GOP rep: ‘I don’t think any individual has read the whole bill’

Rep. Tom Garrett (R-Va.) says he doesn’t know of any fellow lawmakers who have read the GOP’s entire bill for repealing and replacing ObamaCare.

“Oh, gosh,” he said Thursday on MSNBC. “Well, let’s put it this way: People in my office have read all the parts of the bill. I don’t think any individual has read the whole bill. That’s why we have staff.”

Garrett made the comment just hours before a high-stakes House vote on the American Health Care Act.

{mosads}The vote is expected to come down to the wire amid controversy over how repealing ObamaCare provisions would affect millions of people.

Garrett is undecided on the current version of the bill after opposing the original six weeks ago.

Republicans can only afford 21 defections, with one lawmaker expected to miss the vote and no Democrats expected to back it.

Eighteen House Republicans currently oppose the legislation, according to The Hill’s Whip List.

Passage would give Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) a much-needed legislative victory, but the bill faces a difficult path in the Senate.

Top House Republicans, though, are predicting they have the 216 votes needed for passage, trumpeting the expected victory as a win for the GOP on healthcare.

And they are rushing ahead on a vote, even though the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has not completed its latest analysis of the bill.

Republicans long accused Democrats of forcing ObamaCare’s passage in 2010 without fully understanding the legislation’s details.