"We need to start voting" on the GOP bill scuttling much of President Barack Obama's health care law, No. 2 Senate GOP leader John Cornyn of Texas told reporters Monday. Some Republicans said a revised version of the bill could be introduced Thursday, and Cornyn said the "goal" was for a vote next week.
Cornyn cited seven years of unresolved Republican debate over how to replace the 2010 statute during which "we gain a vote, we lose a vote." That underscored a sense among top Republicans that they had little to gain by letting their disputes drag on much further.
Cruz has proposed letting insurers sell any policies they'd like, as long as they also sell one that covers a list of services like maternity care that Obama's law requires. The Cruz amendment was alienating senators like Collins amid concerns it would lead to unaffordable prices for people with pre-existing medical conditions because younger, healthier customers wouldn't be sharing their costs.
Pence endorsed Cruz's plan on Limbaugh's show, saying: "Rush, that's what freedom looks like, isn't it?"
