Senate

Schumer: Dems won’t back ObamaCare deal if it is tied to tax bill

by Jordain Carney - 11/15/17 11:00 AM ET

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) warned on Wednesday that Democrats won’t help pass a bipartisan deal on key ObamaCare payments if Republicans use their tax plan to repeal the individual mandate.

“The Republicans cannot expect to pass their own separate ideological health-care provision and then turn around and ask Democrats to vote to pass Alexander-Murray,” Schumer said from the Senate floor, referring to a bill by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.).

He added that any Republican senators who are willing to support repealing the mandate because they think the Senate will also pass the Alexander-Murray bill are “wrong on the substance and wrong on the politics, because it won’t pass.”

{mosads}Senate Republicans unveiled their updated tax plan late Tuesday night. The plan includes repealing ObamaCare’s individual mandate, which requires that most Americans buy health insurance or face a tax penalty.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said on Tuesday that the Alexander-Murray bill, which funds key payments to insurers for two years, would be brought up separately.

Republicans don’t need Democratic votes to pass their tax plan because of reconciliation rules that allow them to pass the legislation by a simple majority and avoid a filibuster.

But they would need Democrats to help to pass Alexander-Murray, which would likely need 60 votes to get through the Senate.

Democrats have seized on the decision to drop a health-care fight in the middle of the tax bill, arguing that Republicans are willing to let millions become uninsured in order to give tax breaks to wealthier Americans.

“It may help Republicans in the Senate give a larger tax break to the rich, but it hurts millions of Americans seeking affordable health insurance,” Schumer said on Wednesday. “Any Republican senator who thinks they can pass the individual mandate and then turn around and get Murray-Alexander passed is dead wrong.”

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that 13 million Americans will become uninsured over a decade by repealing the individual mandate. But, according to the CBO, it would save $338 billion, giving Republicans more money to help pay for tax cuts.

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote on the tax plan this week, setting up a vote on the Senate floor once lawmakers return from the weeklong Thanksgiving break.

Republicans, with a 52-seat majority, have a narrow path to getting a tax plan through the Senate. They can only afford to lose two GOP senators, if every Democrat votes “no,” and still let Vice President Pence break a tie.

Republicans argue including the individual mandate repeal, which they call a tax on poor Americans, would help them get to 50 votes.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said repealing the mandate would help Republicans give more tax breaks to low-and middle-income families.

“In short, the goal is to repeal an unpopular tax from an unworkable law in order to provide more tax relief to middle-class families,” McConnell said.

But Schumer argued that Wednesday that Republicans will face repercussions in the 2018 midterm election over their tax plan.

“Our Republican colleagues can fail to pass the bill and look unable to govern, or they can pass the bill, dramatically unpopular, and pay a price at the polls. These are not enviable choices. They are [in] a Gordian knot,” he said.

More than one-third of voters in last week’s Virginia election named health care as their top issue.

Tags Chuck Schumer John Thune Lamar Alexander Mitch McConnell Patty Murray