House To Vote On Replacement For Obamacare; GOP Claims Enough Votes
(CBS SF/AP) -- The House will vote on the GOP's proposed health care bill Thursday, according to Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's office.
The vote on the long-awaited health care bill to replace former President Barack Obama's signature health care law is expected to take place early Thursday afternoon. If the bill passes, it would be a major win for President Donald Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan after GOP opposition forced them to abruptly pull the bill in March.
The vote also comes before Congress goes into recess for 11 days.
House leadership has been working to attract enough votes to pass the bill. McCarthy told reporters "yes" when asked if they have sufficient votes.
Last week, Ryan told reporters, "We're going to go when we have the votes, but that's the decision we'll make when we have it."
The House Freedom Caucus -- many members of which opposed the health care proposals introduced earlier this year -- has endorsed the latest attempt at health care reform.
The GOP can only afford to lose 22 votes for the measure to pass.
As of Thursday evening, the proposed legislation had no public scoring from the Congressional Budget Office.
The GOP health care push has been controversial, especially over questions about whether it will cover pre-existing conditions. On CBS' "Face The Nation" Sunday, President Trump pledged it would.
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement House Republicans who vote for the GOP health care bill Thursday "are going to tattoo this moral monstrosity to their foreheads," and the American people will hold them accountable.
Pelosi, who helped shepherd the Obama's Affordable Care Act into law seven years ago, said that if Republicans pass "Trumpcare" millions will lose health coverage. Budget analysts have estimated that 24 million could be uninsured by 2026, including 14 million by next year.
Other Democrats say House Republicans up for re-election next year will face a backlash from voters over the bill.
Earlier Wednesday, the House passed a $1.1 trillion bill to fund the government through the end of September, the first significant piece of bipartisan legislation of Donald Trump's presidency.
The 309-118 vote sends the bill to the Senate in time to act before a midnight Friday deadline to avert a government shutdown.
The White House says Trump will sign the measure, which gives him much of the money he sought for defense and border security but denies startup construction funding for Trump's oft-promise wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The measure is the product of weeks of Capitol Hill negotiations in which Democrats blocked Trump's most controversial proposals, including cuts to domestic programs backed by both parties and new steps to punish so-called sanctuary cities.
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