Dems limited in their ability to slow ObamaCare vote

The options for Democrats are limited as they try to prevent Senate Republicans from passing legislation repealing and replacing ObamaCare.

Republicans are rushing toward a vote next week in hopes of passing legislation before the Fourth of July recess. Republicans will see a “discussion draft” of the bill Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday.

Democrats are decrying that timeline, protesting that the bill has been crafted in secret without adequate debate or public consideration.

{mosads}But with GOP leaders aiming to pass the legislation under budget reconciliation rules, the Democrats are limited in what procedural roadblocks they can throw in front of the legislation. 

Once a bill gets to the Senate floor, Democrats acknowledge, there’s little they can do to stop it if Republicans can muster a majority. 

Senate Republican leaders only need 51 votes to pass the bill, and the GOP has a 52-seat majority. Vice President Pence could break a tie. 

“I think our most effective strategy is to highlight the process and the extremely peculiar nature of it, and then let public pressure on the few Republican senators who are going to make the difference begin to work,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) told The Hill.

Even though they won’t be able to block the bill with a filibuster, Democrats hope to delay the healthcare vote for as long as possible by offering a slew of amendments or motions during a process called a “vote-a-rama.”

“I think we should put this bill on the floor for as long as we can,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said. 

“The fact of the matter is the American people aren’t going to be able to see this bill until days before it’s voted on at best. The longer this bill is on the floor, the better chance people get to see what an epic disaster it’s going to be.”

While GOP leaders are pressing ahead, success is far from guaranteed.

Some Republican senators are voicing frustrations with the closed-door process and with how the bill is shaping up on areas like the Medicaid expansion and ObamaCare regulations.

But the griping from Republicans about the process has been mild compared to the outcry from Democrats, who say they’ve been shut completely out of the legislative process.  

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) last week requested that McConnell hold an all-senators meeting on healthcare, but the idea was rejected.

Seeking to draw attention to the Senate’s closed-door process, Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Murphy livestreamed a trip to the Congressional Budget Office Tuesday, where they asked to see a copy of the bill. The trio met with the nonpartisan agency’s director and deputy director, but their quest was fruitless.

Republicans have sent over portions of the bill to the CBO for scoring, but Murphy said he wasn’t given any information from the CBO director.

“We wouldn’t be doing this if we haven’t been shut down in every way possible by Republicans,” Murphy said as he walked outside the CBO building. “This is the only way we’re going to get our hands on this piece of legislation.”

If McConnell gets a healthcare bill to the floor, it will be limited to 20 hours of debate and subject to a vote-a-rama — a rapid succession of votes on amendments that can last for hours. Senators often force their colleagues to take tough votes on amendments during these lengthy sessions, which can be turned into political attack ads later.

Democrats are already considering what kind of amendments they’ll offer and how many, but those decisions are hard to make when the bill text isn’t yet available.

“We’re working through the options — no decision yet,” Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) told reporters Tuesday when asked about amendments. 

Liberal groups are pushing for Democrats to flood the process with thousands of amendments, but the Senate parliamentarian could rule that those efforts are “dilatory,” meaning their only purpose is to cause a delay. Republicans could then proceed to a final vote.  

“There’s really not much process we have that gives us a fair chance,” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) told The Hill.  

“In fact, there is no process that we have that gives us a fair chance. So the process issues are mainly to make a point to the American people about how unfair this process was and is leading to the wrong results.”