Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) on Thursday morning warned that the bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act unveiled by House Republican leadership this week will not pass in the Senate in its current form.
In a series of tweets, the conservative senator called on House Republicans to slow down the process for passing an Obamacare repeal and said he wanted the Congressional Budget Office’s assessment of the bill before voting on it.
1. House health-care bill can’t pass Senate w/o major changes. To my friends in House: pause, start over. Get it right, don’t get it fast.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) March 9, 2017
2. GOP shouldn’t act like Dems did in O’care. No excuse to release bill Mon night, start voting Wed. With no budget estimate!
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) March 9, 2017
3. What matters in long run is better, more affordable health care for Americans, NOT House leaders’ arbitrary legislative calendar.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) March 9, 2017
Cotton is not alone in his opposition to the bill, so his concern signals trouble for the legislation in the Senate. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) on Wednesday said she had concerns about the bill and also said she did not think the House bill had enough support in the Senate. Several other Republican senators, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), have also expressed concerns about the bill.
I love the smell of Republican infighting first thing in the morning. Like waking up to the smell of coffee brewing and bacon cooking.
Saying reasonable things now - while looking forward to royally screwing the middle class, the poor, older Americans, the most vulnerable.
Fuck you, Tom Cotton – the Democrats negotiated and negotiated with the Republicans for a year before passing the ACA into law. The Republicans are the ones who negotiated in bad faith, time and again, to draw out and delay the process. This false equivalency shit is on you – not the Democrats!
That should only require another seven or so years.
And, as I’ve said before, I’d feel better about comments like Cotton’s if I didn’t know that his real problem with the bill is that it’s too generous.