Republican senator asks for assurance the health bill he will soon be voting for won't pass

(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

published 27 July 2017

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) plans to vote for Senate Republicans' "skinny repeal" of ObamaCare, but first he wants to be sure the bill won't pass the House. To ensure the bill "isn't a one-way trip to the House," Rounds said he has requested a guarantee that the bill would not pass the House without being brought to conference first, so senators could have another chance to make amendments alongside the House before the bill is finalized. If the bill does pass the House, Rounds asked for at least a delay in its implementation.

Rounds isn't the only GOP senator so far to suggest that a "skinny repeal," which is centered around eliminating ObamaCare's individual mandate, isn't Republicans' actual plan for health-care reform. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) expressed his agreement Thursday with House Freedom Caucus leader Rep. Mark Meadows' (R-N.C.) assessment that "skinny repeal" is just a "vehicle for conference" negotiations between the House and Senate. "Would we send [a 'skinny' bill] to the president? The answer is no," Cornyn quoted Meadows as saying.

The Senate is poised to vote later Thursday on "skinny repeal," though the exact contents of the bill remain unclear.