Report: Senate Won’t Release O’Care Repeal Draft Before CBO Review

UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 14: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., flanked from left by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., speaks to reporters after the Senate ... UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 14: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., flanked from left by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., speaks to reporters after the Senate Republicans' policy lunch in the Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) (CQ Roll Call via AP Images) MORE LESS
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Those who were hoping that to see the Senate GOP Obamacare repeal bill before it was sent over to the Congressional Budget Office shouldn’t hold their breath.

Republican staffers are close to finishing a draft, perhaps even by Monday evening, Axios reported, but aren’t planning to release it once they complete it and send it to the CBO for a score. It’s unclear just at what point of the process between now and when the Senate votes on the legislation that the full text becomes public.

Ongoing discussions around the draft, which could be tweaked to get consensus, was cited in the Axios report as being a reason it won’t be posted once it was done.

“We aren’t stupid,” a senior GOP aide told Axios.

It’s not uncommon for draft proposals to be sent to the CBO privately as part of the larger legislative efforts, as a way of providing feedback to members negotiating a bill. But Senate Republican also intend to bypass the committee process in their repeal effort, an extraordinary move, given the scope and the potential impact of their health care legislation.

The CBO analysis of the House repeal legislation, the American Health Care Act, estimated that it would cost 23 million people their health care coverage.

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Notable Replies

  1. The CBO analysis of the House repeal legislation, the American Health Care Act, estimated that it would cost 23 million people their health care coverage.

    You know, they say if you're gonna do eugenics, go big.
  2. Kicking can down the road.

  3. “We aren’t stupid,” a senior GOP aide told Axios.

    “Contrary to the findings of countless bipartisan, independent observers, investigators and researchers.”

  4. “Maybe we can sneak this one past the suckers.”

  5. The most transparent . . . Wait, what?

    They now do things behind closed doors, and in secret?

    OMG.

    If the people don’t know what is in the bill, they cannot call their representative or senator to make a specific complaint. I hope this backfires on them bigly.

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