floated to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to see \u201cif they were moving in the right direction.\u201d But later in the day, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wy., pushed back on the idea of whether CBO scores even matter.
Where is the transparency?
Democrats, meanwhile, are out in force accusing Republicans of hiding their working drafts. The same complaints were made in the House this spring. Democrat Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, N.Y., said plainly that press access issues seen today in parts of the U. S. Capitol were because the GOP is \u201cashamed\u201d of its current health care bill. He blasted Republicans for not holding regular hearings and called the process \u201clegislative malpractice.\u201d
McConnell pushed back on this idea and said they were all well-versed in the subject.
\u201cIt is not a new thing. We know a lot about the subject. We know how complicated it is, \u201d he said when asked about whether there would be standard committee hearings. \u201cNobody is hiding the ball here. You are free to ask anybody, anything. There have a been a gizzillion hearings on this subject. We understand this issue pretty well and we are not working on coming up with a solution.\u201d
\u201cWe\u2019 ve been litigating this for the last eight years, \u201d Thune said, reiterating McConnell\u2019s comments.
What are the specifics?
Thune told reporters that his colleagues are working on language that would include a deficit reduction in the bill that was also included in the House bill, \u201cwhich means we\u2019 re going to have to find savings elsewhere in the bill.\u201d
Thune also said he thinks most taxes are going to go away that consumers have to pay on prescriptions, medical devices and insurance plans.<\/p>\n

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