Τετάρτη 14 Ιουνίου 2017

I’m just a bill, hidden here on Capitol Hill

I’m just a bill, hidden here on Capitol Hill


rendan Hoffman/Getty Images

Somewhere on Capitol Hill, Republican senators are hard at work on their version of the American Health Care Act, a bill that could take away insurance coverage from millions. But no one really knows what exactly that bill looks like, because senators are being very secretive about what it contains. [Vox / Dylan Scott]
Like their counterparts in the House, Senate Republicans are rushing to get the bill done.
The House caught flak for taking a May vote on the AHCA without first getting it scored by the Congressional Budget Office to see how much it would cost taxpayers and how many Americans would lose insurance if Obamacare were repealed. Now senators are taking it a step further, bypassing the normal legislative process by not holding public hearings or seeking public testimony from health policy experts. [Vox / Dylan Scott]
Senate Democrats are reportedly furious with the lack of committee hearings, and plan to hammer Republicans for the tight schedule and lack of transparency. [Politico / Jennifer Haberkorn and Burgess Everett]
However, the fact remains that Democrats don’t have a lot of ammunition to fight back with, since Republicans can repeal the Affordable Care Act with 50 votes and no filibuster. [Politico / Jennifer Haberkorn and Burgess Everett]
Republicans want to vote on the bill in the next three weeks, before they head home for the Fourth of July recess. [Axios / Caitlin Owens]
Democratic senators drew comparisons between the secrecy around the AHCA and another controversial flap in the Senate, as TV and radio reporters were told they could not film or record senators while interviewing them in Senate hallways without first asking for special permission. [Washington Post / Elise Viebeck]
Many reporters took to Twitter to vent their frustration about needing to ask a long list of people before interviewing senators, including the committee, the Senate sergeant-at-arms, and individual senators themselves. [The Hill / Alexander Bolton]
Rules Committee Chair Sen. Richard Selby later clarified the move wasn’t a formal rules change but rather a directive to try to improve safety for members of Congress and the press as multiple television crews flocked to the Senate to film the Sessions hearing and report on the health care bill. [Vox / Tara Golshan]
By mid-afternoon, Selby had reversed course, telling reporters they could carry on as usual. [Kasie Hunt via Twitter​]



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