hope springs eternal
Republicans to reveal new health-care bill with vote next week
Senate Republicans plan to reveal a new draft of the proposed Affordable Care Act replacement on Thursday with a vote to come next week, The New York Times reports. Optimism remains low, however, with Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) saying he is "very pessimistic" about the bill's chances of passing. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) added: "Minor changes and tweaks will not be sufficient to win my support for the bill."
With Democrats expected to be united against the bill, Republicans can lose no more than two votes in order for it to pass.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced the Senate's August recess will start two weeks later than scheduled in an attempt to work through some of the legislative pile-up, although Politico Playbook notes the downside to such a plan is "if they get nothing accomplished, they look incompetent."