Rushed Senate Consideration of Cassidy-Graham Would Be Designed to Hide Bills Severe Flaws
September 19, 2017
Congressional Republicans are making a last-ditch effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through their latest plan, from Senators Bill Cassidy and Lindsey Graham, and reportedly are close to securing the votes of 50 senators needed to push the bill through the Senate before fast-track reconciliation instructions expire on September 30. Such a strategy would violate the principles of "regular order" even more egregiously than the non-transparent, partisan process under which Congress has considered previous repeal bills. It would amount to passing a poorly understood bill through the Senate within two weeks without comprehensive hearings, floor debate, or input from constituents - and without a full Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the bill's impact on coverage, on Medicaid, on access for people with pre-existing conditions, on premiums and out-of-pocket costs for people with individual-market coverage, and on the stability of the individual market. House members would then vote on the bill with no opportunity for changes.
