Dems say they'll slow Senate work over secretive care bill

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of NY said Democrats will object to requests for "unanimous consent" to set aside rules and expedite proceedings.

While Senate Republicans are drafting their healthcare plan behind closed doors, they've given reporters a general idea of what might be in it.

Democrats hope they can delay the vote on the bill until after the week-long July 4th break and give themselves more time to build opposition against the Republican plan.

"Would I have preferred a more open process?" Keeping those taxes will make it easier for the Senate to defend itself from Democratic objections that the bill is a boon to the one percent.

In a series of floor motions, inquiries and lengthy speeches, Democrats criticized the closed-door meetings that Republicans have been holding to craft a replacement for Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act.

Many Republican senators have seen little more than an outline and a Power Point summary of the Senate health care legislation that is being drafted.

McConnell said all Republican senators have been involved to some degree in healthcare meetings and that Democrats would have a chance to amend the legislation they produce, once it is brought to the Senate floor.

Some Senate Democrats also are preparing to block lengthy committee hearings beginning on Tuesday, although Democratic leaders have not announced or confirmed that decision.

Using tactics like parliamentary inquiries and unanimous consent requests, Democrats are drawing comparison to the process used to usher in Obamacare. The bill still needs to be scored by the Congressional Budget Office, but even that process is being expedited as the Senate is sending the CBO various policy proposals for pre-scores. Now, Mitch McConnell is trying to shepherd a health care bill to the finish line in 2017. Republicans need 50 Senators plus the Vice President to provide the margin of victory on their health care package - which we are still waiting to read. "Now, Democrat efforts to feign outrage over health care negotiations should be seen for what it is - a pure partisan game aimed at placating the far-left". Asked to comment, a spokesman for Republican Majority leader Mitch McConnell said only that the Senate meant to vote on nominees for Trump administration positions in the coming days.

Critics have estimated that the House bill would curtail Medicaid by some $800 billion, and some Republican senators from states where Medicaid was expanded under Obama have expressed concern about passing legislation that slashes aid to thousands of constituents.

"We're doing this because premiums have doubled in the last four years - choices have gotten less", Barrasso said.

Senate Republicans might move forward with a plan to make even deeper cuts to Medicaid than the House's health care bill, which could be a major blow for Senate moderates. If the Senate is able to pass health care legislation, the two chambers will have to come to a compromise to get a final bill to Trump's desk.

Sanders noted what he considers the potentially disastrous consequences of the House's version of the bill, which passed by a slim margin last month.