Pence: House GOP healthcare bill is ‘the framework for reform’

Vice President Pence, after meeting with Senate Republicans over lunch on Tuesday, touted the House GOP’s American Health Care Act as “the framework for reform” on healthcare.

Pence lauded the legislation as a “historic moment” for Congress to “keep its promise” to voters to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

He said President Trump supports it and announced the administration is ready to work with Senate and House GOP leaders to improve the bill before a final vote.

“We’re certainly open to improvements and to recommendations in the legislative process” but warned conservative lawmakers who want to scrap it “this is the bill.”

{mosads}He left the press conference to meet with Republican lawmakers about planning the next steps for moving the legislation.

“We are confident that the American Health Care Act, with their help, will be on the president’s desk and we will start over with a new future for healthcare in America,” he said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the legislation will likely come to the floor the last week of March before the Senate begins debate on Trump’s Supreme Court nominee the first week of April.

Congress is scheduled to leave town April 7 for a two-week recess.

He noted ObamaCare was a “huge issue” in the 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 elections.

“The American people have given us an opportunity to govern, we’re no longer floating ideas,” he said. “We have an obligation now to the American people to deliver a replacement for ObamaCare that is better than the status quo.”

McConnell predicted the House would wait for a budget score from the Congressional Budget Office before voting on it and predicted that analysis would come later this week.

McConnell did not say, however, whether the Senate committees will have a chance to mark up the legislation before it reaches the upper chamber’s floor.

This story was updated at 3:15 p.m.