Boehner pressures Senate to act quickly on Medicare bill

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is urging the Senate to move quickly to pass a bill repealing automatic cuts to doctors under Medicare. 

The bill, repealing cuts under the Sustainable Growth Rate, passed the House at the end of March on an overwhelming bipartisan vote. 

The Senate is looking to take up the bill Tuesday before the cuts take effect Wednesday. But a vote has still not been scheduled. A Republican aide said an agreement on amendments and times is still being worked out. 

{mosads}“Unless the Senate passes the House-passed ‘doc fix’ bill, significant cuts to physicians’ payments will begin tomorrow,” Boehner said in a statement Tuesday. “The House legislation passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, and we do not plan to act again, so we urge the Senate to approve the House-passed bill without delay.”

Senate leaders are working on an agreement to allow votes on three amendments from each party before proceeding to the final vote ahead of the deadline. 

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said earlier Tuesday that he is “optimistic and hopeful” the bill will pass ahead of the deadline. 

“We need to pass it today, and I think most of our members understand that,” McConnell said.

He added that he hopes the amendments fail so that the bill can get to the president’s desk. If the bill is amended, it would have to go back to the House, but Boehner is now warning that the House is not going to revisit the issue. 

Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) negotiated the measure and have both praised it. 

However, it has met resistance from some Senate conservatives who want the bill to be fully paid for. 

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has proposed an amendment to force the measure to be paid for, which is expected to be one of the six amendments considered. 

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), a supporter, said Tuesday the vote on Lee’s amendment would be “pretty close,” but there was no formal organizing effort behind it. He also underscored that the imminent deadline for the deal was raising pressure on senators to support what he has said is a flawed bill.

“Too often that’s how we break the budget,” he said.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday said Democrats would agree to a quick vote. 

“We’ve agreed to a very, very short-time agreement,” Reid told reporters Tuesday. “I’ve suggested half an hour.”