5 hours ago
1
Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), 2 cardinal holdouts, said Saturday that they volition ballot to beforehand the Senate’s mentation of President Trump’s "big, beauteous bill," citing changes made to the text unveiled by GOP leaders connected Friday.
Collins said she volition ballot for the question to proceed to the authorities retired of deference to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), but warned that she inactive has important concerns with the authorities and volition suggest respective amendments to alteration it.
“I americium readying to ballot for the question to proceed. Generally, I springiness deference to the bulk leader’s powerfulness to bring bills to the Senate floor. Does not successful immoderate mode foretell however I’m going to ballot connected last passage,” she said.
“That’s going to beryllium connected whether the measure is substantially changed,” she said. “There are immoderate precise bully changes that person been made successful the latest mentation but I privation to spot further changes and I volition beryllium filing a fig of amendments.”
Collins ballot connected the procedural question is crucial. Two conservatives, Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) accidental they won’t ballot for the authorities arsenic it present stands.
And Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) connected Saturday helium would ballot "no" connected some the question to proceed and last passage.
Senate Republicans power 53 seats and tin spend lone 3 defections successful their caucus and inactive walk the bill.
But Thune scored different large triumph erstwhile Hawley, who had sounded the alarm implicit hundreds of billions of dollars successful national Medicaid cuts, told reporters that helium volition ballot for the question to proceed to the measure and volition besides enactment last transition of the 940-page Senate mentation of the legislation, which leaders unveiled Friday night.
Hawley said that changes to the authorities volition effect successful importantly much national Medicaid backing for Missouri implicit the adjacent 4 years.
He besides cited $1 cardinal successful backing for Missourians suffering from radiation vulnerability related to the atomic weapons improvement successful the 1940s during Manhattan Project arsenic reasons for his yes vote.
“With the hold successful the supplier taxation model that we were capable to get and with the changes to the agrarian infirmary fund, Missouri’s Medicaid dollars volition really summation implicit the adjacent 4 years,” helium said.
“We volition get much money, Medicaid funding, implicit baseline until 2030. Any changes to our supplier model successful Missouri volition not instrumentality spot until the adjacent decade,” helium said.
He noted that GOP leaders agreed to summation a agrarian infirmary alleviation money from $15 cardinal to $25 cardinal and changed the backing look to supply much national funds to his location state.
He besides said that the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act backing helium requested is “fully present and afloat intact.”
“That volition mean large caller dollars flowing to the authorities of Missouri, enlargement of wellness attraction for the radical of Missouri. On that basis, I’m going to ballot yes connected this bill,” helium said.
If the question to proceed clears a elemental bulk threshold, the enclosure would statement the measure earlier moving to a “vote-a-rama,” during which unlimited amendments tin beryllium brought to the floor, earlier a last vote.
