Peace for the World

Peace for the World
First democratic leader of Justice the Godfather of the Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle: Honourable Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Four GOP senators oppose Senate health-care measure in its current form

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) criticized the health-care bill introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on June 22. (Alice Li, Libby Casey/The Washington Post)

 
Four Republican senators from the conservative wing of their party say they oppose the Senate health-care bill as it was introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday, which places the effort to overhaul the American health-care system in jeopardy as it heads for an anticipated vote in the Senate next week.

Those senators — Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ted Cruz of Texas, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Mike Lee of Utah — announced in a joint statement that while they cannot support the bill as it is currently written, they are open to negotiating changes that could ultimately win their support.

Their opposition is enough to place success of the GOP measure in doubt as McConnell (R-Ky.) can afford to lose only two Republicans and still pass the measure. Separately, moderate Republican senators voiced concerns about the bill, further complicating McConnell’s path to securing the 50 votes needed to get his bill over the finish line, with Vice President Pence standing ready to break a tie.